Ordway indicted on weapons charges

BARRY COUNTY, Mich. (WOOD) - Harold James Ordway, who police believe is connected to the disappearances of two West Michigan men, was indicted on Thursday in federal court on one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

Ordway, 41, was arrested on Sept. 2 after police pulled him over during a routine traffic stop and found that he had a bloody mattress in the back of his truck.

The deputy noticed "evidence of some form of traumatic event or injury not related to the traffic crash," authorities said in a release. Ordway did not provide a good explanation for the bloody mattress when asked.

He was arrested on weapons charges.

Investigators soon discovered that two men with connections to Ordway, 53-year-old Paul Atchley and 32-year-old Michael VanBuskirk, were missing.

Atchley, police said, had been staying with Ordway at Ordway's parents house off Manning Lake Rd. in Barry County. They say he had been sleeping there in the back of the pick-up truck.

VanBuskirk, the father of three boys, was living at Ordway's home on Woodward Avenue in Battle Creek to help with a remodeling project, said police.