Grand Traverse sheriff asks public to identify two individuals

The Grand Traverse County Sheriff’s Office was asking for help identifying two individuals tied to an unspecified incident, and it directed anyone with information to Deputy Ertman. Residents who recognize the pair were urged to call 231-995-5000 or email dertman@gtsheriff.org.

The request, posted May 24, gave the public a direct role in a routine part of the sheriff’s office’s work: identifying people connected to incidents of public interest. The office says it responds to emergency situations every day and handles thousands of complaints each year, which is one reason it regularly turns to local media and Facebook when it needs help from the community.

That social media strategy has been in place for more than a decade. The sheriff’s office says it began using Facebook in March 2015 as its primary way to communicate public information, alongside regular contact with local media. In practice, that means notices like this one can move quickly through Grand Traverse County, reaching residents who may know the people in question before investigators do.

Grand Traverse County’s official website lists Michael D. Shea as the current sheriff. It also places the sheriff’s office at 851 Woodmere Avenue in Traverse City, the county seat and the base for an agency that handles everything from emergency calls to routine complaints across Grand Traverse County, Michigan.

For residents, the immediate takeaway is straightforward: if the two people in the sheriff’s notice look familiar, Deputy Ertman is the point of contact. The office has not released additional details about the underlying incident, but it is clearly treating identification as a priority and using its usual public-information channels to get names attached to faces.