LOWELL, Mich. -- Burned material found in the yard of a Lowell home has been turned over to Michigan State Police to look into a possible connection to the 2007 disappearance of Donald Dietz.
According to Private Investigator Vic Weeks of Quick Results Investigations, a charred metal grate and other burned objects were found on the former property of a man who was previously linked to the Saranac man's disappearance.
Weeks said he took a cadaver dog to the Boes Road residence last week and the dog helped uncover the burned material. State Police said they took their own cadaver dogs to the site, but found nothing additional. Week's findings are undergoing tests at their Grand Rapids lab, but MSP has indicated they don't anticipate a link between the debris found, and Dietz.
The home was previously owned by Rami Saba, Weeks said. Saba and another man, Raogo Ouedraogo, are currently serving prison sentences for charges connected to a conspiracy to swindle Dietz out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Investigators believe the men were trying to obtain more than $450,000 in life savings that Diez had at the time of his September 2007 disappearance. Dietz's remains have never been recovered.
