The family of a South Lyon woman is looking for answers after her body was found last month in a Detroit neighborhood, dumped by the side of the road.
42-year-old Melissa Dequin was last seen alive on March 10 in South Lyon. Detroit police tell Hometownlife.com that her body was found around 9 a.m. March 11 by a pedestrian walking in the area of Fitzpatrick and Memorial streets.
She was found with bruises on her face, although her body reportedly had no signs of trauma, and was found wrapped in a blanket. While toxicology results are pending, police suspect Dequin overdosed on drugs.
“We hope we find who provided drugs or that we can give some resolution to the family,” Detroit Det. Matt Gnatek told the paper. “The bottom line is, anyone that does street drugs is putting their life in their own hands. It’s more dangerous now than ever. Fentanyl is in everything. People are making pills in the basement that are pharmaceutical grade.”
Her vehicle, a gold 2006 Town & Country minivan, remains missing, along with her cell phone and other personal belongings.
Dequin’s siblings says she began using hard drugs about 15 years ago, which they believe was the result of complications with mental health issues including bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. They say she also suffered physical and sexual assault.
Dequin took part in several rehabilitation programs and by 2017 had seemingly recovered and was writing poems, designing her own clothing and adoring her daughter Xaida.
Her family hopes someone who knows what happened to Melissa will step forward, or that her van or phone may still be found.
“There are bad, terrible things happening and we don’t have the resources, funding, people, to handle and provide justice and keep people safe,” her sister Danielle said. “That is wrong to me…. At the end of the day, we are just hoping for some answers. We want to know what happened, even if it is a hard truth.”
Dequin’s obituary asks that in lieu of flowers, contributions be made to the Amber Reineck House.
