Broderick Ward, 42, of Inkster, was found shot to death inside a rental house in the Fife Lake area of Kalkaska County on November 18, 2017, after traveling there for a fishing trip and then calling his family in distress saying he feared for his safety and wanted to return home. His family reported that in his last conversation Ward described unsettling encounters and racist remarks from locals, and they initially feared he had been targeted because he was Black in a predominantly white area.

Kalkaska County investigators later said evidence pointed away from a racially motivated attack and toward a drug deal or a robbery that went wrong, involving people who knew Ward. Two men, Jason Morgan, 35, and Terrance Jordan, 36, were arrested and charged with open murder and armed robbery. Reports at the time said Jordan confessed to shooting Ward and was arrested at a hospital where he was treated for a drug overdose. The family continued to express doubts about the official motive.

If anyone knew Ward’s plans in northern Michigan or has information about who was with him at the rental house, please come forward.