Emergency personnel made a grim discovery early Monday morning in Gilford Township.
While responding to a separate medical call at about 4:25 a.m., a Mobile Medical Response ambulance came across a burning vehicle in a ditch off Fairgrove Road in Gilford Township. Inside the vehicle was the badly burned body of a woman.
Because of the fire, the victim could not immediately be identified. Eventually a tattoo and DNA testing led to the woman being identified as 32-year-old Ashley Mikowski of Bay City.
According to a press release from the Tuscola County Sheriff’s Office, deputies and detectives spent a considerable amount of time attempting to learn the victim’s identity by tracking down information from previous vehicle owners.
No license plate or helpful paperwork was found with the vehicle.
The vehicle had been traveling west on Fairgrove Road when it left the roadway and struck a tree just west of Vassar Road. The victim was the vehicle’s only occupant.
MLive.com/The Bay City Teams reports that Mikowski is survived by four children, ages 12, 11, 9 and 2. Tuscola County Sheriff Glen Skrent said foul play is not suspected.
The sheriff’s office is continuing to investigate the incident and is asking anyone who may have additional information to contact Detective Scott Jones at 989-673-8161, extension 2233.
