OAKLAND COUNTY (WWJ) - The death of a Clinton Township man whose body was found in a ventilation system at Macomb Community College over the weekend was deemed an accident after officials determined he died from asphyxiation.
The Oakland County Medical Examiner's Office said via the Detroit News on Wednesday night that 36-year-old Jason Thompson suffocated from lack of oxygen, resulting in death, after he became trapped in the HVAC system of a building on the college’s Center Campus.
The autopsy ruled the manner of Thompson's an "accident."
The Macomb College Police Department said the discovery was made Sunday night by someone who was looking into the source of a "foul odor" at the Macomb Center for the Performing Arts, which is attached to the campus on Garfield Rd.
At the time, college police chief William Leavens said investigators did not believe the death was suspicious.
The body was later identified as that of Thompson. He was reported missing to the Sterling Heights Police Department by his family on Nov. 1. He had not been seen since Oct. 25.
Sterling Heights Police Chief Dale Dwojakowski told The Detroit News on Wednesday that text message between Thompson and his sister, who identified herself as Shelby on social media, placed him at the MCC campus around the time of his disappearance.
According to Dwojakowski, the messages raised concerns about the 36-year-old's mental state and was likely the last correspondence Thompson had with his family.
“The messages sent to the sister caused her to think, ‘He doesn’t seem like he’s in the right frame of mind, and he says he’s on campus,'" the chief stated.
Shelby filed a missing persons report with the SHPD earlier this month after his frequent visits to her Sterling Heights home stopped. Police said Thompson's sister told them about the messages and that his last believed location was on MCC’s campus.
When she spoke with The Detroit News, Shelby clarified that her brother did not contact her when he last left her home despite what police claim.
Shelby posted on Facebook earlier in the month to draw awareness to her brother's disappearance. When he was located over the weekend, she criticized TV outlets for what she said was lack of coverage on Thompson's case.
"If you are with the media seeking an interview, ask yourself if you bothered to assist me when my brother was missing for 34 days and I was BEGGING every single newstation [sic], outlet, newspaper etc. to run a story and get his face out there to bring attention to his case to bring my brother home- you have your answer," she wrote in an update.
A GoFundMe has been set up by Thompson's cousin to help with funeral costs and memorial costs with any extra money to go towards supporting his two young children.
"Jason was loved by many people and his family has been through a lot over the past month while he has been missing," his cousin Carissa Towns wrote on the crowdfunding page. "Jason was a Father to two beautiful children, Killian and Kiara. He was a son, brother, uncle, cousin, but most important he was loved by his family and friends and will be missed."
As of Thursday late morning, the page has raised $3,600 of its $15,000 goal.
Macomb Community College is still investigating the incident.