Dozens Of Tips, Helicopter Searches Turn Up Few Clues In Hunt For Missing Tourists In Michigan

ISHPEMING, Mich. (WWJ) - Despite several organized searches and dozens of tips submitted by the public, authorities still have no idea what happened to two sisters from out-of-state who disappeared on a trip to visit family and go sightseeing in Michigan.

Leslie Roy, from Nebraska, and Lee Marie Wright, from Oklahoma, were last seen checking out of a hotel in Ishpeming, in the Upper Peninsula, two weeks ago on April 11. That night, they were scheduled to arrive at a hotel in Mackinaw City -- but they never made it and they haven't been seen or heard from since.

"We've circulated their photographs and we've taken a number of tips on any possible sightings, however we haven't been able to come up with any confirmed sighting of these two people," Michigan State Police Sgt. Kevin Dowling told WWJ's Beth Fisher.

Since the sisters went missing, there hasn't been any activity on their credit cards and investigators haven't returned any pings on their cell phones. Relatives said the duo might have stopped at a casino or visited a state park, but so far investigators haven't found any solid leads.

"We are conducting an air search in the vicinity of the Tahquamenon Falls region, this was one of their destinations along the route that they intended to visit on their way back home. Given that information, we're trying to locate possibly their vehicle in some area from the air," said Dowling.

"We don't have anything specific in terms of a location, but we're looking at roads in that vicinity. It's a rural, wooded area. There's a lot of remote area in that region. Of course, it's accessible by road in many areas but a lot of them are not traveled frequently. So, in the event that they're out in a wooded area somewhere, we would then be looking at possibly spotting their vehicle from the air and that's what were concentrating on right now. Lack of any other investigative leads, that's what we're working on," he continued.

The women are said to be traveling in a white 2010 Ford Explorer with a Nebraska license plate number of either "TVC 973" or "TTM 081."

Roy, who lives in Valley, Nebraska, is described as a white female about 5'3" tall and 125 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes.

Wright, who lives in Depew, Oklahoma, is described as a white female about 5'1" tall and 135 pounds with dark brown hair and blue eyes.

Dowling said with the lack of any evidence, investigators can't rule out the possibility of foul play.

"We don't have anything specifically but, you know, that's certainly in the realm of possibilities, that there was foul play involved," he said. "But at this point, it's purely speculative. We don't have any hard, factual information that leads us to believe that they were a victim of foul play, but that certainly is possible."

Although no tips from the public have panned out so far, Dowling said people should still call police if they think they might see the women.

"We haven't been able to have a sighting that we've been able to confirm. We've had a large number of potential sightings, but nothing that we've really been able to nail down and say 'Hey, we've got them on security video' or something like to really confirm their sighting," he said.

Anyone with information on the women's whereabouts is urged to contact Michigan State Police at 906-475-9922.