A Michigan mom of 8 has been missing for over a year. Was she murdered?

(WWJ) – Heather Kelley, a West Michigan mother of eight, went missing from the Portage area — just south of Kalamazoo — in December of 2022.

While her body has never been found, Kelley's boyfriend, Carlos Watts, Jr., was charged Wednesday with open murder in connection with her presumed death.

On a new Daily J podcast, WWJ's Zach Clark takes a look at the case and dives into the issue of missing persons cases in Michigan.

Last March FBI officials said they had discovered evidence that suggests Kelley was murdered.

The Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office said shortly after her disappearance her truck was found burned out in the nearby Comstock Township area the day after she went missing, with her blood and hair inside.

"It's certainly not typical for a mother of eight just to vanish without explanation, whatsoever," Portage Police Lt. Joe McDonnell said more than a year ago.

Authorities are still asking the public for tips in the case, hoping to pinpoint Kelley's whereabouts.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office at (269) 383-8748 or the Portage Department of Public Safety at (269) 329-4567. You may also contact the FBI's Detroit Field Office at 313-965-2323.

Jolene Hardesty, the Missing Persons Coordinator with the State of Michigan, says there are nearly 3,500 open missing persons cases in Michigan, with about 760 of those cases being juveniles under the age of 18, which is about the average across the country.

Several organizations, including Crime Stoppers of Michigan are working in the community to help solve those cases.

As for Watts, who has been in federal custody on an unrelated case, court proceedings are underway to bring charges against him for Kelley's death. If convicted, he could face life in prison.