Starla Goings

MUNISING — Police agencies involved in the months-long search for Starla Goings that may relate to foul play are about to get an assist in the quest to find the missing person from an unlikely source — the many thousands of hunters venturing into the Upper Peninsula woodlands in pursuit of whitetail deer.

Starting last Saturday, these orange-clad hunters — many from the local area and many more from outside the region — will be situated in blinds, walking trails, participating in group drives or just slowly driving on two tracks. Because of that, police have put out a common-sense request to hunters, especially those in the Hiawatha National Forest in Alger County: Since you’re already out there, keep an eye peeled for anything that seems out of the ordinary.

What kind of things? It can be something as innocuous as disturbed dirt or flattened-down grass or bushes or obvious as a cell phone (or piece of one) or piece of clothing, police have said.

The 65-year-old Munising woman, who has not been seen since Aug. 15, has been the subject of one of the largest missing-person searches in recent memory. Although the Alger County Sheriff’s Office and Michigan State Police have been the lead agencies in the effort, many other departments have contributed resources on different occasions and in different ways, including the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Coast Guard.

In late October, police suggested foul play may be involved in her disappearance.

Goings is described as a white female, about 5 feet 4 inches in height and 160 pounds. She has short, white hair and brown eyes. Police are unaware what type of clothing she was wearing.

Her 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan was found in the vicinity of 16 Mile Lake and M-94 two days after she was last seen.

Police have asked that anyone who may have been in that area of rural Alger County around that time or who may have trail cameras set up in the area contact police if anything occurs to them or a camera reveals an unusual photo or video.

The telephone number for the Alger County sheriff is 906-387-7030.

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Bud Sargent can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 544, or bsargent@miningjournal.net.