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Washtenaw County cold case from 1981 still under investigation

Police, student investigators meet to review details

Mary Alice Ellicott (Photo credit: MSP First District Twitter page) (WDIV)

WASHTENAW COUNTY, Mich. – A Washtenaw County cold case from 1981 is still under investigation.

Mary Ellicott of Saline was last seen on Oct. 11, 1981, leaving the Polar Bear Bar in Saline Township. Her body was found 13 days later in a grassy field, less than 2 miles away.

Ellicott, 29, was well known at the bar. Police said she had quit her job as a bartender a week before her death.

The case was reopened in 2021. At the time police said more resources, not a major tip, led to the decisions to reopen the case. The case still has not been solved, but detectives and student investigators are still working the case.

On Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025, Michigan State Police First District Cold Case Team and the Michigan State University School of Criminal Justice held a meeting with the MSP First District Special Investigation Section to review the details of the cold case.

---> Michigan State University students are working with MSP to help crack cold cases


About the Author
Kayla Clarke headshot

Kayla is a Web Producer for ClickOnDetroit. Before she joined the team in 2018 she worked at WILX in Lansing as a digital producer.

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