Man Without Family Dead on Kitchen Floor for a Year

Based on reporting by USA Today.

Police discovered the body of a man who had likely been dead in his home for a year.

Livingston County deputies checked the home of Gary Richard Buys, 69, around 7:30 a.m. ET Friday, at the request of a neighbor who watches his cabin in northern Michigan, Sheriff Bob Bezotte said Tuesday. They found Buys' deteriorated body on the kitchen floor.

"We believe he died from natural causes," the sheriff said. "It still remains open until an autopsy is completed."

Officers found "quite a few liquor bottles" in the tri-level home, but whether alcohol was a factor in his death was not immediately known, Bezotte said. Foul play is not suspected, both the sheriff and Undersheriff Michael Murphy said.

Buys had no known family, they said. His parents were dead, he was retired, and he was not married.

Neighbors said they had noticed Buys' yard had become overgrown, but they assumed Buys — a quiet man who enjoyed his privacy — was at his cottage in northern Michigan.

The neighbor at the cabin, whose name was not released, had reported not seeing Buys in a long time. He grew concerned when he was unable to reach Buys after a tree fell on his cottage, and he called the Livingston County Sheriff's Department early Friday to ask for a welfare check.

"It's sad no one was checking on him or paying attention to him," Bezotte said. "His services were still on, so he must have paid through automatic payment plan."

Source: USA Today