Farmington Hills

Body of missing father found in Farmington Hills

By Jessica Strachan
C & G Staff Writer

FARMINGTON HILLS — The remains of a missing Howell man who left his family and work on Fathers Day weekend has been discovered in Farmington Hills.
According to Assistant Chief Jerrod Hart of the Novi Police Department, this day was dreaded but seemingly inevitable.

“It’s a difficult time. We all felt this day was coming and it finally has,” he said after a several-month search for 38-year-old Patrick Keough, who walked away from his Novi business office on Cabot Drive June 14 and was never seen again.

Hart said the man, a father of four children under the age of 12, left a note indicating that he would harm himself.

“We were very concerned about his mental status. We have searched extensively and we were met with negative results until now,” Hart added.

On Dec. 4, the Farmington Hills Police Department received a call from a private contractor reporting that he found human remains in a heavily wooded area near Halsted and 13 Mile roads, according to the press release. The body was “severely decomposed” and found in a dense, yet narrow creek bed, Hart said.

The remains were taken to the Oakland County Medical Examiner’s Office for a post-mortem examination and have been positively identified as Keough.

The cause of death is yet to be determined, and there were no markings to indicate that his death was suspicious in nature. Hart also said that particular area — a mile and a half from where Keough worked — was covered during the search.

“Both family and law enforcement have searched in that area in the past,” he said, noting that once the leaves began to fall, the search became increasingly difficult.

The search included canvasses by police officers, helicopters, the Novi Community Emergency Response Team and several K-9 teams from the Novi Police Department and Michigan Search and Rescue. In addition, several members of the Keough family organized a search for him shortly after he disappeared, according to the press release.

“Although this brings closure to Mr. Keogh’s disappearance, it is by no means the outcome for which we were hoping,” Novi Director of Public Safety and Chief of Police David E. Molloy said.

Hart said that Keough’s wife, three sons, one daughter and siblings are struggling to cope, as the case continues to unfold during the holiday season.

“He walked away on Fathers Day weekend and now we are just a couple weeks ahead of Christmas; the family is very devastated,” he said. “We just ask that people keep the Keough family in their thoughts and prayers.”

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Jessica Strachan at jstrachan@candgnews.com or at (586)279-1108.