A man reported missing on Sunday in Michigan shot himself to death in front of police, but the woman he was believed to be with has not been found.
The Genesee County Sheriff’s Office characterized Steven Higgins, 57, and Kelly McWhirter, 60, as missing and endangered before locating Higgins in the Flushing area, WJRT reported. As police approached, he turned a gun on himself.
McWhirter, who worked for the sheriff’s office and county government for years, was reported missing when she didn’t come in to work on Monday. Sheriff Chris Swanson, who called her a “beautiful soul,” said investigators feared that Higgins or someone associated with him may have harmed McWhirter sometimes between Saturday and Tuesday.
Investigators found a “significant” amount of blood at the couple’s home. Swanson said the office launched an air and ground search when McWhirter was reported missing, and that search is continuing on Wednesday.
“I have every available resource working to find where she is,” he said.
According to WNEM, investigators found McWhirter’s Hyundai in the driveway of the home, but Higgins’ pickup truck was missing. There was also sign of a struggle.
Swanson said that cell phone data showed that sometimes between Saturday and Tuesday, Higgins drove to a house in Ohio, where a friend of his lived, and back to Michigan. Investigators have been talking the friend, who is cooperating.
Swanson said that a Saginaw County resident spotted Higgins’ Ford F-150 at about 3 a.m. Wednesday and called 911. Officers were sent to the location, and made a traffic stop. Swanson said there was a confrontation between officers and the driver, identified as Higgins, who took out a gun and shot himself.
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[Featured image: Kelly McWhirter and Steven Higgins/Genesee County Sheriff’s Office]
