Oakland County Sheriff’s deputies identified the body of a John Doe found in the wooded area of S. Lapeer Rd. and Manitou Lane as that of an Oxford Township resident who went missing the day after Thanksgiving.
At approximately 1:25 p.m. January 24, OCS Sgt. Scott Patterson and Detective Jason Louwart were notified a woman discovered the body of Francis ‘Frank? Cischke, 41, of Oxford, after she thought she ran over a cat while driving along Manitou Ln.
Cischke was positively identified by his fingerprints at the Oakland County Medical Examiner’s Office on January 26.
Louwart said there was no evidence of foul play, and cause of death is pending toxicology results.
According to the sheriff’s report, a woman discovered Cischke’s body after stopping to look for the cat, which ran into the woods south of the Manitou Lane Apartments.
The woman stated she visually followed the cat’s path until it appeared to run by a body lying facedown in the dirt, approximately 100 feet into the wooded area, the Lake Orion police report stated.
The woman called her boyfriend, who was at an establishment in Orion Township, and asked him to call 9-1-1 because she was too upset to make the call.
The Sheriff’s report indicated while the man was on his way to the location, he passed the Lake Orion Village Police station and stopped to tell them about the body. He was informed the location was in Oxford Twp.
After dispatch connected the man to the Sheriff’s Department, Lake Orion Village Police Chief Jerry Narsh accompanied him to the scene and waited with them until Oakland County Sheriff’s deputies arrived.
According to the Lake Orion Village police report, Cischke was found clothed, but did not have a coat or shoes on. He was also reported to have been missing a sock.
The police report said the ‘body was laying for a period of time with extended decomposition.?
Cischke was reported missing by his brother on Nov. 25, 2011.
He had been accompanied to an AA meeting at Seventh Day Adventist Church, located within walking distance of the apartment building, around 7 a.m. the morning he disappeared.
He was last spotted walking towards the Manitou Lane Apartments from the church at approximately 6 p.m.
A search of the wooded area around the apartment complex by Oakland County Sheriff’s deputies yielded negative results.
OCS Oxford substation, along with the brother, conducted further area checks of the woods around the apartment complex in the months following Cischke’s disappearance.
A week prior to Cischke’s disappearance, he was found unconscious behind a gas station on Lapeer Rd. in Oxford Twp. and was taken to the hospital for treatment.
The sheriff’s deputies reported noted his brother told deputies Cischke had been withdrawing from alcohol and had been hallucinating.
The investigation continues.