By: Mary Beth Almond | Rochester Post | Published September 23, 2025
ROCHESTER/ROCHESTER HILLS — Deputies from the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office are investigating after a woman’s body was found in a car parked at McGregor Elementary School in Rochester Hills on Sept. 17.
Rochester Police Chief George Rouhib said police received a call requesting a welfare check on a woman from out of town.
“I guess she was talking to her ex-husband, who resides in our town, and she didn’t sound right on the phone. She just sounded depressed and down, so he made a couple of phone calls for a welfare check,” he said.
Using OnStar, police located the vehicle in the school parking lot. Capt. Paul Workman of the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office’s Rochester Hills substation said deputies and Rochester police responded. The woman was found dead in the back seat. An autopsy is still pending, but authorities believe the woman, 63, of Okemos, took her own life.
A letter and a phone video were recovered at the scene.
“There is no suspected foul play or anything,” Workman added. “This was a planned out event.”
Because police were on the scene at around 3:45 p.m., close to school dismissal, parents were directed to use a different pickup area. All students were released from the west side of the building on Willow Grove, instead of First Street.
“We basically had all of our school resource officers report to that school to kind of help get people out of school and clear them out of the area,” Workman said. “They were never in any danger.”
The woman had no ties to the school, according to police.
“I believe her ex-husband lived a couple of streets away, but they had been divorced for three years,” he said. “She didn’t have kids at the school — I know that was some of the rumor that was going around — there were no ties to McGregor at all.”
Earlier rumors about a chemical spill were also false, and authorities confirmed no one was in danger, as the crime scene was confined to the interior of the car.
“It wasn’t a sensitive crime scene,” Workman said. “Everything was contained to the vehicle itself. It was a pretty controlled environment.”
Rochester Community Schools released a statement after the incident, stating “The area has been cleared. All students and staff are safe. Classes will continue at McGregor Elementary on Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025.”
The district statement also addressed rumors, noting, “It appears rumors were circulating about a chemical leak. Local law enforcement has confirmed the rumors are false, and that at no time was any member of our school community at risk of being harmed.”
The sheriff’s office is continuing to investigate.