Samples found, being analyzed, following dig in search for man missing nearly 35 years

By Kathryn Havrilla , WXMI News

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    ALLEGAN, Michigan (WXMI) — It’s another step forward in the search for a West Michigan man who disappeared nearly 35 years ago.

Over the weekend, the family of Richard Hitchcock dug up a key site in Allegan. The family says it received multiple tips about the specific location for eight years. It wasn’t until early June they finally got permission to start digging.

Family tells us they tore down part of a barn, excavated down several feet, and collected more than 40 samples to be processed by law enforcement and a lab.

They’re hopeful those samples may include bone fragments that could be identified as Richard.

“It means the world to us that we’re able to continue the search for him and in hopes of one day bringing him home,” shared Kellie Boers, Hitchcock’s cousin, “We live different than most people. Most people don’t have to talk about murder and bones and stuff. So fur us, it would be life changing, absolutely live changing.”

Boers added it could be months before any test results come back, but no matter what they show, they plan to go back and continue their search.

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