MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. – A timeline was released by officials about the man who was found inside the ventilation system of a building on Macomb Community College’s campus in Clinton Township.
Officials say a foul odor came from a part of the building on Sunday (Nov. 26), which led to the body of Jason Anthony Thompson, 36, being found in the HVAC system.
Investigators released a timeline from the time police found out he was missing to his discovery.
Officials say Thompson told his family that he was running from police and was on the college’s center campus.
The 36-year-old was last seen by family on Oct. 25 when he was texting his family about being on the run from police.
Officials say Thompson told his family that he was up a roof at the college, and his family believed it was the performing arts center hiding in the ventilation system before the messages stopped.
The report says Thompson’s family reported him missing to Sterling Heights police on Nov. 1.
Sterling Heights police asked the Macomb Community College police to check the roof of the performing arts center on Nov. 7 to see if there were any signs of someone trying to get into the ventilation system.
Macomb Community College police Chief William Leavens says his officers checked the roof in question from a roof above to look down.
“Ultimately, the area identified as access is restricted and not intended for human entry,” said Leavens.
College police noticed a distinct and foul odor at the Macomb Center on Nov. 26, when they discovered Thompson’s remains stuck in the vent; that was when Macomb Community College took an up-close look at the vent.
“The meshing was bent up,” Leavens said. “If you’re not standing in front of it, it is very hard to detect. Even later standing in front of that with facilities experts, there’s questions on whether a human could even get in there.”
Police believe Thompson likely expired not long after getting stuck, but with his family hoping for answers, could those answers have come sooner if Macomb Community College police had looked at the vent up close on Nov. 7?
“And when you’re looking for obvious signs of human entry, like if a door was ajar, we’d have to work with our facilities people to find out where could a person get in,” Leavens said. “There’s not really anywhere for a person to get in.”
The police chief was asked by Local 4 if they would’ve gotten a closer look at the vent. Could they be able to tell if someone was in there? he said the area was so small that they figured no one could get in there.
