Cindy Jean Gochis, 49, a Saline, Michigan resident and patient visitation specialist at the Ann Arbor IHA Cancer Center, was found dead in the basement of her Elmwood Court home after she failed to report for work on Friday, September 29, 2023. Concern grew when she could not be reached and her white Dodge Journey was missing; a coworker had alerted police and her son filed a missing-person report. Investigators traced cellphone information, found a Harley-Davidson with temporary Indiana plates at the residence, and treated the case as a homicide with a domestic connection.

Authorities focused on a person described in early reports as a boyfriend or former boyfriend believed to have left the Saline home in Gochis’s vehicle and driven to Indiana. Huntington County deputies found that individual at the J.E. Roush Wildlife Area about 1 a.m. Saturday, suffering a self-inflicted gunshot wound; Gochis’s vehicle was located in Indiana. The suspect was hospitalized and later charged in Washtenaw County with open murder and felony firearm. Court proceedings addressed the suspect’s competency to stand trial and a probable-cause conference was set for May 16, 2024.

Gochis’s obituary emphasized her devotion to her children and grandchildren and her meaningful work with cancer patients. A celebration of her life was scheduled for December 9, 2023, and the family suggested memorial contributions to a domestic-violence charity. If anyone knew Cindy or has information about her death, please come forward.