Authorities seek anonymous tipster in missing Genesee Co. woman case

Authorities want to contact the anonymous person who tipped them off to an empty dig site as investigations continue into the death and disappearance of Kelly McWhirter.

McWhirter, 60, last spoke with someone on Oct. 14 and has since been missing. Investigators suspect her late husband, Steven Higgins, of killing her and disposing of her body.

Higgins shot himself in the head on Oct. 18 after officials identified his car and tried to initiate a traffic stop.

Investigators still are searching for McWhirter's body.

"This tip...is the key," Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson said at a Wednesday press conference.

Authorities found shovels with fresh dirt and a body bag in Higgins' truck, which they also located with another tip from the public. Investigators also learned Higgins drove McWhirter's white Hyundai Tucson to Norwalk, Ohio on Oct. 14, then drove back to Michigan in his own truck the next day.

Investigators have mapped out a timeline of Higgins' movements that weekend up until he dumped his and McWhirter's phones off the side of a road in Montrose early on Oct. 16, Swanson said.

The 34-hour gap between that time and noon the next day, when Higgins showed up at an acquaintance's house, remain unaccounted for, he said. Higgins is also unaccounted for in the time between that evening and his death the next day.

"These are the times that he was most likely to have disposed of Kelly," said Lt. Rob Nicklesen of the Genesee County Sheriff's Office. "It's the time that he most likely buried her. If we can figure that out, maybe it'll leave us with a potential location for where we can find her."

The anonymous tip included specific location details for where McWhirter may have been found, Swanson said. The anonymous tip was so specific that Swanson believes the person who placed it may have more information that could help, he said.

If authorities can contact that person, they will ask about their relation to Higgins and how they knew about the tip, Swanson said.

"Sometimes it's 'out of sight, out of mind,' " Swanson said of the case tips Genesee County investigators have received. "But not for this case."