PRESS RELEASE – On May 26, 2025, at approximately 10:41 a.m., the Defiance Police Department responded to 925 S. Clinton St. for a report of a dog that was left unattended in a vehicle.
It was learned that the vehicle belonged to a missing/endangered person out of Boyne City, Michigan. The Defiance Police Department then issued a BOLO for the missing person and opened an investigation to assist with locating the endangered person.
On May 27, 2025, at approximately 8:00 p.m., the Defiance County E-911 Center took a call from a fisherman who was reporting a body on an island near Riverside Park.
With the assistance of the Defiance County Sheriff’s Office, The Defiance Fire Department, and the Defiance County Coroners Office, the body was recovered and identified as 57-year-old Kristin Bates, the Missing person out of Boyne City Michigan.
The cause of death is under investigation pending an autopsy by the Lucas County Coroner’s Office.