An 18-year-old named Michael Painter from Dearborn Heights was found dead in a field off Curdy Road in Oceola Township, Michigan, on the morning of March 7, 1975. A bus driver discovered the body at about 7:45 a.m.; authorities determined the death to be a homicide. Investigators believe the body was left in the field sometime after a recent snowfall.

Michael was last seen the day before, March 6, in his car with an unidentified man. There were no known ties between Michael and Livingston County, where his body was recovered. Michael’s car was found a week later, on March 14, 1975, in a parking lot behind an apartment complex in Detroit. Numerous interviews have been conducted and evidence has been submitted to the Michigan State Police Crime Lab, but no arrests or publicly identified suspects have been announced.

The Livingston County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Team continues to investigate. Does anyone have information about Michael’s movements on March 6 or the identity of the man last seen with him?