Source: Bill Pugliano / Getty
The search for three Michigan rappers who have been missing for over a week after their show in Detroit was canceled may have come to a tragic end.
Armani Kelly, Dante Wicker and Montoya Givens, went missing over a week ago after their show in Detroit was canceled due to technical problems. According to the New York Times, the men have not been heard from since Jan. 21. Both missing persons and homicide units with the Detroit Police Department and other police agencies are participating in the investigation.
According to the Detroit Free Press, “multiple” bodies have been found in an abandoned apartment building in the city of Highland Park–an enclave near Detroit. Per the Free Press, Antoine Woods, who identified himself as Wicker’s cousin, said police had not told his family whether Wicker was among the victims found, but that “we think it’s my cousin in there.”
Taylor Perrin, the fiancée of Oscoda rap artist Armani Kelly, said that she was notified that the bodies had been found. Though there had not been a positive identification she had been told to make the trip from Grand Rapids, Mich., to Detroit.
Wicker and Givens, both 31, were supposed to join Kelly, 27, who was performing at only his second show in his career. Kelly is from Oscoda, Mich. approximately three hours away from Detroit. He drove down for the show at a club called Lounge 31.
Woods said his cousin “was excited about making music.”
According to the New York Times report, Kelly met Wicker and Givens while they were all in prison. While the police said that all three were to be at Lounge 31 on Jan. 21 for a rap event, it is still being determined if Wicker and Givens were also supposed to perform. The car that Kelly was driving which belonged to his mother was found in Warren, Mich., a Detroit suburb.
The Free Press spoke to Darnell Williams, the owner of Lounge 31. The performances were canceled the night the men went missing because of technical failures with DJ equipment. He said there were too many people in the crowd to know whether or when the missing men arrived at the venue, but police were reviewing video footage.
Detroit police says there has been no activity on any of the men’s phones since Jan. 21. “What was the most concerning, candidly, was the fact that there’s been no activity on their phones since they’ve been reported missing,” James E. White, the Detroit police chief, said at a news conference on Tuesday. “And that’s very, very concerning. That’s an unusual circumstance.”
