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STURGEON BAY - This morning at approximately 7:30 a.m. the Sturgeon Bay Police Department served a search warrant on the property of Richard Gale Pierce at 8856 Raspberry Lane in Cheboygan, Michigan.

The search warrant authorized law enforcement officers to search the property for the remains of Carol Jean Pierce, a former wife of Richard Pierce. Carol Jean Pierce vanished from her Sturgeon Bay home on or about Monday, September 8th, 1975 and has not been seen or heard from since.

At the time, Richard Pierce was a Chief Warrant Officer for the U.S. Coast Guard and was a crew member on the Coast Guard Cutter Mesquite, the 180' buoy tender that was stationed in Sturgeon Bay in the early to mid 1970's.

"The Wisconsin Department of Justice has one of the best cold case investigative units in the country," said Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen. "I'm proud of the work that they do. Their dedicated service helps to bring closure to families struggling with the unexplained disappearance of a loved one. I hope we can bring closure to this case as well."

An investigation conducted by the Sturgeon Bay Police Department, the Cold Case Unit of the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Cheboygan County Sheriff's Department and the Michigan State Patrol led investigators to believe that Carol Jean Pierce was a homicide victim in Sturgeon Bay and that her remains were later transported to Cheboygan, Michigan and buried on the Pierce property on Raspberry Lane.

The Sturgeon Bay Police Department is also being assisted by the Door County Sheriff's Department, the Coast Guard Intelligence Office-Chicago, the FBI, a cadaver dog team and by NecroSearch Ground Penetrating Radar Services.

All media inquiries should be directed to the Sturgeon Bay Police Department at (920) 746-2450.