Man is missing; 5-month-old found in car in Lansing Township

LANSING TWP. — Police are investigating the disappearance of Jerome Deshaun Ezell. 

Ezell's 5-month-old son was found in his car several hours after Ezell was last seen, police said. 

Ezell, 27, was last seen Tuesday at about 10:45 a.m. in the 500 block of South Clemens Avenue driving a white Chevrolet Equinox, police said Thursday afternoon.

Ezell's vehicle was later found at approximately 7:50 p.m. in the 1100 block of North Fairview Avenue with his son inside.

Police didn't find any obvious signs of foul play and gave medical treatment to the child. 

Township Police Chief  Adam Kline said Ezell's son was released from the hospital Tuesday.

“The child was not dehydrated and seemed to be in fairly good condition," Kline said. 

Ezell, from Lansing Township, lives on the west side of the township, near Michigan Avenue, Kline said. 

Katrina Etelemaki, a Groesbeck neighborhood resident, said she saw the vehicle parked near Fairview Park at about 11:50 a.m. Tuesday. 

Etelemaki noticed the vehicle appeared abandoned as she went by it while walking her golden retriever.

The park is between Wood Street and North Fairview Avenue, south of Hopkins Avenue.

“As soon as I saw the news, I thought 'Oh my god, I’m sick to my stomach,'" Etelemaki said Thursday afternoon. "It was my instinct to say something, but I just let it go."

Lansing Township Police, with the assistance of police from Michigan State University, East Lansing and the Lansing Township Fire department used night vision equipment to search a nearby wooded area but did not locate Ezell.  

Ezell is described by police as a 5-foot-4,170-pound black male who was last seen wearing wheat-colored Timberland boots, black jeans, a red shirt and a black leather jacket over it. He may answer to the name "Roni" or "E," police said. 

Angela Vega, a Lansing resident, said late Thursday afternoon she intended to form a search party in the Groesbeck area that night. She knows several people who are close to Ezell.

"I would want somebody to do that for me," Vega said. "We don’t know the circumstances. We don’t know what’s going on."

Anyone with information about Ezell is encouraged to call police at (517) 485-1700.

Contact Eric Lacy at (517) 377-1206 or elacy@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @EricLacy.