A 74-year-old Munger man, James Donald Kleinert, was declared missing and, four days later, was found dead. Kleinert had been last seen Saturday around 10 p.m. at his residence on the 1000 block of Knight Road, as reported by ABC12. On Tuesday, the Bay County Sheriff's Office found his body, though no initial information concerning the circumstances of his death or the location of his body was offered by investigators in the immediate aftermath.
Michigan State Police, who had previously opened an endangered missing advisory, stated that Kleinert was "located" but failed to provide further details about the find. In an inquiry looking for additional information from the Bay County Sheriff's Office, WNEM has yet to receive any response.
The details surrounding Kleinert's passing suggest no suspicion of foul play, as per information provided by the police. His body was found in his vehicle on a property he owned, caught in the reeds of a farm field, a punch of metal and rubber against the earthy browns and faded green. A forthcoming autopsy is expected to shed light on the cause of death, as mentioned by Mid-Michigan Now.
Kleinert was afflicted with dementia and was noted as someone who avoided the digital ties of the internet; he was also without his cell phone and only handled cash transactions. A description distributed during the advisory included his height at 5-foot-6, weighing 155 pounds, with gray hair, and blue eyes, and last seen wearing blue jeans and a flannel shirt. His vehicle, a charcoal gray 2013 Dodge Ram, bore the plate number EUX5625.
