Michigan State Police Reopen Investigation Into the Murder of Saline Woman

The Michigan State Police First District Cold Case Team has recently reopened the cold case homicide of Mary Alice Ellicott.

On Oct. 14, 1981, 29-year-old Mary Alice Ellicott was reported missing to the Saline Police Department by an acquaintance/friend. According to witnesses Ellicott was last seen leaving the Polar Bear Bar (Currently Thompson Bar & Grill), which is located off US-12 between Saline and Clinton in Saline Township, on Sunday, Oct. 11, 1981, between the hours of 6 and 7 p.m. Several people saw Ellicott inside the Polar Bear Bar that day. Then she was seen leaving the bar and disappeared. Ellicott's whereabouts were unknown until her body was discovered on Oct. 24, 1981, in a grassy field approximately a mile and a half from the Polar Bear Bar in Saline Township, Washtenaw County.

Ellicott was a former bartender at the Polar Bear Bar and had been living in Saline at the time of her death. Mary was well known in the area at the time and had a reputation of being friendly and outgoing.

Anyone with information that may help investigators uncover the mystery into the homicide of Mary Alice Ellicott is asked to contact D/Sgt. Larry Rothman of the Michigan State Police First District Cold Case Team at 313-407-9379.

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