MI MI - Mary Alice Ellicott, 29, Saline, 11 Oct 1981

[Nina Michigan]

News story - Current

Mary Alice Ellicott was at the Polar Bear Bar, on U.S. 12 between Clinton and Saline, on Oct. 11, 1981. Her body was found 13 days later in a grassy field, less than 2 miles away, a victim of a homicide.

Ellicott, 29, was well known at the bar; the Saline resident had quit a job as a bartender a week earlier, said Det. Sgt. Larry Rothman of the state police.

Rothman said more resources, not a major tip, led to the decision to reopen the cold case.

"It's fair to say” investigators are starting from scratch, Rothman said Tuesday.

“A lot of work was done when this first happened,” he said. “Whenever you're working on a cold case you have to open up the box and go over everything.”

there is very little available on her case.

 

[Nina Michigan]

Another news story with photo - Police reopen unsolved 1981 homicide case of slain Saline-area bartender

 

[dotr]

MLive.com
March 20 2021
CRIME HUNTER: Was Black Panther the victim in 1969 cold case? | Toronto Sun
''WHO MURDERED BARTENDER IN 1981?

Saline sits about 20 minutes south of Ann Arbor, Michigan. The annual Celtic Festival is the highlight of the calendar for its 8,800 souls.

It is also the place where Mary Alice Ellicott was murdered.

The popular 29-year-old bartender had been at the Polar Bear Bar on U.S. 12 when she disappeared on Oct. 11, 1981.

Thirteen days later her body was discovered in a grassy field about three kilometres from the watering hole where she was last seen. Cops said it was a homicide but wouldn’t shed light on how Ellicott was murdered.

What’s known is that she quit her job a week earlier and that the case was well investigated at the time. Detectives are now taking a new look at Ellicott’s death thanks to additional resources.

“A lot of work was done when this first happened,” Michigan State Police Det.-Sgt. Larry Rothman told reporters. “Whenever you’re working on a cold case you have to open up the box and go over everything.”

He added: “Over the years, people talk, relationships change. Those people may have known her or heard of her. Every little thing is important. To me, everything is relevant.”

 

[dotr]

March 23 2021
State police re-open a cold case murder of a woman in Washtenaw County in 1981 | WLNS 6 News
''Lansing, Mich. (WLNS) — Michigan State Police in the First District have reopened the cold case homicide of Mary Alice Ellicott.''

''Witnesses said Mary was last seen leaving the Polar Bear Bar, which is now Thompson bar and Grill, which is located off of US-12 between Saline and Clinton in Saline Township, Washtenaw County Michigan on Sunday October 11, 1981 between 6 and 7 p.m.

Several people saw Mary inside the Polar Bear Bar Sunday and then she was seen leaving the bar and disappeared.''

''She was a former bar tender 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 can help investigators in this cold case is asked to contact detective Sergeant Larry Rothman of the MSP First District Cold Case Team at 313-407-9379.''

 

[dotr]

April 7 2022 By Dane Kelly
Michigan State Police seek information in 1981 homicide of 29-year-old woman (wilx.com)

''Mary Alice Ellicott, 29, was last seen at the Polar Bear Bar on U.S. 12 in Saline Township on Oct. 11, 1981. Her body was found with multiple stab wounds two weeks later in a grassy field less than two miles from the bar. Police ruled her death a homicide.

The Polar Bear Bar has since been renamed Thompson Bar and Grill.

According to authorities, Elliot was well known at the bar and had quit a job as a bartender a week earlier.''

''On April 1, students and staff from the Michigan State University School of Criminal Justice and detectives from the MSP First Distraction Special Investigation Section visited the original Saline police detectives who investigated the missing person report in 1981 for information in the cold case.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information regarding the death of Mary Alice Ellicott is asked to contact Michigan State Police detective sergeant Larry Rothman at 313-407-9379.''

 

[Nina Michigan]

looks like they're trying again to get someone to come forward in her case. Hopefully the right person decides to speak up

 

[TootsieFootsie]

CSI: East Lansing? Michigan State class helping police with 40-year-old Saline murder case

The class is working with law enforcement on the 1981 cold case of Saline resident Mary Alice Ellicott.

www.mlive.com

Students in a Michigan State University Criminal Justice course visit the scene of a 1981 Saline murder of Mary Alice Ellicott. The students are part of a course that takes on cold cases and works with Michigan State Police and local law enforcement to solve them. Photo provided by Karen Holt.Karen Holt


I think it might be behind a paywall but maybe some can read it.

 

[dotr]

January 17, 2025

Washtenaw County cold case from 1981 still under investigation

A Washtenaw County cold case from 1981 is still under investigation.

www.clickondetroit.com

''Mary Ellicott of Saline was last seen on Oct. 11, 1981, leaving the Polar Bear Bar in Saline Township. Her body was found 13 days later in a grassy field, less than 2 miles away.

Ellicott, 29, was well known at the bar. Police said she had quit her job as a bartender a week before her death.
The case was reopened in 2021. At the time police said more resources, not a major tip, led to the decisions to reopen the case. The case still has not been solved, but detectives and student investigators are still working the case.''