LANSING TWP. - Police have recovered the body of a Lansing Township man who went missing more than a year ago.
Jerome Deshaun Ezell, 27, was last seen on the morning of Nov. 7, 2017. His sport-utility vehicle was found later that day near Fairview Park in the Groesbeck Neighborhood, with his 5-month-old son still inside.
Michigan State Police Detective/1st Lt. Tom DeClercq, commander of the 1st District Special Investigations Section, said Ezell's body was found within the past week in the Paw Paw area in southwest Michigan. Detectives at MSP's 5th District headquarters in Paw Paw positively identified the remains, he said.
The case is being investigated as a homicide and has been assigned to state police detectives embedded with the Lansing Police Department as part of the Secure Cities Partnership program, DeClercq said.
No other details were being released on Sunday.
Ezell was last seen about 10:45 p.m. Nov. 7 in the 500 block of South Clemens Avenue. His girlfriend found his white Chevrolet Equinox about 7:50 p.m. that evening in the 1100 block of North Fairview Avenue, east of Fairview Park. The child was evaluated at a hospital and was found to be in good condition.
Police found no signs of foul play, and officers from several area departments searched a nearby wooded area without locating Ezell.
Police have been investigating his disappearance ever since. So has Ezell's girlfriend, Jasmine Hill, who offered a reward for information and hired a private investigator earlier this year.
On Sunday, Lansing Township police Chief Adam Kline referred questions about the case to state police.
DeClercq declined to discuss details about how and where Ezell's body was found, saying he expected more information would be released on Monday.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Lansing Police Department detective bureau at 483-6800 and ask for state police Detective Sgt. Troy Johnston.
Contact Ken Palmer at (517) 377-1032 or kpalmer@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @KBPalm_lsj.
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