ALPINE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — The last night of Gregory Gietzen’s life began as a night out.
“Two friends go out, and they were having a couple of drinks at a couple different local establishments in the Comstock Park area,” explained Sgt. Joel Roon from the Kent County Sheriff’s Office.
But the night ended in tragedy when the 57-year-old from Grand Rapids was found dead in the friend’s driveway Sunday morning.
Preliminary autopsy results show Gietzen died from exposure, but there were also injuries to his face. Detectives say Gietzen’s injuries could have been caused by a fall, but they're not ruling out other potential causes.
“The contributing factors of the injuries is something that has yet to be established,” Roon said. “It's possible that the injuries came from an assault, which would be a criminal matter. Do we think the injuries were what killed him? No.”
Detectives say after spending some time at bars with Gietzen, his friend left for his home in the 4500 block of Bekinshire Drive and went to sleep. Gietzen stayed behind.
Detectives say Gietzen was last seen about 8:30 p.m. Saturday leaving a bar near West River Drive and 4 Mile Road NW.
Sometime after that, Gietzen got a ride to the friend’s home.
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