Editor’s note: The body of Jeffery Scarbrough was recovered from the Muskegon River the evening of May 14, 2019. Foul play is not suspected. Click here to read more.
MUSKEGON, MI – Four men have disappeared within a 30-mile radius north of Muskegon in the last 18 months – but investigators say they don’t believe the cases are connected.
The first to go missing was Justin Holt on Jan. 3, 2018. He vanished from his home, leaving behind cigarettes he never was without. His disappearance has had the fewest leads, according to investigators.
The last was Jeff Scarbrough, of Grand Haven, who disappeared after playing golf in Muskegon County on Saturday, May 11. Investigators reportedly are actively chasing down leads.
Kevin Graves, of Oakland County, has been gone since July 1, 2018, when he was at the Electric Forest music festival. There has been some talk that he disappeared willingly. And Steve Millis, last seen at a Dollar General store in Hesperia on Jan. 4, 2019, is believed by his family to have been killed.
Four men, one disappearing roughly every six months. Their ages range from 28 (Graves) to 49 (Millis).
Dates and locations from which four men have gone missing in West Michigan.
Investigators have talked about whether the cases are connected, but have yet to find any connections, said Detective Sgt. Zachary Sparks with the Michigan State Police post in Hart. He is actively pursuing the Graves disappearance.
“They each have individual circumstances,” Sparks said. “There’s nothing to indicate there is a connection.”
Lt. Michael Herremans with the Muskegon County Sheriff’s office is leading the investigation into Holt’s disappearance.
“It doesn’t appear any of them are connected,” Herremans said.
Justin Holt
Holt, 35, is believed to have last been at his home in Muskegon County’s Cedar Creek Township. He had dropped his mother off at her home just prior to his disappearance on Jan. 3, 2018.
Inside his home, investigators found his cigarettes, which Holt always carried in his front pocket, as well as shoes, coat and car keys. His cell phone was missing.
Intensive police searches, including helicopter flyovers, K9 ground searches and divers checking nearby Clear Lake turned up no trace of Holt.
Holt is described as 6-feet-2-inches and 220 pounds with very short blonde hair and blue eyes. He wears glasses and a goatee and was last seen in blue jeans and a yellow T-shirt with the saying "Got Perch?"
Anyone with information about Holt’s whereabouts is encouraged to call the Muskegon County Sheriff’s Detective Bureau at (231) 724-7126.
Kevin Graves
Graves, 28, of Highland Township in Oakland County, last was seen at the Electric Forest festival in Rothbury on July 1, 2018.
Graves’ girlfriend told investigators he went missing after they had an argument. He told her he was returning to their tent in the festival camping area at the Double JJ Resort north of Muskegon.
Police and about 100 volunteers have conducted multiple searches covering at least 2,000 acres of Double JJ and surrounding property, including seven lakes and 8 miles of U.S. 31 as well as surrounding trails and woods.
There was a report he had been seen in Whitehall begging and arguing with someone on the telephone.
Graves has blond hair and blue eyes and is about 6 feet tall and 185 pounds. He has a USMC tattoo on his left shoulder, and his left ear is pierced.
Anyone with information about Graves' whereabouts is asked to call 911, the Oakland County Sheriff's Office at (248) 848-4950, the Michigan State Police Hart Post (231) 873-2171 or Mason Oceana Central Dispatch (231) 869-5858.
Steve Millis
Millis, of Newaygo County, was last seen around 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 4 at the Dollar General store at 395 E. South St. in Hesperia.
Investigators believe Millis entered the store, but was not seen after that. He reportedly was planning to meet somebody interested in buying fishing poles from him. His vehicle was found abandoned at the store.
Police have interviewed more than 50 people and executed at least 35 search warrants in their attempts to locate Millis. Multiple volunteer searches have been conducted in Hesperia as well as in Muskegon County’s Holton area.
Millis is described as 5-feet 9-inches tall, about 180 pounds with dark hair, blue eyes and a red mustache. He also has a large scar on his neck. He was last seen wearing a red plaid flannel shirt, blue jeans and gray boots.
Anyone with information about Millis is asked to call Newaygo County Sheriff’s Detective Sgt. Don Austin at (231) 689-7303.
Jeffery Scarbrough
Scarbrough, 29, reportedly was last seen on Saturday, May 11, at the Chase Hammond Golf Course in Muskegon County’s Dalton Township around 4:30 p.m. He had indicated he was heading to Fruitport.
He was driving an older model white Honda Pilot with a Persian Gulf veteran’s license plate.
Friends and family members have organized searches, primarily focusing on the Muskegon area.
No description of Scarbrough has been released, though a photograph released by police shows he has dark hair and a beard and wears dark-rimmed glasses.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Grand Haven Department of Public Safety, (616) 842-3460; Ottawa County Central Dispatch, (800) 249-0911; or Silent Observer (877) 88-SILENT.
