Lisa Roose-Church

Livingston Daily

The cause of death for a man found dead in the Brighton State Recreation Area on Saturday is "multiple sharp force injuries," police confirmed Monday.

However, Chief Rick Duffany of the Hamburg Township Police Department said the medical examiner has not ruled on the manner of death.

“The medical examiner is not ready to say (manner), pending further investigation,” Duffany said, confirming cause is “multiple knife wounds.”

Duffany declined to say how many wounds and the location of the wounds on the body, citing the ongoing investigation. However, Duffany said the Hamburg man left the campsite on a bike, and the bike and a knife were found by the body.

The Hamburg man’s mother said she has a lot of questions about the death of her son, whom she described as a man who loved hunting, fishing and hiking.

“He was a good man who loved his children,” said the mother, who is not being identified due to the ongoing investigation.

“He was an outdoorsman. He held a really good sales position in a very competitive field,” the mother added. “He was a chemical engineer and graduate of the University of Michigan.”

The family is planning funeral services for later this week.

Duffany said a family member reported the Hamburg man missing from the family’s campsite around 10:45 p.m. Friday when he failed to return to camp.

“He had been gone for a couple hours and they grew concerned,” Duffany said. “The Bishop Lake area is quite dark at night."

Dozens of police officers and firefighters as well as family members searched around Bishop Lake in the Brighton State Recreation Area into Saturday. The recreation area is nearly 8 square miles,

A cadet with the Brighton Area Fire Department found the body a little after 2 p.m. Saturday in a wooded area.

Duffany said investigators are aware of the man’s activities on Friday, including why he left the campsite.

However, specific facts as to the circumstances surrounding his disappearance are not being made public to protect the integrity of the investigation.

Investigators are not currently seeking any person or persons of interest and they advise that based on known information there is no indication that any additional threat is posed to the general public.

Investigators with Hamburg as well as Michigan State Police and Livingston County Sheriff’s Department are investigating.

Officers with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Hamburg Township firefighters searched, and canine teams from state police and the Brighton Police Department and the University of Michigan Survival Flight helicopter with its thermal imaging capabilities joined the search.

Anyone who may have information related to this incident is asked to call Sgt. Gary Harpe of the Hamburg Township Police Department at 810-222-1174 or via email at gharpe@hamburg.mi.us.

Contact Livingston Daily justice reporter Lisa Roose-Church at 517-552-2846 or lrchurch@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @LisaRooseChurch.