Suspicious Death, Then Not, Reported in Hamlin Township

[XLFD]

The Mason County Press reported in an article titled:  Detectives investigating suspicious death in Hamlin

Detectives from Mason County Sheriff’s Office are on scene of what is being described as a “suspicious death” near West Jagger Road east of North Lakeshore Drive.

Late Sunday morning, sheriff deputies, Hamlin Township Fire Dept. medical first responders and Life EMS ambulance were called to a report of a deceased male in the woods. Initial dispatch information indicated that the cause may have been a suicide.

Sheriff Kim Cole confirmed the death of the 26-year-old Mason County man was not a suicide, but rather “suspicious.”

The Mason County Sheriff’s Office Victims Assistance Unit were called to help with the victim’s family while Pere Marquette Fire Department’s ladder truck was dispatched to assist detectives in documenting the scene. Sheriff Cole said investigators were attempting to retrieve evidence but were facing a challenge with impending snow. 

Cole said more information will be released Monday morning.

Meanwhile, according to the City of Ludington Daily News (COLDNews) and an update, the suspicious label has come into question:

So the death is, according to Sheriff Cole, not characterized as accidental (COLDNews), but also not a suicide; the update from the sheriff has said no signs of trauma exist nor is foul play suspected, but the cause continues to be suspicious. 

Wouldn't it be nice if we had a sheriff's office that would reveal enough information to not keep the public continually guessing and suspicious of the investigation itself?

[AQUAMAN]

Maybe Cole needs a course in suicide/homicide/accidental fatalities. Instead, what he does have is expertise in traffic issues, which is far below what a real sheriff should be qualified in.

[Willy]

There must be some word that is routinely used by law enforcement that would describe this type of death. If the death is suspicious then why is it considered so?  No trauma?  So he wasn't shot, strangled, stabbed, hit by a motor vehicle, ect. Was he fully clothed? If there was no foul play then why not tell the public what was found and why the "suspicious" label was attached.

[XLFD]

That's effectively what piqued my interest.  If it's not homicide, suicide, or accident (traffic or otherwise), doesn't that pretty much leave natural causes or exposure, which isn't readily suspicious?  If poisoning or some non-traumatic cause of death, like some asphyxiation deaths, is suspected why the vagueness in details?

Hopefully that will be made clearer tomorrow; as Aquaman notes, forensics isn't Sheriff Cole's forte.

[AQUAMAN]

Maybe the deceased had some mental issues all his life, that would better explain this. I still question the way Cole publicly makes statements before he knows more facts, or if he does, why he can't explain in better detail. Otherwise, if it's a big mystery, better to state "no comment, still under investigation". He seems to like publicity and media hype imho. I like the humility factor that Fiers brought to this position a lot better all the way around.

[XLFD]

Agreed.  The identity of the man found is Cody L. Bowden, according to the MCSO.  Beyond that the story is basically as given before.  No trauma, no foul play, no sign of any clear agency of death. 

Such a young man dying absent any of those is somewhat suspicious.  No other bits of background other than irrelevant hearsay is known at this point to me.

[XLFD]

Some supplementary information on what little we know of right now. The report from the autopsy has been inconclusive according to Sheriff Cole, pending lab results that are a couple of weeks away.  Here is a little more information. 

Cody Bowden's apparent address was 6470 Jagger Road (see arrow on map provided), and he was found in the woods in the 6600 block of Jagger Road (red circle on map or thereabouts), as noted a woody area.  This area is within eyeshot of M-116 (aka Trooper Butterfield Memorial Highway), just north of Lincoln Lake.   

Otherwise healthy twenty-six year olds don't typically wander off into the nearby woods to die, nor would they get lost in this area and die of exposure when their house is so close and the weather isn't that bad.  Something fishy happened.

[Dave]

One of my co-workers was friends with the deceased, he apparently worked at the Tiki... or at least did at some point in time. The location of his death may not be as much of a mystery as first thought, I believe one of the things I read  from numerous post about him by my friend (and her friends) was that he would sometimes walk to some sort of store, taking the route that went through the woods.

[XLFD]

That would be the store at the corner of where M-116 (aka Butterfield Memorial Highway)/North Lakeshore Drive splits at a 'Y' on the way out to Ludington Stat Park/Hamlin Lake. 

Jagger Road is a difficult road to navigate as a pedestrian, so I can see him taking an alternate route through the woods, where he would either go onto some wood path coming from Jagger or off the unnamed road west of Marilyn Road, as shown in the graphic below.  Having not traveled those paths, I offer the following diagram of potential routes, with Cody's house in the lower right corner, the store in the upper left.  His actual pinpointed location would be of interest, so I may do some field work here soon when I get the chance.

[Willy]

I assume that's why the Sheriff has called this incident suspicious. The public could probably help if more information was released. 

[XLFD]

Today, I walked out to the area of interest, and realized that Google Maps was once again off in its street numbers, as it often is.  I found the 6600 'block' of Jagger Road (spanned by the lime green line), noticed that to the south of the road was mostly open or lightly forested-- and primarily a large pond.  This was likely not where Cody was found, but the north part of the road in the 6600 block seemed to be private property and not full woods until you get further back.

I also noticed the residence of Cody, effectively the last house on the north side of the road before you get to the corner house on Lincoln Road (to the map's right).  It doesn't seem to make a lot of sense why he would be in the woods over that way, when he would have to travel across some open land owned by his neighbors along the way.  I speculate that the sheriff's office number one presumption at this point is that the cause of death had to do with alcohol/drugs, this would explain some of the mixed signals they are putting out.

[stump]

Cody Bowden ? who was he and why is it being hush hush? He was the son or the people who own/run the Sterns hotel in town. Sorry for their loss.