Feb. 2, 2023 A sheriff’s deputy under investigation after he was accused of not looking hard enough to find Monica Cannady and her children has resigned.
By Peg McNichol Source The Oakland Press, Sterling Heights, Mich. (TNS) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
OAKLAND COUNTY, Michigan — A sheriff’s deputy under investigation after he was accused of not looking hard enough to find Monica Cannady and her children has resigned.
“After a deep dive and an exhaustive review of all the components of this tragedy, we did not uncover anything that would have altered this tragic outcome in that moment,” Sheriff Mike Bouchard said. “After any major incident, we do an after-action analysis and as part of that review it did uncover a deputy who did not act in as thorough and professional a manner as we expect from our people. Deputies before and after did respond appropriately.”
The deputy, who is not being identified by Bouchard, resigned on Jan. 23.
Sheriff’s deputies have a culture of service, Bouchard said, adding, “this new employee (less than 2 years) did not reflect that model. Prior to the completion of the investigation, the deputy resigned. The internal review of that deputy is concluded with the deputy’s resignation.”
Cannady, 35, and her two sons, Kyle Milton, 9, and Malik Milton, 3, were found dead of exposure in a Pontiac field two days later. Her 10-year-old daughter survived the ordeal and summoned help. She was briefly hospitalized for treatment of hypothermia and has since been released to the care of other family members. The medical examiner determined the cause of Cannady and her sons’ deaths to be accidental hypothermia.
People who spotted her walking with the children on Jan. 13 called police because the children had bed sheets wrapped around their sweatshirts and pants but no coats, hats or gloves. A timeline released by the sheriff’s office shows that one officer tried twice to get the family help that afternoon, even calling for a drone to find them at one point. Cannady refused any help from that deputy, who wanted to give the children coats and gloves kept at the Pontiac substation.
Another deputy found the family at McLaren Oakland Hospital in downtown Pontiac later in the afternoon and offered help, but Cannady again refused.
Cannady’s family had been trying to get her help as she experienced a mental-health crisis that started about three weeks earlier.
At the time of her crisis, a trial was underway in Oakland County for the murder of her children’s father, Kyle Milton, on Nov. 4, 2021. Bouchard said it’s unclear if her breakdown was directly related to the trial.
When Cannady visited her mother’s house on the afternoon of Jan. 13, her mom begged her to stay. Cannady, fearful that police, family members and others were trying to kill her, argued with her mom and left with the children.
At 4:30 p.m. Cannady’s aunt asked deputies for advice on how to properly commit Cannady to a treatment facility. Those officers visited Cannady’s apartment on North Perry to perform a welfare check, unaware of earlier calls about the woman walking around the downtown area with children was Cannady, according to police.
At 4:43 p.m. the deputy who has since resigned was sent to look for Cannady and the children. Bouchard later said that deputy did not do enough to find the family and launched an investigation.
At 5:20 p.m., two deputies were dispatched to search for the family. Between 7:30 and 8:10 p.m., three deputies searched for them. Their bodies were found two days later in a field where the Lakeside Housing complex once stood after Cannady’s daughter knocked on the door of a nearby home. Weekend services were private.
On Sunday afternoon, Pontiac United Crimes organized a balloon release near the field where Cannady and her sons’ bodies were found. Family, friends, clergy, Pontiac officials and at least one sheriff’s deputy gathered to mourn and release balloons. Many of the speakers vowed that tragedies like the deaths of Monica Cannady and her sons would never be allowed to happen again. They implored everyone to erase the stigma that keeps people from asking for mental health support.
Sunday’s balloon release also included a collection of donations to help the family. A GoFundMe is underway to raise $50,000 to cover the cost of the three funerals, Cannady’s daughter’s medical bills and provide for her future care. As of Monday evening nearly $30,000 had been donated: https://gofund.me/c22cb894.