Footprints in snow lead to man's body

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - A man found dead next to a car repair shop in Grand Rapids was not the victim of foul play, but police said they don't know what led to his death.

Police on Tuesday identified the victim as Thomas P. Pauli, 52, who lived in Grand Rapids but had no permanent address. Detectives stopped short of saying he was homeless.

Pauli appeared almost trapped by a barbed-wire fence, leaving a trail of footprints in the snow before climbing over it. A trail of blood in the snow led around abandoned vehicles to a van, where Pauli died sometime over the weekend.

Grand Rapids police said they were trying to determine why Pauli died along the van next to the old A to Z Radiator shop in the 600 block of S. Division Ave.

It appeared he had cut himself while jumping the fence. "There are questions that are unanswered," said Grand Rapids Police Det. Sgt. Chris Postma.

Don Lamse, 70, who operates a car repair shop in the building, said he walked outside about 9:30 a.m. Monday to look for a part. He found Pauli crouched in a kneeling position.

"I thought he was trying to stay warm," Lamse said. "I don't know exactly what put him there...It's been very cold, and I've seen where, occasionally, people use vehicles to get out of the cold. I don't know if that was his intention."

Temperatures over the weekend dipped below zero. Lamse said Pauli was fully clothed and wearing a coat. Lamse said he at first believed the body was a pile of blankets.

"I hollered to him. He didn't move. I touched him. He didn't move."

He said he last checked the area late in the day on Friday.

Police said they found identification on the body and later confirmed his name on Tuesday. Detectives had received calls from more than a dozen people, asking whether the body was that of their missing relative, Postma said.

Detectives were trying to determine what led him there. An autopsy revealed there appears to be no sign of foul play and the cause of death is pending toxicology results.

Based on footprints in the snow, it appeared Pauli was in a lot behind the shop before searching for a place to jump the fence.

Not far to the right, a driveway leads out of the lot to South Division Avenue.

It appears Pauli jumped the fence and landed on an abandoned car, where the snow was blood-stained. He then left a trail to the spot near the van.

If you have any information, you are asked to contact the Grand Rapids Police Department or Silent Observer.