Man finds twin in driveway, killed by crossbow
NORTON SHORES, Mich. (WOOD) — Norton Shores police are investigating the death of a 20-year-old man shot by a crossbow, whose body was found Wednesday by his twin brother.
His family identified the victim as 20-year-old Marcus Olmstead, described by his stepmother as “child-like.”
Relatives want to know who would want to kill Olmstead and why a crossbow was the weapon chosen.
“Maybe because it was quiet, and so we wouldn’t hear a gunshot. I don’t know,” said Olmstead’s stepmother, Michelle Olmstead.
Olmstead lived with his family in a neighborhood in the 3100 block of Leon Street.
His stepmother said police told the family they are treating the death as a homicide. Norton Shores police have only called the death “suspicious.”
In the hours before his death, Olmstead had been at a friend’s house playing fantasy board games, his stepmother said.
He loved games like Ninth Age, War Hammer and Dungeons and Dragons, she said.
“They do the gaming a lot,” she said. “They have friends come over and family. It’s a wholesome thing.”
After he got home, he sent phone messages back and forth with a girl, then went outside around 8:30 p.m. to wait for her.
“About an hour later, his twin (Maxwell) came home from work, found him lying there in the driveway,” Michelle Olmstead said.
“He goes over there, starts shaking him, rolls him over and that’s when he realizes there’s an arrow sticking out of his abdomen, like something you’d see in a movie or on CSI or something,” she explained.
Michelle Olmstead, who is a registered nurse, said she tried to save Marcus.
“The first thing I do, I see him, I went into nurse mode, checked a pulse, did CPR,” she said. “He was already passed. He was cold.”
Marcus’s twin posted about the death on Facebook. “I will always love you my brother,” he wrote.
“Max had the strongest bond to Marcus than anybody,” their stepmother said. “He’s devastated. He’s very angry. He’s a 20-year-old young man. He’s got a flow of emotions. He lost half of himself — his twin.”
Marcus had graduated from Mona Shores High School, where he sang in the choir, touring Europe in his senior year.
“That was probably the proudest moment in his life,” his stepmother said.
He was working at Menard’s.
“He was a very outgoing person. He was a gentle soul. He did have some emotional problems, but deep down, he was a kind soul.”
She said police have seized Marcus Olmstead’s cellphone.
“He was on that phone all the time and obviously was involved with some nasty people,” the stepmother said.
Anyone with information or surveillance video in the area is asked to call the Norton Shores Police Department at 231-733-2691 or Silent Observer at 231-72-CRIME.