Missing Troy Man's Son Facing Murder Charge
TROY (WWJ) - The 21-year-old son of a missing Troy man is sitting behind bars Thursday morning, awaiting murder charges in connection with his father's disappearance.
Police arrested Patrick Mikes Jr. Wednesday afternoon at a Rochester Hills restaurant after recovery of "an incredible amount of evidence" from the family's home shed new light on the disappearance of 55-year-old Patrick Mikes Sr.
"Based upon a review of the evidence presented, representatives of the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office authorized a request for an arrest warrant, charging Patrick Joe Mikes Jr., the victim's son, with homicide open murder," Troy Police Capt. Robert Redmond said in an overnight news conference.
Mikes Sr.'s sons said he left on his bike July 27 when they reported him missing two days later. But Redmond said blood found in the basement where a violent confrontation took place indicates that Mikes Sr. was beaten to death.
"The DNA blood analysis evidence puts Mr. Mike's blood, Mr. Mikes Sr. the missing person, with his son Patrick's blood kind of together, indicating that a struggle ensued between the two of them," said Redford.
Mikes Sr.'s body has yet to be found, but a search is planned for Thursday in and around Montrose, near Flint. A black and red Cannondale Super 6 road bicycle he reportedly was riding has also not been recovered.
"We will have approximately 35 officers, we will have 12 K9 teams and we have several of our citizens on patrol that do work for us in the city of Troy going with us," said Redmond. "I'm not going to release all the data on how or why, but we believe we are in the right area."
Police are focusing their search on a stretch of I-75 from Troy to Montrose. Investigators also want to hear from anyone who saw the car Mikes Jr. was driving, a beige 2002 Infinity I35, in the search area on Saturday, July 29 between the hours of 10:45 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Mikes Jr., who early on was named a person of interest in his father's disappearance, was arrested Aug. 1 after being charged with using credit cards belonging to his younger brother. He was jailed on $50,000 bond but was released when his maternal grandparents bailed him out.
His attorney has said there's "no evidence" that shows Mikes Jr., a senior at University of Notre Dame with a double major in psychology and pre-med, played a role.
Mikes Sr. is a white man, about 6 feet tall and 170 pounds, with short gray hair.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Troy Police Department at 248-524-3477 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP.
Arraignment for Mikes Jr. was set for later Thursday as the search continued for his father's body.
