MACOMB (WWJ) - A dig is underway as local and federal law enforcement search for the remains of missing girls believed to have been slain by the same man.
The Warren Police Department, Canton Police Department, Macomb County Sheriff’s Department, Michigan State Police and the FBI on Monday said they're continuing to work together on multiple cases involving one more possible female murder victims.
Beginning Monday morning they were digging on the north side of the Clinton River, just south of 23 Mile Road.
"Our primary goal is to determine what happened to these missing girls, and who is responsible," said Warren Police Commissioner Bill Dwyer.
This isn't far from where investigators in May of 2018 conducted a search for human remains at 23 Mile and North Ave., near where 13-year-old Cindy Zarzycki’s body was found. In 2008, the prime suspect in the case, 70-year-old Arthur Ream, led investigators to her gravesite.
Investigators did not immediately release any details as to what prompted Monday's dig, only saying that they continue to develop new information associated with these investigations.
In a statement, Dwyer noted there have been many enhancements in the field of forensic science since these girls first disappeared. "It is our hope that utilizing these methodologies we can conduct a thorough search for any evidence associated with these investigations," Dwyer said.
Dwyer added that detectives have consulted with a variety of scientific experts, including botanists and anthropologists, who offered their expertise to help police locate potential "clandestine gravesites" in the designated area.
"We hope that the combined efforts of the Warren Police department and other agencies involved in this cooperative effort will be able to locate evidence that is significant to our investigative efforts," he added. "...These investigations will remain open until we reach a conclusion."
Dwyer did not give the names of the other missing girls.