GARDEN, Mich. (WFRV) – A Wisconsin man died just two days before he was set to be arrested in connection to Michigan’s oldest sexual assault cold case, according to the Michigan State Police (MSP).
Authorities announced Friday that the 78-year-old man, who most recently lived in Argonne, Wisconsin, had been criminally charged in a 1986 kidnapping and sexual assault that occurred in Delta County, Michigan.
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The investigation began in August 1986 when a woman reported being abducted at gunpoint while biking from Lac du Flambeau, Wisconsin, to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. She stopped at the Big Fishdam River access on US-2 in Garden, Michigan, to use a public restroom. When she exited, she was forced into a man’s vehicle and repeatedly sexually assaulted before being released.
Initial efforts to identify a suspect were unsuccessful, and the case went cold. Over the years, investigators revisited the case periodically, but no substantial leads emerged.
In fall 2023, the Michigan State Police partnered with Northern Michigan University’s (NMU) Cold Case Program to review the investigation. The program, launched in 2022, offers NMU criminal justice students hands-on experience in forensic analysis and investigative techniques.
Students from the Cold Case Program recommended the use of Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy (FIGG), a modern forensic method that uses DNA evidence and genealogical databases to identify potential suspects through familial links.
The technique led investigators to a man who had lived in Harris, Michigan—about 45 minutes from the site of the 1986 crime—at the time of the incident. A DNA sample was collected from the suspect and sent to the MSP Forensic Science Division, which confirmed a match to evidence from the original investigation.
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The Delta County Prosecutor’s Office subsequently issued charges of kidnapping and first-degree criminal sexual conduct. Authorities planned to arrest the man on July 29, 2025, but on July 27, he was found dead at his residence.
No further details regarding the cause of death have been released.
