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Battle Creek police confirm human remains found in wooded lot belong to Amber Griffin

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Posted at 2:52 PM, Mar 04, 2022
and last updated 2022-03-04 20:19:55-05

BATTLE CREEK, Mich. — Battle Creek police have confirmed that human remains found in a wooded lot on Thursday belong to Amber Griffin.

The Battle Creek Police Department says search crews found the remains Thursday afternoon on Battle Creek’s north side, near the intersection of Waubascon Road and Limit Street.

A medical examiner at Western Michigan University School of Medicine positively identified Griffin using medical records and evidence of old injuries and medical procedures.

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Police started looking for Griffin’s body after the man accused of killing her pleaded no contest to second-degree murder as part of a plea agreement.

Derek Horton was suspected of killing Amber Griffin and burying her body in 2020.

As part of the plea agreement, the open murder charge was dropped, Gilbert confirms. He also says Horton agreed to lead investigators to Griffin’s body.

On Wednesday, investigators say they brought Derek Horton out to the area. He pointed out specific areas of interest.

Around 1:45 p.m. on Thursday, they found the human remains.

BCPD says the location searched on Thursday is less than a mile from the home she was reportedly last seen at.

FOX 17 spoke with Amber Griffin’s mom on Wednesday. She says she searched that area several times in the past. On Thursday, she declined an interview following the news.

Horton faces 15 to 25 years behind bars at sentencing.