Authorities began an extraordinary search of a northern Macomb County landfill on Tuesday as they try to find the remains of Zion Foster, the Eastpointe teenager who is presumed to have been murdered and later buried there.
A search warrant was executed about noon for the Pine Tree Acres Landfill on 29 Mile Road, east of Gratiot Avenue, in Lenox Township.
The Detroit Police Department is leading the search with assistance from other law enforcement groups.
“Searchers will be looking to recover Zion’s remains and any evidence regarding her disappearance,” police said in a news advisory.
Foster, a 17-year-old Eastpointe student, was last seen on Jan. 4. Investigators believe she is dead and that her body was put in a Dumpster, the contents of which were eventually dumped in the landfill.
Detroit police said the first phase of the operation includes the removal of 20 feet of material above the focus area. The effort will require heavy equipment, some of which was provided by Michigan CAT. Operators will be city employees from the General Services Division and the Department of Public Works.
A road is being installed to the search area and crews will build a deck that will be utilized to inspect materials found in the focus area.
“It’s a massive undertaking, if you stop and think about it,” said Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel. “These searcher can be exposed to so many things as they try to find this young lady. It’s no easy task.”
About 70 volunteer searchers will dig through the mountains of garbage, carefully examining the debris for signs of Foster.
“Our top priority is to maintain a safe working environment for searchers,” the department said. “We anticipate phase one will take approximately two weeks.”
A police department spokesperson said the search party has set up tents to provide some shade, established rest periods and has plenty of fluids available as the hunt is conducted.
Macomb County officials aren’t involved in the early stages of the search as the road building work is underway, according to Brandon Lewis, director of the county’s emergency management and communications department.
“We’re waiting to hear when we’ll be needed,” he said.
County officials and volunteers are expected to take part in actual digging through the trash. That will take place around mid-June, said Macomb County Sheriff Anthony Wickersham.
Search crews will be provided with respirators and complete hazmat outfits and heavy steel boots to make sure they are protected from any kinds of toxins during the process.
Authorities say they hope their efforts bring some closure to the family of the Eastpointe High School senior.
“As heart wrenching as this is to know that my baby has to be recovered from trash, that an attempt has to be made like this…” the girl’s mother, Cierra Milton, said earlier this month at a press conference in Lenox. “I want to know what happened to my baby.”
Foster hasn’t been seen since Jan. 4 when she left her Eastpointe home to visit her cousin in Detroit. Jaylin Brazier, her cousin, told police the two were smoking marijuana in a west-side Detroit basement when Foster suddenly stopped breathing. He said he disposed of her body in a Dumpster.
Brazier, 23, is serving 23 months to four years in prison for lying to Eastpointe police about the case. Wayne County prosecutors are reviewing a request for a warrant for homicide.
For the past four months, authorities have been working to figure out what portion of the 457-acre landfill might contain the girl’s body. Landfill operators immediately stopped burying trash there and ordered its personnel to preserve the site.
A representative for the landfill said workers have isolated the suspected area to a section of the dump of about 100 square feet where Foster’s remains may be located.
An FBI agent said the search would take approximately seven to eight weeks.
