MUSKEGON, Mich. (WOOD) — An inmate being held on minor charges at the Muskegon County Jail told police where they could find a woman’s body in nearby Fruitland Township, according to a source close to the investigation.
That inmate told police the body was that of Bobbie Maples, a young mother missing since 2014, and exactly where her body was buried — next to a barn on Nestrom Road, the source said. That’s where they found the body on Friday: in a horse corral and capped with cement about 50 yards from a home.
Police and prosecutors said they’re still waiting for autopsy reports to determine if it’s Maples’ body and how she died. Wednesday, Maples’ mother told 24 Hour News 8 the identity of the body was expected to be released in 24 to 48 hours.
Maples disappeared from Roosevelt Park in December 2014, just days after her baby was born at Hackley Hospital. Police had no leads until the tip on Friday.
Target 8 is not naming the tipster because a source close to the case said doing so could put that inmate in danger.
But how did that tipster know where the body would be? The source said the inmate learned the information from somebody who was “running at the mouth.” It’s not clear if that happened while the inmate was in jail.
The inmate, according the source, learned the information just days before revealing it to police.
The source said the tipster was not involved in the death or burial and did not know Maples.
Court records show the tipster is an habitual offender facing possible prison time on new theft charges. The source said the tip didn’t involve a deal for leniency, though the tipster’s sentencing date was delayed.
Glenn Glaser Jr., the retired pharmacist who owns the property where the body was found, said he lives there during the summer and stops there twice a day to feed his horses, but that he didn’t notice the digging. He said he had never heard of Maples and knew nothing about the body.
Police have said a suspect in Maples’ disappearance was in custody on an unrelated matter. They said the person was an initial suspect in her disappearance, along with several other suspects.
