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Published on January 15, 2025
Search Intensifies for Missing Warren Mother at Lenox Township Landfill, Ex-Boyfriend Charged with ObstructionSource: Warren Police Department

As the search for missing Warren mother Ashley Elkins continues, authorities maintain their efforts at Pine Tree Acres landfill in Lenox Township, where they believe they are close to finding answers. In the wake of her disappearance on January 2, nearly a dozen law enforcement agencies have come together in this diligent effort, as reported by CBS News Detroit. The search has, so far, included sifting through over 100,000 tons of garbage and debris.

Investigators are working off leads based on cell phone data analysis and have narrowed down their search to a specific six-and-a-half-acre plot at the landfill. According to a statement obtained by WXYZ, the effort has been described as labor-intensive but is progressing with resolve. "We’re getting close. We’re getting close. A lot of movement today," Roseville Police Chief Mitch Berlin expressed confidence in the direction of their work.

DeAndre Howard Booker, Elkins' former boyfriend, has been arrested and charged with lying to a police officer, further fueling the investigation. Macomb County Prosecutor Pete Lucido has indicated that more charges could be forthcoming, contingent upon what evidence may emerge from the investigation. "You don't need a body to charge if you have enough tangible physical evidence," Lucido said in a statement obtained by CBS News Detroit. Booker is currently held on a $250,000 bond.

On another front, the usage of Ohio Department of Natural Resources cadaver dogs in the landfill search to potentially locate remains has been reportedly complicated by the presence of unrelated organic material. "There’s other flesh in there, there’s meat scraps, there’s a lot of different things that you have to get through to find the remains that you’re looking for," shared Bill Petersen, a retired Detroit Police homicide lieutenant and Oakland County cold case investigator, in an interview with WXYZ.

Elkins, a mother of two, is remembered by her sister Alexis Elkins as someone who "loves her family, her kids" and would not simply vanish for an extended period. This sentiment echoes the concerns of many who knew her and the commitment of the investigative team to bring closure to this case. De'Andre Booker, with a less than honorable military discharge and a history of charges inclusive of larceny, has been the focal point of suspicions, especially after law enforcement's recovery of Elkins' vehicle near his residence and his alleged internet searches postulating an escape from Michigan following Elkins' disappearance. These searches included looking up how to delete one's Google search history, as noted by FOX 2 Detroit.

The search operations press on as Elkins' family and the wider community await any development. With a probable cause conference on the horizon for January 22 and a preliminary exam scheduled for January 29, all eyes remain on the investigation and the unfolding narrative around Ashley Elkins' disappearance.