The Forest Township investigation began in March after a new owner reported finding suspected human bones.
FOREST TOWNSHIP, MI — Michigan State Police said investigators have found at least four sets of human remains at a Genesee County property where a new owner reported suspected bones in March.
The update sharply widened an investigation that began as a single suspicious discovery at a home on Willard Road. Police said the identities of the people whose remains were found have not been confirmed. No arrests have been announced, and state police have not named any suspects. Detectives are working with the Genesee County Medical Examiner’s Office, Michigan State University anthropologists and a national identification center as they try to determine who the people were and how they died.
Troopers from the Michigan State Police Third District Flint Post were called to the Willard Road property on March 18 after a person who had recently bought the home reported finding what appeared to be human remains. Police said the first response was treated as a suspicious situation. Troopers, detectives and a state police canine team searched the property. Investigators later confirmed that the remains were human. State police said at the time that they were treating the death investigation as a homicide unless evidence showed otherwise, a standard approach in unexplained death cases. Investigators also began interviewing people connected to the property and the former owner. Police said the home had been unoccupied since the former owner died in December 2024.
The first public details in March described a skull and other adult bones found as contractors were clearing garbage from the property. The site was owned by an LLC and was undergoing demolition and renovation work, according to earlier police statements. Since then, investigators have returned to the property multiple times with forensic teams, canine units and other support. By Wednesday, June 10, police said detectives had determined that at least four sets of human remains were present at the Willard Road site. The word “at least” leaves open the possibility that the count could change as specialists sort and examine the recovered material. Police have not released ages, sexes, causes of death or how long the remains may have been on the property.
State police said investigators also searched a second Genesee County property on June 10. Results from that search were not yet available. Police said both the Willard Road property and the second location had been owned by Duane Reynolds, who died Dec. 3, 2024, at age 61. Authorities have not said Reynolds is suspected of a crime, and they have not described what evidence led them to the second property. The connection between the two properties is now part of the broader investigation. Police also have not said whether all four sets of remains were found in the same area of the Willard Road site or whether they were discovered over several searches.
The identification work could take time because the remains must be studied by forensic specialists before names can be released. Detectives are working with the Genesee County Medical Examiner’s Office and anthropologists from Michigan State University. State police also said the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification is assisting through funding tied to a National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative grant. That work can include DNA testing and comparison with missing person records. Police said people with missing relatives have contacted investigators since the discovery became public. Authorities have not said whether any missing person case has been formally linked to the remains.
Forest Township is a rural Genesee County community northeast of Flint, where homes, fields and wooded lots sit along roads that connect smaller communities in mid-Michigan. The Willard Road property drew attention in March as police vehicles, forensic workers and search teams moved through the area. The discovery unsettled neighbors because the first report came from a routine property cleanup after a sale. The investigation has since moved from a single set of suspected remains to a case involving multiple people whose names and families remain unknown. Police have released few scene details, a sign that investigators are still sorting physical evidence and trying to protect the case.
No charges had been filed as of Thursday, June 11. State police said the case remains active and ongoing. Investigators are expected to continue lab work, identification efforts and interviews connected to both Genesee County properties. The next major development could come from DNA results, medical examiner findings or evidence recovered during the June 10 search. Police said additional updates will be released when more information is available. For now, the central questions remain unanswered: who the four people were, how they died, how long they were at the property and whether anyone will face charges.
Author note: Last updated June 11, 2026.