The body has been discovered of a missing Detroit man whose car was found in Livingston County.

33-year-old Ryoji Aoki of Detroit had been missing since Wednesday, December 6th when he was last seen leaving his workplace in Livonia. His car, a red 2013 Mazda 3 hatchback, was found that same day two miles east of US-23 near Clyde and Bullard Road in Hartland Township. An initial search in the area failed to turn up anything, but investigators with the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office returned to the scene Saturday morning and were able to locate Aoki’s body at about 11am. Livingston County Sheriff Mike Murphy says while no signs of foul play were apparent, they are still investigating.

Aoki’s supervisor told police he had allowed him to leave work early that day because he, “…did not appear to be in a good state of mind.” The supervisor attempted to contact Aoki the next day and when he was unsuccessful, went to his residence where Aoki’s roommate told him Aoki had not come home the night before. After verifying Aoki was not in any of the local hospitals, jails, or morgue, family members waited to see if he would show up at work this past Monday. When he did not, they made contact with his roommate, who indicated a notice had come in the mail that Aoki’s vehicle had been impounded. That’s when they contacted the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office.

Sheriff Murphy says anyone who may have information related to the case is asked to call their tip line at (517) 546-8477. (JK)