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Tip leads to human remains in search for missing mother

Posted at 12:27 PM, Jan 23, 2016
and last updated 2016-01-23 12:27:08-05

MUSKEGON COUNTY, Mich — Investigators in Muskegon County say they've located human remains buried on private property in Fruitland Township after a tip led to a search warrant in the continued search for a mother first reported missing more than a year ago.

Michigan State Police assisted after the discovery was made early Friday night.  Crime lab technicians were also called in to assist with the investigation which ended Saturday afternoon.

"It's a slow process," said David Boone, Chief of Police for the Roosevelt Park Police Department. "They remove all the surrounding soil. They sift through it and look for evidence and continue to get to a point where the body can actually be removed."

Investigators are yet to positively identify the remains, but confirm to FOX 17 the tip and the discovery Friday evening is linked to the disappearance of Bobbie Maples in mid-December 2014.

The 32-year-old mother was reported missing just days after giving birth to a little girl named Airyonna.  Investigators received several tips in the days and weeks that followed Maples' disappearance, but she was never found.

An autopsy has been scheduled for Monday morning to determine the identity of the human remains found Friday evening.