Missing Woman: Mary Denise Lands--MI--03/12/2004

[Linda]

Mary Denise Lands
Classification: Endangered Missing Adult
Date of Birth: September 3, 1964
Date Missing: March 12, 2004
From City/State: Marshall, MI
Missing From (Country): USA
Age at Time of Disapperance: 39
Gender: Female
Race: White
Height: 66 inches
Weight: 160 pounds
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Brown
Complexion: Medium
Glasses/Contacts Description: Reading glasses with brown frames.

Identifying Characteristics: Pierced ears, pierced navel, brown birthmark on buttock.

Clothing: Hospital scrubs (blue scrub pants with "Sponge Bob" print scrub shirt), slip-on athletic shoes with no heel back, brown leather jacket.

Circumstances of Disappearance: Unknown. Mary was last seen at approximately 10:30pm walking away from her residence in the vicinity of the 1200 block of Arms St. in Marshall, MI.

Investigative Agency: Marshall Police Department Phone: (269) 781-2596

Print a Poster: http://www.projectjason.org/aan/AAN_MaryLands.pdf

[Linda]

Friends and relatives gather to remember missing Calhoun County woman

Calhoun County, September 13, 2004, It's been six months since a Calhoun County woman was reported missing. Sunday night, neighbors and loved ones of Mary Lands held a candlelight vigil.

They came to light candles and keep her name on the top of everyone's mind. As her family holds out hope, police mentioned foul play in the case for the first time.

Mary’s grieving mother says the last six months have felt like a lifetime, and she's coming to realize Mary may never come home alive. “I don't think she realized how many people cared for her; I really don't think. She's just a common person. She loved life,” she told 24 Hour News 8.

A national search for Mary turned up nothing. Police Chief Mike Olson assigned the case to a detective who only works this investigation full time.

“A lot of the work is very tedious. A lot of these things are small things, but this is a large jigsaw puzzle. It'll take very little piece to bring closure to the case,” says Sgt. Scott McDonald.

With help from other agencies, including the FBI, they're still tracking down tips and leads that have taken them to almost every state and even out of the country.

The national missing persons group working the case is worried about the lack of information, but says the six months that Mary has been missing, which may seem to be an eternity for many who miss her here in West Michigan, is still a relatively short time.

If you have any information on the disappearance of Mary Lands call Marshall Police at 269-781-2596.
Police say they will work diligently until they find her.
http://www.woodtv.com/


Police release surveillance tape showing missing West Michigan woman

Marshall, October 4, 2004

Police hope the release of a surveillance tape will lead to clues in the disappearance of a West Michigan woman.

24 Hour News 8 obtained video that shows Mary Lands in a Marshall party store shortly before she went missing.

Lands hasn't been seen since March 12. She never returned home or contacted any family. Marshall police say they suspect foul play.

Police are asking hunters in Calhoun County to let them know if they stumble on anything suspicious. If you notice something out of the ordinary, mark the spot, and call the Marshall police.
http://www.woodtv.com/



Man's home searched in missing woman case

Trace Christenson
The Enquirer
Thursday, December 9, 2004

MARSHALL — Investigators returned Wednesday to the last place a missing woman was seen nine months ago.

Crime technicians used a search warrant to enter the townhouse on Marshall's west side, where Mary Lands was living with her fiancé before she disappeared March 12.

"We wanted to do some follow-up from the initial search we did in March," Marshall Police Chief Mike Olson said. "We are looking to see if there is any trace evidence that we might have missed."

Two crime-scene technicians from the Michigan State Police and two from the Battle Creek Police Department entered the townhouse before noon and were inside for several hours, Olson said.

He declined to discuss what police might be looking for and said information about any results of the search won't be released.

Lands, 39, disappeared after her fiancé, Chris Pratt, said she walked away after they had an argument.

Less than a month after she disappeared, Marshall police called the case suspicious and in September said they believe Lands was a victim of foul play.

An investigator from Marshall police and two from the Michigan State Police have been assigned to the case. The Calhoun County Major Crime Task Force also has been involved in the investigation.

Rewards totaling $9,000 are being offered for information about the woman's disappearance. Anyone with information is asked to call Marshall police at 781-2596.

Olson said Wednesday that investigators still consider her a victim and not simply a missing person.

"But we have essentially taken it back to ground zero," he said. "We have re-interviewed many of the people and are continuing to look for any evidence of a crime. We are investigating this as foul play."

Pratt was not home when investigators entered Wednesday and he could not be reached by the Enquirer.

Lands' father, Clifford Marshall, said family members were notified by the police department of the execution of the search warrant and will have a meeting with police officials today.

"The whole family is elated about it," Marshall said. "We have seen a little bit of movement in the case. We understand that they can't tell us anything about the investigation, but it has just been slack, so today it helped the family. They feel good about it because it just showed us they are working on the case."

Marshall said the long wait for a break in his daughter's disappearance has been difficult for the family.

"This is the holiday and it has been really tough," he said. "It has been rough on the family, but this made the family feel good that they are still plugging along on it."

http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com

[Linda]

Family website:

http://www.maryshope.com/Default.htm

[Linda]

http://www.woodtv.com

Investigators search the home of missing Marshall woman

(Marshall, December 9, 2004, 7:34 p.m.) A woman from Marshall has been missing since March. Now police hope a second search of Mary Land's home will turn up new evidence.

Lands, 39, was last seen at her townhouse when she went for a walk.

On Wednesday, technicians from the Michigan State Police Crime Lab spent several hours searching the home she shared with her fiancé.

They tell 24 Hour News 8 they did remove some property from the home for forensic analysis.

Police think Lands may be the victim of foul play.

http://www.woodtv.com

Friends and family gather to remember Calhoun County woman, missing for one year

(Marshall, March 12, 2005, 6:13 p.m.) One year and still no sign of a missing Calhoun County woman.

Mary Lands was last seen a year ago Saturday in Marshall. Police say she went for a walk and never came back. Her family and friends held a special vigil for her Saturday afternoon.

It was a more than a remembrance. It was also a plea for anyone who knows what happened to the 39-year old.

More than 50 of Mary Lands' friends and family members met at the fountain, hanging new posters on trees and asking for anyone with information to come forward.

Lands was last seen wearing her nurses uniform, taking a walk outside her Marshall area home.

Countless searches yielded nothing and police suspected foul play early in the investigation.

Lands' fiancé, Chris Pratt, was interviewed by police but never mentioned as a suspect in her disappearance. Pratt told 24 Hour News 8 Saturday afternoon he had nothing to do with it and has no idea what happened to Lands.

Her parents say all they want is to find their daughter so they can say goodbye.

Anita Marshall, Lands' mother, said, "We've been robbed of that, we don't have any closure. We would like to know where she is so we can put her to rest, she deserves that. She was a great person, she deserves that."

Nineteen thousand dollars in reward money has been offered for information leading to the arrest of someone in connection with the disappearance of Mary Lands.

[Linda]

http://fox17.trb.com

One Man Searching For Missing Marshall Woman


April 3, 2005

CALHOUN COUNTY -- She's been missing for a year and a month, and a man who never met Mary Lands is searching for her all by himself.

On March 12, 2004, 39-year-old Mary Lands vanished from Marshall. Her fiancee was the last person to see her. He says she left her apartment to go for a walk and never returned.

Denny Olson feels a connection to this case. He says he wanted to start searching a year ago, but knew he had to let police do their investigating.

"I've given them a year to find this woman. If you can't find her, then I'm going to go look," Olson told FOX 17 News at Ten.

Olson is a former member of the Guardian Angels-a group that offers volunteer crime prevention patrols around the world. This is the eighth search he's been involved with. He says he's found four bodies before -- two people who were still alive.

"I don't do this for the glory, I do this because I'm a father and there are other parents who are out there missing their children right now and they want to know what's happened to them."

Olson helped in the search for Julia Dawson-a woman from Sparta found murdered off of US-131 back in January. Now he's at it again. This past week he covered 25 miles in two days searching for Mary Lands. He has a feeling she's in the southern part of the state off of a highway somewhere.

"You can pull less than a quarter mile off of the interstate and you''ve got dirt roads, you've got swamp land, you've got heavy brush."

Even though Mary Lands family has faith in the Marshall Police Department, they say they don't mind Olson's help. Olson says the worst that could happen is that he won't find anything, but he has to try. He wants the reward money, but he says it's about more than that.

"I can't walk away. This is my daughter, this is your daughter."

The Marshall Police Department is offering a $19,000 reward for whoever finds Mary Lands. They still don't have any suspects.

[Linda]

Lands family hopes to keep case in public eye

Trace Christenson
The Enquirer

MARSHALL — Nearly two years after her disappearance, the family of Mary Marshall Lands is trying to keep the case in the public eye.

"She wasn't a piece of garbage to be tossed away and never thought of again," Lands' mother, Anita Marshall of Marshall, said Friday. "She was a beautiful and vibrant woman with a heart and soul of kindness. She was a daughter, sister, aunt, mother and grandmother who is so missed by her family and her friends."

Mary Lands, 39, disappeared March 12, 2004, from the Marshall apartment she shared with her boyfriend, Chris Pratt. He told police they had an argument that Friday night and she walked away.

Lands has not been seen since police said she left behind her car and cell phone and none of her credit cards has been used.

Her parents believe she is dead but don't want the case to be forgotten. They have continued to put up posters and encourage people to come forward with any information they have about the case. They also have hired a private investigator, Jim Carlin of Battle Creek, to assist them.

"Everyone can be cold and callus until they go through it," Anita Marshall said. "But she is our child and I hope it never happens to their kids."

Marshall and her husband, Clifford, said they have received little information about the case from Marshall police and the Calhoun County Major Crimes Task Force, which has been working on the investigation.

"This is still active," said Lt. Dale Peet of the Michigan State Police Post at Battle Creek. "They are still looking at leads, and there is evidence at the East Lansing crime lab. We are still plugging along."

Peet said the task force — a team of detectives from several departments activated to work on major crimes — "put a ton of time into that case, and that is one case that all of us, including (Marshall police) Chief (Mike) Olson, really would like to bring to a conclusion."

Peet said that while information is not routinely released to the family and the public, "anytime we run into each other we talk about it. The curiosity about what happened is there for all of us and the investigators have spent a lot of time on it. It will be solved. It is a very difficult case but over time the information about locating her will come forward."

Olson said in late 2004 that police considered Lands a victim of foul play and, in December 2004, crime scene technicians from the Michigan State Police and Battle Creek Police Department used a search warrant to enter the townhouse where Lands was living when she died.

"We wanted to do some follow-up from the initial search we did in March," Olson said then.

The officers worked several hours but Olson would not discuss what they were looking for or found.

Clifford Marshall said he frequently tries to talk with investigators about the case but believes the police have changed their attitudes.

"I think the cops just want it over," he said.

The Marshalls said they are considering how best to mark the two-year anniversary of the disappearance of their daughter.

"We just haven't decided what to do," she said. "It's so emotional."

Trace Christenson covers crime and courts. He can be reached at 966-0685 or tchrist@battlecr.gannett.com.

Originally published January 28, 2006

[Linda]

http://woodtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=4587806

What happened to Mary Lands?

(Calhoun County, March 5, 2006, 7 p.m.)

The story of Mary Lands haunts the community of Marshall.

Lands, a 39-year-old mother of two, vanished nearly 24 months ago.

As the family plans to mark an anniversary, they're opening up for really the first time with their feelings and questions.

"It's hard. My wife cries going to work, she cries coming home. It's hard on us. We want to find her and put her to rest and we're not getting any help", says Clifford Marshall, Mary's father.

Marshall long ago allowed himself to realize the reality his daughter most likely met a horrible end. He's angered.

Jim Carlin is a private investigator who is writing a book on the case and helping the family. Carlin says there was one glaring problem early on.

Lands live-in boyfriend Chris Pratt said he and Lands had been in an argument and she walked away. Her scent was purportedly tracked to a local motel, leading to the possibility that Lands was an adult runaway.

The family knew that wasn't case and they say that lead to lost crucial moments, days, and weeks they believe.

"We no question realize the family's frustration. We have done and continue to do everything we can to solve this case," said Marshall Police Chief Mike Olson when contacted by 24 Hour News 8.

Lands' 60 something father, a retired dry wall hanger, living 24 months of frustration, "It's been tough, tough on my wife... Tough on me. A lot of bitterness over the past two years where we don't seem to be getting any help. My daughter is not just a piece of trash to be thrown away just thrown away... You can't do that."

A vigil entitled "Justice for Mary" will be held next Sunday in Marshall. That marks the official anniversary of her disappearance two years ago.

[Linda]

http://www.woodtv.com/Global/story.a...8&nav=menu44_2

2 year anniversary of missing Marshall woman

(Marshall, March 12, 2006, 6:50 a.m.) Today marks the two year anniversary since 40-year-old, Mary Lands vanished.

Lands has been missing since March of 2004.

Today family and friends will hold a vigil at 2:00 p.m. at the Fountain Circle in Marshall.
Just last week Lands' family sat down with 24 hour news 8 to talk about what they're still going through.

They realize Mary is likely dead and hired a private investigator to get some answers. The family says one problem is that at first Lands was considered a possible runaway, which meant time was lost in launching a full-scale investigation.

Lands' father says dealing with his daughter's disappearance hasn't gotten any easier.

A $9,000 reward has been set up for information leading to an arrest in the case.

[Linda]

http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/a...603130307/1002

'Mary is more than just a name to us'

Nick Schirripa
The Enquirer

MARSHALL — Sunday marked the two-year anniversary of Mary Marshall Lands' disappearance from her Marshall home.

More than 100 people gathered Sunday for a vigil at the east side of Brooks Fountain in downtown Marshall to remember Lands and to pray for her return after what Anita Marshall, Lands' mother, called "two agonizing and painful years."

Yellow ribbons were tied around trees in the circle. People wore hats displaying Lands' picture with the question, "Where is Mary?"

Marshall police stopped traffic and the crowd moved into the street, releasing about 50 yellow balloons, each containing a picture of Lands' and telephone numbers for people to call with information about Lands' disappearance.

When the balloons began climbing toward the sunny late winter sky, Sue Burkwalt called out, "God bless you, Mary."

Burkwalt, 41, said she and Lands' were best friends for 38 years.

"Mary's been there through the good and she's been there through the bad," she said. "I miss her."

Burkwalt said she talked with Lands' for the last time the Friday before Lands disappeared two years ago.

"I know we're not going to get her back alive," she said. "I just pray we can bring her home and put her to rest."

The police search may end and the case may go away, but Burkwalt said her hope never dies.

"If we don't find her in the next year, I don't think we'll ever find her," she said. "But her family and friends — we will never stop looking."

Jim Carlin, a private investigator who has researched the case and is working with the family to help find Lands, said it's unrealistic to think Lands still is alive, and the drive to bring her abductors to justice is fading.

"If charges aren't brought in the next couple of months, the case will just go away," he said.

Carlin said he believes there is enough evidence against Chris Pratt, Lands' boyfriend at the time of her disappearance, to move forward with a prosecution.

"He should be named as a suspect or at least a person of interest," Carlin said.

Mike Marshall, Lands' brother, addressed the crowd at the vigil and noted Pratt's absence.

"You said you loved her, and you said you intended to marry her," he said to the absent Pratt. "If you were that much involved with somebody, wouldn't being here be important? Wouldn't this be a priority?"

Marshall asked people to help find his sister.

"We would just like to find Mary sometime," he said. "We would just like closure."

Marshall police Chief Mike Olson said Lands' disappearance is being treated as a missing person case.

"Certainly we suspect she's been the victim of foul play," he said.

Police are still sifting through evidence and information, Olson said, and while there may be some suspects, he declined to name them as long as the investigation continues.

"The question remains, where is Mary?" he said. 'We, too, feel the pain. Mary is more than just a name to us.

"With all of your help, we're going to solve this case. We're going to find Mary."

Jerry Mains, Lands' cousin, asked people to get involved with the search for Lands by talking about it with others.

"There are many stages of grieving and I think my Uncle Cliff and Aunt Anita have gone through all they need to go through," he said. "Each and every person here today knows somebody who might know what happened to Mary. If anybody out there knows anything, tell us."

Mains said he is establishing a post office box dedicated to finding Lands.

People who want to submit information anonymously can mail it to "Where is Mary?" at P.O. Box 301, Marshall, MI, 49068.

"Let's not get together next year," Mains said. "Let's bring Mary home this year."

Nick Schirripa covers Calhoun County and Marshall. He can be reached at 966-0692 or nschirrip@battlecr.gannett.com. Read his blog in the News Extras area at battlecreekenquirer.com.

Originally published March 13, 2006

[Linda]

http://wwmt.com/engine.pl?station=ww...out_local.html

On 2-year anniversary, family of missing mother pleads for tips

Scott Noll, News 3 Reporter
March 13, 2006 - 9:04AM

MARSHALL (NEWS 3) - Two years after a Marshall mother of two disappeared, her family is hoping someone has the information that will finally help them start healing.

"She does not deserve to be thrown away like a piece of trash. She deserves to be found and have a proper burial and we need to have peace with that too," Anita Marshall told News 3. Her daughter, Mary Lands, was last seen March 12, 2004 leaving the apartment she shared with a boyfriend.

"If there's been a crime committed, there has to be a suspect. And if there's a suspect, it would be nice for someone to tell us who that is," Mike Marshall, Mary's brother, told a crowd of nearly 100 friends and family who gathered in Marshall to remember Lands. Recently, the 39-year-old's family has grown increasingly critical of the investigation into her disappearance.

"I think the investigation was botched for the first four to six months when Mary ended up missing. I think they let it into people's hands and they didn't care, didn't pay attention because they thought she just took off," said Anita Marshall.

The family is now working with private investigator Jim Carlin. He believes prosecutors should go ahead with the case, even without Lands' body. "They need many people to go out and talk to these many witnesses, and when they go out and sit in that office and compare notes and look at evidence, they can come up with a suspect in this case and they can go to trial," said Carlin. "I believe that now that we're at the second anniversary, if something isn't done in the next 30 to 60 days, this case will never be solved."

But Marshall's police chief disagrees. Chief Michael Olson believes the case is solvable and says his department is making progress.

"Certainly the family wants their answers, and I understand that, and we're going to take criticism and have to live with it because it's a natural process and part of the grieving," Olson said. "I think we've got certainly some good information and good evidence and whatnot to take to the prosecutor," said the chief.

Despite that, Olson says he's not sure when he'll be able to ask prosecutors for an arrest warrant in the case. Police are waiting for additional test results to come back on evidence.

Meaning, the wait for justice and answers to the question, 'Where is Mary?' continue for Lands' family.

"It's hard because people come up to us everyday and say, 'have you heard anything? Are the police still working on this or do you know anything?' And, we don't. We really don't," said Lands' mother.

The family has also set up a post office box, hoping to collect anonymous tips about the case. Anyone with information about Mary Lands' disappearance can send that tip to:

Where's Mary?
P.O. Box 301
Marshall, MI 49068

[Linda]

http://www.woodtv.com/

Mary Lands' family optimistic after search



By Dan Bewley

(Marshall, March 29, 2006, 10:30 p.m.) A search of private property in rural Calhoun County has given the family of Mary Lands hope that the search is finished. Lands has been missing since March 12, 2004. Wednesday afternoon the first organized search in nearly two years was conducted by a private search and rescue team.

24 Hour News 8 has been talking with Lands' family as well as the private investigator they hired. Both tell us they plan to meet Michigan State Police Thursday morning northeast of Marshall. We were not able to confirm it with state police, but private investigator Jim Carlin tells us that teams of cadaver dogs made a positive hit in a marsh on private property.

"We're hoping that it ends here. That's what we're hoping for, 'cause it's been hard on us. We want it to be done," said Clifford Marshall, Mary Lands' father.

The focus Wednesday on private property, just north of I-94, between Marshall and Albion. Private investigator Jim Carlin was hired by the family and organized the search. Carlin has spent more than 3,000 hours on the case, interviewed nearly two dozen people, and recently received several tips after opening a post office box for those who wanted to remain anonymous.

"Statements over the last several months indicate that Mary was buried here in Calhoun County. I don't know if it's this exact spot. But a lot of the information we've pieced together, there's a possibility she might be at this location," said Carlin.

After several hours searching the property, Carlin says the cadaver dogs made a hit in a marsh. He can't say for certain whether the hit is indeed the body of Mary Lands or something else, but says regardless, he believes she will be found some day.

"This crime can be solved here in Calhoun County. There's a lot of people that know what happened," said Carlin. Carlin says Michigan State Police will be out searching the spot Thursday. 24 Hour News 8 will be there as well, and we will have the latest developments both on air and on-line.

[Linda]

http://www.wlns.com/Global/story.asp?S=4707204&nav=0RbQ

New Details in Case of Local Missing Woman

March 31, 2006, 05:15 AM MST

New details in the case of a missing Marshall woman. Mary Lands disappeared from her home in March of 2004. Her fiance told investigators that Mary left their apartment late at night without saying where she was going. He told them she didn't take her keys or cell phone, or her car. Now her family thinks they may be close to finding Mary's remains.

For some time, Mary Lands' family has been working with a private investigator. That investigator was out Wednesday night searching a marshy area located near I-94 between Albion and Marshall. Now he believes his cadaver dogs may have sniffed out the remains of the missing woman. A private investigator, family and friends of Mary Lands returned to search a marshy spot in hopes of finding some sign of Mary.

Cliff Marshall, Mary Lands' father: "My whole family hopes that this is the place. We just feel she's here, that's it, you just got to feel that."

Weary from two years of not knowing, Lands' family is ready for closure, so together, the family prayed, hoping that Mary Lands is resting somewhere close by, and their two-year search is finally over.

Mike Marshall, Mary Lands' brother: "If this is not the place, then as long as we get to an end to this."

In the meantime, the task force of police agencies who are also investigating this case say they they've received several leads. They are taking this one seriously and they plan to bring their own cadaver dogs to search the area sometime soon.

[Linda]

http://www.woodtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=4703486

Missing woman's family hoping for closure

(Update: Calhoun County, March 30, 2006, 7:22 p.m.) The family of a missing Marshall woman will have to wait at least one more day before Michigan State Police conduct a search.

Forty-year-old Mary Lands has been missing since March 12, 2004.

A private investigator hired by Lands' family says cadaver dogs made a positive hit Wednesday in rural Calhoun County. The land is located at F Drive North and 24 Mile Road, northeast of Marshall. Four of the five dogs focused on the same area near a marsh back in the tree-line.

The family had hoped State Police would search the area Thursday, but State Police cadaver dogs and their handlers are out of state.

Despite the setback, Lands’ family continues to hold out hope that they finally found her. They are confident her body is at this site.

“I think she's here. I really do, after thinking last night, all night...staying awake most of the night, I believe she's probably here,” Clifford Marshall, Land’s father, told 24 Hour News 8.

24 Hour News 8 was at the site on Thursday when Lands' father and private investigator Jim Carlin met with State Police investigators and those from Marshall. The purpose was to share evidence and determine the credibility of Wednesday’s discovery.

After the nearly two-hour meeting, Marshall Police Chief Mike Olson told 24 Hour News 8 he is taking Lands’ family's information seriously, but has to double-check their sources.

Olson also told us his investigators were directed to the same site last summer. He said they checked out the general area, never with search dogs, and determined the information they had received was not credible.

“We still carry on, we'll keep looking, we're not going to stop,” said Marshall.

And if not, they say, this latest twist may lead to the final clue.

“The Lord has a way to make things right and we believe this is it, or it's the pathway to it,” said Michael Donahue, the Lands’ family pastor.

Chief Olson said they hope to have the State Police cadaver dogs at the scene within the next few days. Until then, he says they will continue to check the information the family's private investigator has provided.

[Linda]

http://www.wlns.com/Global/story.asp?S=4709679&nav=5D7v

Search for Local Missing Woman Fruitless
March 31, 2006, 03:12 PM CST

A promising lead in the case of a missing Marshall woman turns up no results. Friends and family of Mary Lands were hopeful yesterday their private investigator may have found Lands' remains. The investigator used his own cadaver dog to search a marshy area between Marshall and Albion. The Michigan State Police brought their own cadaver dog to search the area, but the dog didn't find anything. Lands has been missing since March of 2004.


http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/a...604010304/1002

MARSHALL

Police search turns up no sign of Lands, missing for 2 years

Police searched a Sheridan Township property Friday but did not locate the body of Mary Lands, who has been missing for two years.

Lt. Dale Peet, post commander of the Michigan State Police at Battle Creek, said a dog trained to search for bodies was brought in but did not find any remains of the missing woman. A state police helicopter also flew over the property near F Drive North and 24-Mile Road using an infrared device that might show the location of a body.

However, Peet said no evidence that Lands was buried on the property was located.

Police went to the property after Jim Carlin, a private investigator from Battle Creek, and the family of the missing woman said they had information she might be buried on the property.

Cadaver dogs from a private company in Indiana searched the property Wednesday and Carlin said the dogs indicated the possible presence of a body in a swampy area.

Lands was reported missing in March 2004 after her boyfriend said she left their Marshall townhouse after an argument. She has not been seen since and is presumed dead.

Peet said state police and the Marshall Police Department are continuing their investigation.

"We may do further things at the site depending on what the investigators feel is needed," Peet said.

Originally published April 1, 2006

[Linda]

Dad Talks About Search for Missing Local Daughter

April 3, 2006

The search continues for a Marshall woman missing for two years. A private investigator told the family his cadaver dogs sniffed possible human remains last week. The first search is centered around an area between Marshall and Albion near Interstate 94.

Days later, the Michigan State Police searched the same area using their own cadaver dog. Nothing was found. Now that private investigator says he'll return to search the area again with independent cadaver dogs, the search for answers into Mary Lands' disappearance has been trying for her family. It has been a frustrating two years for Clifford Marshall. He's has been trying to solve the mystery of his daughter Mary's disappearance from her home in Marshall.

Clifford Marshall, Mary's dad: "The longer it goes on, I believe it gets rougher."

The family has gotten through by clinging to their memories of Mary and the type of person she was.

Clifford Marshall: "She was kinda the rock of the family, she put on all the dinners and all the holidays and stuff for us."

He says Mary was always there for the family, and the least they can do in return is find out what happened to her. The Marshalls have recently started putting signs up, and just last week, cadaver dogs searched for clues on land off of I-94 in Marshall. Mary Lands' family will be bringing in more cadaver dogs to go over the area again, hoping it will lead to answers.

Clifford Marshall: "Whatever it takes, we're going to check into it."

Clifford says answers are the only way the family can move forward.

Clifford Marshall: "I don't think you can ever forget, but at least you can move on."

He hopes his entire family can start that process of moving on in the very near future.

Clifford Marshall: "The suffering has been long enough, now it's time to find our daughter."

http://www.wlns.com