WEXFORD COUNTY — Rebecca Park has been found dead, according to her family, who reported that the 22-year-old was located Nov. 25 after she had been missing for 21 days.
According to Park’s father in a Nov. 25 statement, he found her body while he was out searching for her on a two-track near her mother’s home in Boon Township.
The Wexford County Sheriff’s Office later confirmed in a Nov. 25 news release that they had located a body in the Manistee National Forest, but did not confirm the identity of the deceased.
In a Nov. 25 evening news conference, Wexford County Sheriff Trent Taylor said the identity of the body won’t be confirmed until an autopsy is completed, but said the body did resemble that of Park.
No official information on the status of Park’s child has been released.
When Park disappeared on Nov. 4, she was approximately 39 weeks pregnant and had been last seen around 11:30 p.m. getting into the passenger side of a dark-colored vehicle outside a relative’s home on South 21½ Road, near Boon.
Park’s mother, Courtney Bartholomew, was the last person to see her alive.
A $12,000 reward was being offered for any information or a direct location regarding Park’s whereabouts.
As of Nov. 24, no arrests had been made in the case. Sheriff’s deputies and the Michigan State Police had conducted extensive searches in the area where she was last seen. Volunteers later searched the same area. No additional evidence was located in either search.
The fiancé and sister of Rebecca Park are in police custody at the Wexford County Jail. According to public records, Richard Lee Falor, 43, was booked into the jail at 7:33 p.m. Nov. 25, more than five hours after the body of Rebecca Park was found in the woods near her mother’s home on 21 ½ Road in Boon Township after a three-week search.
Rebecca Park was 38 or 39 weeks pregnant when she went missing. Police did not release the status of her baby.
A volunteer group — calling themselves a recovery team — also appeared in the area. The sheriff’s office said the group was not requested by law enforcement and is not operating under the agency’s authority, though they were free to search on their own.
According to the sheriff’s office, as of Nov. 24, there was no known direct evidence that Park was the victim of an assault.
Deputies clarified during the investigation that they were not in possession of bloody clothing, despite claims circulating on social media.
The sheriff’s office said it would issue updates when additional information becomes available.
9&10 News will be following updates on the case as they become available.
RELATED STORIES:
- Biological mother, spouse face murder and torture charges in Rebecca Park case
- Biological mother of missing Rebecca Park arrested, awaits arraignment
- Arraignment postponed for biological mother, stepfather of Rebecca Park
- Biological mother of Rebecca Park in custody in Wexford County Jail
- Wexford County officials identify body as Rebecca Park, search for baby continues
- Adoptive mother of Rebecca Park breaks silence after discovery of body
- Missing woman Rebecca Park found dead after 21-day search
- Tips mount with no investigation breakthroughs in Rebecca Park disappearance case
- Wexford Sheriff’s Office urges public to ignore online rumors in case of missing woman Rebecca Park
- Friends hold vigil for missing pregnant woman on her due date
- Community unites in search for missing pregnant woman Rebecca Park
- Cadillac area woman, 38 weeks pregnant, reportedly still missing
- Fiancé of missing pregnant woman from Manton speaks out, worried for her safety
- Family of missing pregnant woman Rebecca Park pleads for safe return
- Friends desperate for return of missing pregnant woman Rebecca Park as more details emerge
- No new evidence in 22-year-old pregnant missing woman case in Wexford County
- Cadillac community organizes search for missing pregnant woman