William Ardith Jackson, 42, was reported missing from Tawas City, Michigan, on July 11, 2025. Two days later a Michigan Department of Natural Resources conservation officer found an abandoned pickup in the Huron National Forest in Oscoda County. Investigators reported a large amount of blood in the truck bed and a blood-soaked, rolled-up carpet; the carpet was traced back to a pole barn owned by Jackson’s girlfriend, Doreen Kay Schunk of Tawas Township.

Detectives say Clifford Marion Farthing, also of Tawas Township, told them a dispute between Schunk and Jackson over money escalated inside the pole barn. Farthing allegedly said he left, returned to find a .38 caliber revolver, shot Jackson three times, wrapped the body in the carpet, placed it in his truck and drove to the forest where the body was hidden; prosecutors say Schunk followed and later drove Farthing away while the gun was discarded at her Sand Lake home.

Both Farthing and Schunk were arraigned on July 18, 2025. Farthing is charged with open murder as a habitual third offender and felony firearms; Schunk is charged with conspiracy to commit murder and felony firearm. The Iosco County Prosecuting Attorney noted Farthing had been placed in the county as a parolee in violation of Department of Corrections policy. Did anyone in Tawas Township or the Huron National Forest area see a pickup or two vehicles in mid-July 2025 that could help clarify the timeline?