A body found by a citizen search party in Manistee National Forest around 2:16 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 25 is believed, but not yet confirmed, to be Rebecca Parks, a pregnant 22-year-old woman from Wexford County who went missing Nov. 3, according to police.
She was last seen in Cadillac/Boon Township area, according to a post by Wexford County Sheriff’s Office on Nov. 4.
The body found “resembles” Rebecca Parks, Wexford County Sheriff Trent Taylor said at a news conference livestreamed by Up North Live on Tuesday night. It cannot be confirmed until an autopsy is complete, Michigan State Police Public Information Officer Lt. Ashley Miller said at the news conference.
“There was no formal search party in that area,” Taylor said in the news conference. “Citizens were searching it in that area, and they found the body.”
Police at the Tuesday news conference declined to comment on details about how she was found. Michigan State Police, Wexford County Sheriff and Michigan State Police Crime Lab are actively investigating the scene.
No arrests had been made as of Tuesday, Nov. 25, according to police at the news conference.
“We don’t believe that the citizens at large are in danger by any stretch of the imagination,” Taylor said. “It’s a tragic time in our county, and hopefully this brings some closure to this awful incident.”
Who was Rebecca Parks?
Parks was a sweet, soft-spoken and beautiful person, said Page Nolf of Wexford County, who calls Parks a best friend. Nolf organized a vigil on the due date of Parks’ baby. In a Facebook message to the Free Press, Nolf said she met Parks through a friend of Nolf’s mom and has known Parks for eight years.
“She was a good mom who loved her babies with her every breath in her body,” Nolf said in a Facebook message to the Free Press.
Parks had two sons, ages 2 and 4, as well as pet cats, Nolf said. She was 38 weeks pregnant when Wexford County Sheriff’s Office posted she was missing on Nov. 4.
One memory of Parks that sticks with Nolf is “she found a sick little kitten one time and wouldn’t give up on it.” Nolf said Parks named the cat “Homeless” and fed the cat milk off her pinky because he couldn’t eat when she found him.
“She was an amazing person,” Nolf said. “She deserves better than what she got or had.”
This is a developing story.
Contact Natalie Davies at ndavies@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Body believed to be missing Michigan woman Rebecca Parks, police say
Reporting by Natalie Davies, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
