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Missing Ashley Elkins: Landfill search to continue
Crews will continue to dig through trash at a Macomb County landfill on Wednesday as they seek any clues that can help investigators figure out what happened to Ashley Elkins. The mother of two from Warren has been missing for almost two weeks.
MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) - Police are expected to return to a Macomb County landfill Wednesday as they continue to search for any evidence that leads them to Ashley Elkins.
Elkins, 30, hasn't been heard from since Jan. 2.
Investigators have searched her ex-boy-friend De'Andre Booker's Roseville apartment and now Pine Tree Acres in Lenox Township, where they have been zeroing in on about a six acre parcel of the landfill since Monday.
'I'm confident': Ashley Elkins search continues in Macomb County landfill
Police are on day two of the search for Warren mother in a Metro Detroit landfill, after she went missing at the beginning of January.
On Tuesday, police said they are confident that their search will turn up clues.
What happened to Ashley Elkins?
The backstory:
Elkins' family last heard from her on Jan. 2 when she sent a text saying she was headed home from running errands. However, she never made it home.
According to her family, it is unusual for Elkins, a mother of two, to not have contact with her loved ones, especially her sons.
"She loves her family, her kids. She would never just disappear for this many days," her sister Alexis Elkins said.
Her family believes that Elkins is dead.
Why police are searching a landfill
What we know:
When police searched Booker's apartment on Jan. 7, they took away a dumpster as evidence.
Elkins' family has been suspicious of Booker since she disappeared, and have said they believe he threw her away.
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Investigators 'confident' about search for missing Warren mother
The search for 30-year-old Ashley Elkins led police to Pine Tree Acres, a landfill in Macomb County, spending six hours there on Monday. They dug through trash, with a special focus on a six acre area of the landfill as they looked for any sign of the missing Warren woman.
"Her mother has said numerous times, ‘He threw her out with the trash,’" her uncle, Maurice Morton, said. "That's disheartening."
Elkins' phone last pinged at Booker's apartment.
What we don't know:
Police have not disclosed what evidence, if any, was recovered from that dumpster.
Less than a week after taking the dumpster, they began searching Pine Acres.
Ex-boyfriend faces charges
What we know:
Last week, Booker was charged with lying to police. Those charges came after police searched his apartment before arresting him in Flint.
According to authorities, Elkins' vehicle was found a few miles away from Booker's apartment. He allegedly lied about his whereabouts.
The prosecutor who appeared in court for Booker's arraignment said Booker's internet searches after Elkins disappeared suggest that he was planning to flee Michigan.
'Is blood traceable?': Prosecutor reveals De'Andre Booker's searches after Ashley Elkins disappeared
After his ex-girlfriend Ashley Elkins disappeared, De'Andre Booker allegedly fled to Flint, where he searched for the fastest routes to Ohio.
While in Flint, Booker is accused of planning to leave Michigan by looking up routes out of state.
His research also included what to do while on the run, as well as how to beat a polygraph test, and if blood is traceable, the prosecution said.
Additionally, he allegedly looked up how to delete his Google search history.
The prosecution argued that these searches suggest that Booker would flee if released on bond. His bond was set at $250,000 cash/surety.
What's next:
As police continue to look for evidence, Macomb County Prosecutor Pete Lucido said more charges could be added, even if they don't find Elkins' body.
"Now, he's only been charged with one item - not murder," Lucido said. "The charges don't necessarily mean that you have to have a body to charge somebody with murder. There could be other information and evidence."
In the meantime, Booker is in the Macomb County Jail awaiting a probable cause conference on Jan. 22 and a preliminary exam on Jan. 29.
Who is De'Andre Booker?
Booker is 32 and lives near Gratiot and Frazho in Roseville.
According to information presented in court, Booker is currently unemployed.
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Ashley Elkins' ex-boyfriend charged in connection with disappearance
De'Andre Booker, the ex-boyfriend of Ashley Elkins, has been charged with lying to police a week after she disappeared. Booker is accused of lying about his location when asked about the missing mother of two.
Booker previously served in the United States Army but was removed from the military with a less than honorable discharge after going AWOL in 2017. This happened after he was charged the year before with several crimes while serving, including larceny and possessing fake identification documents.
The Source: Information from this story was gathered from police, court, and Ashley Elkins' family. FOX 2 also spoke to Macomb Prosecutor Pete Luicido for this story.
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