In Searching for a Body, I Found Dedication and Integrity

A few of the things I found in the rainy woods Thursday in Montrose Township: An old shoe, a faded beach towel, two dead deer, a gas cap, part of a snake, a golf ball and a toilet seat.

I would also find out Friday that Troy Police Capt. Bob Redmond and I were unknowingly within 30 feet of finding the body believed to be that of  on Thursday night, just before the day's search was called off due to the rain and dwindling daylight.

Yes, I found many things in the woods on Thursday. But what I would take away from that 14-hour day searching side-by-side with police officers and firefighters is the knowledge that, for some people, a job isn't just a job – and this search was about so much more than finding evidence.

Citizens on Patrol

Early Thursday morning, I stuffed my backpack with my Macbook and camera, slipped on my press pass, hopped in the car and made my way to the Troy police station.

Thinking I was early, I strolled through the front door just before 7 a.m. to find seven  already inside, ready and waiting to head up to help in Montrose Township. Quiet and looking somber and determined, they were ready to help. 

An hour later, we arrived at the quaint Montrose Township Fire Station, which was buzzing with roughly 60 police officers and firefighters, along with members of the media from 11 different news organizations. Men and women in uniforms milled around the open bay doors as they prepared to lead 17 teams on a . 

I elected to stick with Troy Police Officer E. John Julian and the Citizens on Patrol all morning, traveling behind their passenger van with a K-9 unit from the Genesee County Sheriff's Office. 

Over the next several hours, these citizens – several of whom are retired – trudged through woods, grass and mud to canvass the rural areas assigned to our search team. 

They climbed embankments, tore through underbrush and crawled over rusty wire fences. They got wet. They got muddy. They never complained or asked to return to the station.

When I asked one of them why she was here, she said she has a friend whose children know the Mikes family, and she just wanted to help.

They all wanted to help. And they did.

Not giving up

By 4 p.m., all 17 teams had returned to the station after nearly eight hours of searching wooded areas, parks and fields turned up little more than roadkill and the occasional decomposing deer.

Once reassembled back at the station, the Citizens on Patrol returned to Troy, and Redmond dismissed anyone who wanted to leave while inviting those willing to stay to continue searching, this time tackling the numerous corn fields in the area as one group.

Despite being told they could leave, not a single firefighter, police officer, deputy or state trooper budged. A few sat down, reaffirming their dedication to the day's mission. Others struck up conversations with the person next to them.

It was obvious that as long as there was daylight to search by, these men and women weren't going anywhere. It wasn't an option. It wasn't their job to keep searching – it was their duty, and they took it seriously.

Around 5 p.m., we rolled out to the first of several corn fields and combed through it together, side-by-side in a line, cutting up and down through the tall stalks, sloshing through the mud and puddles as the rain poured down, eliminating one small search area at a time until increasingly heavy rain and fading daylight halted the day's search.

Doing the right thing

On the way back from Montrose Township, I asked Redmond why, if he thinks they already have more than enough evidence to convict Mikes' son of his murder, do they continue to search for his body?

Without hesitating, he told me, "Because it's ."

Redmond also told me after we'd stopped searching for the day that he thought they were close. He could feel it; he knew they would find the body soon.

“This whole case isn’t about Patrick Mikes Jr.,” he said Thursday. “This case is about Patrick Mikes Sr. ... We’re not going to quit looking till we find the body of Mr. Mikes."

The next day, he and several officers returned to Montrose to continue searching the corn fields. An hour and a half later, they .

Closure

The dedication shown by members of the and the numerous other departments involved in the search for Patrick Mikes over the past two weeks is, in a word, admirable.

Their professionalism is equally as impressive both during the search and in how they have handled the media in the past couple weeks. It was easy to see how seriously they were taking the search and how carefully they were performing their jobs throughout the day on Thursday. I was honored just to be a small part of it.

I do not know the Mikes family, and I can't begin to fathom what they are going through right now, but my thoughts and sympathies are with them, and I hope they know the heartfelt reasons why police continued to search for their family member. I hope this will provide them at least some small measure of comfort and closure.

For questions about this column, email Troy Patch Editor Jen Anesi at jen.anesi@patch.com.