Search of landfill for suburban Detroit teen's remains ends
Police have ended a five-month search at a rural landfill for the remains of a 17-year-old suburban Detroit girl who disappeared in early January
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Police have ended a five-month search at a rural landfill for the remains of a 17-year-old suburban Detroit girl who disappeared in early January.
Investigators have said they believe Zion Foster's body was placed in a dumpster, which later was emptied into a garbage truck and taken about 40 miles (65 kilometers) northeast of Detroit to Lenox Township.
Searchers began combing through debris and garbage at the end of May at Pine Tree Acres landfill but came up empty even after going through 3,500 truckloads — 7,500 tons (6,800 metric tons) — of material from Michigan and Canada.
Police believed they were in the right area based on GPS readings from the truck and other evidence.
“Ending the search without recovering Zion’s remains is very difficult for all of us,” Detroit Police Chief James White said Friday. ”I can only imagine the pain Zion’s family is going through, and we all certainly share in that pain."
No one has been charged in her death, though a cousin, Jaylin Brazier, admitted in court that he was present when she died. He is in prison for lying to investigators.
Investigators have submitted a warrant package to the Wayne County prosecutor’s office for review.
“While this operation has concluded, our investigation has not, and we are confident in the work our investigators have done," White said.
Zion, a high school senior from Eastpointe, was wearing a fast-food uniform when she was last seen. Eastpointe borders Detroit, but Detroit police took charge because the death occurred in the city.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.