Three Michigan rappers still missing 12 days after canceled gig in Detroit
(From L to R) Armani Kelly, Dante Wicker, Montoya Givens
DETROIT (FOX 2) - Thursday, Feb. 2, marks the 12th day since aspiring rappers Armani Kelly, Montoya Givens, and Dante Wicker were last seen after a performance was canceled. Almost two weeks later, they're still missing.
Kelly, 38, Givens, 31, and Wicker, 31 were all slated to perform at Lounge 31 on 7 Mile near Gratiot on Jan. 21. However, the event was canceled and, late that night or early the next morning, all three of their cell phones stopped sending data.
Kelly's mother reported her son missing Jan. 23. According to police, she was able to use OnStar to track his car to Warren, where it was found on Jan. 23. Four days later, family members of Givens and Wicker saw a media report about Kelly and realized all three men who knew each other were missing.
"…We just have a whole lot of unanswered questions that we’re trying to find the answer to," Detroit Police Cmdr. Michael McGinnis said on Monday. "The fact that the three of them are missing together is very concerning and very alarming for us."
According to McGinnis, a family member of one of the three men said they believe they all made it to the club before they disappeared.
Kelly is from Oscoda. Detroit police said Givens and Wicker are from Detroit and Melvindale, so those police departments are investigating along with DPD and Oscoda.
Kelly's fiancée said phone calls, text messages and social media contacts have not been answered since that night.
"I just beg for help, for anything. I need answers and, if it comes to it, I need closure, because I will never forget and I will never stop," Taylor Perrin said.
She said Kelly was working, taking college classes and polishing his rap skills - and was turning his life around after a robbery case.
"Armani did his time and came out as a whole new person," Perrin told The Detroit News.
McGinnis said on Monday that police are checking license plate readers and security video to try to solve the mystery.
"I'm confident that using those tools will help us get the answers that these families deserve," he said.
According to Kelly's mom's post on Facebook, the three met in the department of corrections. In the same post, she chastised law enforcement for not doing more to help find her son.
"Shame on the police shame on the whole state & shame on u Detroit," she wrote.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.