21-year-old college student still missing after leaving bar more than 2 weeks ago

MARQUETTE, Mich. (WLUC/Gray News) — A 21-year-old college student is still missing more than two weeks after he was last seen leaving a bar in Michigan.

The Marquette Police Department said Trenton Massey was last seen walking on a bike path near the Lake Superior shoreline at about 3 a.m. Feb. 22.

Police said he was walking alone and may have been impaired and disoriented.

Police believe he was trying to walk home from a bar.

He was not dressed properly for prolonged winter exposure, police said.

A 21-year-old college student is still missing more than two weeks after he was last seen leaving a bar in Michigan. (Source: WLUC)

Massey is a student at Northern Michigan University (NMU). Fellow students joined the hundreds of volunteers who searched for Massey in the following days.

NMU student Ryder Amesbury said he met Massey at a bar the night of his disappearance and woke up to see Massey’s picture online as a missing person.

“It’s scary,” Amesbury said. “It was an absolute blizzard that night. Like, I walked home, and I got lost walking home. So, it’s horrible to hear and obviously see, but it’s amazing to see how many people came out here to help search for him.”

Emergency personnel scoured the land and ice surrounding Founder’s Landing Boardwalk, the last known area where Massey was seen. Search efforts remained strong on land, with volunteers searching the lower harbor area.

Lt. Brian Kurin with the Marquette County Sheriff’s Special Operations Division said crews looked for evidence that Massey may have fallen through the ice.

“Which is difficult because the weather is constantly changing,” Kurin said. “Holes are freezing up, new ones are opening up, so it’s hard to say what reliably could’ve been where someone fell through or something like that.”

After four days, officials suspended their search efforts.

Marquette Police Department Chief Ryan Grim said law enforcement searched everywhere they possibly could.

“All of the resources that we had, like out on the ice, and then search and rescue, DNR [Department of Natural Resources], MSP [Michigan State Police], Coast Guard, we’ve searched everything we could possibly search with all of the equipment that we’ve had available to us,” Grim said. “And we’re at the point now, there’s nothing left we can actually physically search.”

Grim also wanted to thank the volunteers who braved the freezing cold to look for Massey.

“It was pretty amazing to see the people that showed up that knew him, that didn’t know him,” Grim said. “Trenton was a special person. He brought a huge crowd to help us look for him, and I really appreciate that help from the community.”

Grim said the search will resume if officials receive any new evidence, and law enforcement will continue to follow every lead.

Meanwhile, he said volunteers are still free to search for Massey on their own, but he asked people to be mindful of private property and to stay off the ice.

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