The recent statements by officials that no evidence was found in the Busch residence on Morningview Terrace in Bloomfield Village, MI, overlook the fact that the Montmorency Sheriff received a phone call on March 19, 1977, that Chris Busch was at the family cottage at Ess Lake (near Atlanta, MI) with young boys. Given the description of the call in police reports, the caller knew Busch was not to be in the presence of minors and was very concerned. Tim was missing from March 16 to 22. There should have been a search of the cottage in addition to the residence.
I am told the MSP would only search one location. The residence seemed the best bet because of what was found in the closet in the suicide photos (ligatures on the floor), as well as the drawing of the screaming boy all agree looks frighteningly like Mark Stebbins the first child known to have been kidnapped and murdered by these people. (Yes, I think more than one person was involved.) It also seemed like the best bet for finding dog hairs.
FOIA documents 01247-48 are from the FBI report on the 4-22-08 interview of Chris’ older brother, Charles Nels Busch. He advised the FBI that his parents had a Welsh Terrier with white hair, named “Tabitha,” that was at their house at the time of Chris’s alleged suicide.
Chris had his own dog, “Sam,” a light tan-colored Ibizan Hound Dog. According to Charles, Chris had brought Sam back from an island off the coast of Spain. This dog was also at the residence where Chris Busch was found dead. In fact, Sam and Tabitha were the dogs barking inside the locked home who alerted the maid on that fateful Monday morning that something was amiss. Charles advised that after Chris’ death, the parents took care of both dogs, that he didn’t know what happened to the dogs but that his parents were not the type to bury dead dogs in the backyard.
In this same report, Charles advised that Chris drove a small Chevrolet Vega “which was light brown or tan in color.” [Many other notations in the FOIA documents indicate it was in fact a blue Vega with a white pinstripe.] Charles “also believes Chris likely had another vehicle since he recalled the Vega as being an old car.” Chris also had a Triumph Bonneville motorcycle. [FBI Report dated 4-22-08, pages 57-58, FOIA pages 01246-47.]