Three Michigan rap artists appeared to vanish after a concert cancellation and police say they are concerned and asking for the public’s help.
According to The Detroit Free Press, Armani Kelly, 28, of Oscoda; Dante Wicker, 31, of Melvindale; and Montoya Givens, 31, of Detroit were supposed to perform at a club the night of Saturday, Jan. 21, the last day anyone heard from them.
“The fact that the three of them are missing together is very concerning,” said Detroit Police Cmdr. Michael McGinnis, according to The Free Press, “and very alarming for us.”
Detroit Police Chief James White said authorities believe Kelly, Wicker and Givens were together at Lounge 31 on Detroit’s east side, where they were supposed to perform, but their show was canceled. White said their families and authorities do not know what happened to them afterward.
He added that the men’s cellphone usage, including any social media activity, ceased on Jan. 22.
Kelly, whose stage name is Marley Whoop, was initially reported missing to Oscoda police on Jan. 22 after his mother, Lorrie Kemp, hadn’t heard from him, according to authorities. She used OnStar to track and locate her car, which Kelly had been driving, in Warren.
WXYZ Channel 7 News reported that the vehicle was moved three times in Warren before it ended up at a condo complex. It is now in police custody.
As word spread that Kelly was missing, the families of Wicker and Givens realized they had not heard from them either and reported both missing, according to The Free Press.
McGinnis said there are many unanswered questions, and some family members are starting to lose hope. He requested members of the public to come forward if they had any information on the men’s whereabouts.
“We need help,” said McGinnis, The Free Press reported. “We want to find them, and get them home to their loved ones.”
Homicide and missing persons investigators are involved in the investigation, according to White.
Kemp has posted flyers across Lansing, where Kelly was raised, hoping that someone might recognize her son, according to WXYZ. She believes there was no sense of urgency on the part of the authorities to find her son until agencies in other jurisdictions became aware that two other men were missing.
“I don’t want to be on ‘Dateline’ in 20 years,” Kemp said, WXYZ reported, “to find his body.”
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