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Part of deaths investigation, police search wooded area in Alpena Township on a tip

News Photo by Steve Schulwitz A line of Michigan State Police vehicles sit on the side of Lacomb Road on Wednesday while police search the nearby woods. First Lt. John Grimshaw, commander of the Michigan State Police-Alpena Post, said police searched the area based on a tip related to the investigation into the deaths of Brynn Bills and Abby Hill.

ALPENA TOWNSHIP — The Michigan State Police confirmed that a tip pertaining to the investigation into the deaths of Brynn Bills and Abby Hill spurred a search Wednesday of a wooded area near the intersection of Lacomb and Haken roads in Alpena Township.

First Lt. John Grimshaw, commander of the Michigan State Police-Alpena Post, said the search was related to the investigation into the deaths, but he wouldn’t elaborate on what police were looking for or if they found what they sought.

“We were just following up on a tip related to the Brynn Bills and Abby Hill case,” Grimshaw said. “There isn’t much more I can tell you.”

The two Alpena women were reported missing last year and later found dead at different locations.

Law enforcement has named Joshua Wirgau and Brad Srebnik as persons of interest in the deaths. Both are currently in prison on other charges.

A third man, Bruce Kinsey, was recently charged with lying to investigators in the case.

Bills’ body was found in the woods behind Wirgau’s home on Naylor Road in September, while Hill’s body was discovered on Oct. 15 following a search of a wooded area in Alpena Township.

No charges have been filed in the deaths, but the Michigan Attorney General’s Office is working with local law enforcement officials on the case. A spokesperson for the AG’s Office could not be reached for comment on this story.

Alpena County Prosecutor Cynthia Muszynski said she had no comment on the search.

One of the troopers involved in Wednesday’s search said dogs were not involved in the search, despite a canine unit vehicle being seen at the search site.

Wirgau and Srebnik are currently serving two-year prison sentences after admitting to possessing firearms in the commission of a felony after being charged in the September hijacking of a tow truck driver.

Police said Hill was also involved in the hijacking.

According to court records, Wirgau ordered the tow truck driver to take him, Srebnik, and Hill to an area near the Lacomb-Haken intersection. Police had searched the area previously in October, though wouldn’t say then, either, what they were looking for or what, if anything, they found.

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 at sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ss_alpenanews.com.

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