The grandfather of the Barry County teen charged with murder confirmed police discovered a missing teen's body in a shallow grave in a property behind his Hastings Township home.
Lane Roslund, 17, was seen alive on Sept. 11 in Tyden Park near downtown Hastings, police said.
The teen's body was discovered two miles away, 32 days after he went missing, in a wooded area next to the home of 17 year-old Patrick Gilmore.
Gilmore was charged with open murder and concealing the death of a person in Barry County District Court Thursday.
- Charges: Hastings teen charged with murder after 17-year-old found dead in Barry County
Gilmore's grandfather said Patrick lived with him at his home on the 1600 block of North Broadway in Hastings Township.
His grandfather declined to comment further about the homicide case.
Multiple neighbors said they saw police respond to a wooded area behind Gilmore's home on Wednesday.
A Michigan State Police K-9 dog discovered remains, believed to be Roslund, after troopers executed a search warrant at the home Wednesday following new information from a witness, police said.
An autopsy conducted Friday positively identified the human remains as Roslund, police said.
Roslund's family declined a request for an interview.
"We are asking for the family to have the time to grieve and process this tragedy. Lane will be greatly missed," a Roslund family spokesperson said in a statement.
“There’s just so many questions. If he did do this, why? Why would he do that?” Nancy Tuma, a neighbor, said.
Tuma said she's known Gilmore and his grandfather since 2017 when they moved to the neighborhood. She said the teen, described as a quiet, would often be seen helping out his grandfather with yardwork.
"I don’t remember him having many friends, he always quiet, hard-working. He was always with his grandfather working, mowing the lawn, with the chickens, in his workshop,” Tuma said.
Authorities have not disclosed how Gilmore and Roslund knew one another or a motive for the killing.
The identity of the witness who led police to the body is unknown.
“There are so many questions unanswered, who found this body?” Tuma said.
Gilmore, who is being charged as an adult, had his bond set at $750,000. Gilmore is expected back in court for a probable cause hearing hearing on Oct. 27.