Barry County Sheriff's Office

05/28/2026

The Barry County Sheriff’s Office is proud to announce the promotion of Deputy Arnold to the rank of Sergeant.

Sgt. Arnold has been with us since September of 2022. He came to us from Prairieville Township Police Department with one year of experience. Sgt. Arnold has pursued specialized training in Accident Reconstruction bringing valuable knowledge to the department and community.

05/14/2026

05/11/2026

Pistol Sales Permits are available today Monday, May 11, 2026 until 4pm

04/10/2026

BARRY COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE NEWS RELEASE

SHERIFF DAR LEAF

TYPE OF INCIDENT: Two Vehicle Serious Injury Crash

DATE/TIME: Thursday, April 9, 2026 at 2:44 pm

LOCATION: S M-66 Hwy / Tasker Rd Hwy, Assyria Township

INFORMATION:

The Barry County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a two-vehicle serious injury traffic crash, which occurred on S M-66 Hwy and Tasker Rd, in Assyria Twp.

The preliminary investigation revealed a Toyota Camry was driving northbound at a high rate of speed, and a GMC Acadia was traveling southbound. The GMC Acadia turned east onto Tasker Rd into the path of the Toyota Camry. The vehicles collided and multiple occupants were ejected from the Acadia.

One of the occupants of the GMC, a 19-year-old male from Coldwater, was airlifted to the hospital with life threatening injuries.

Three other occupants of the GMC were transported to the hospital for their injuries.

The crash remains under investigation.

ASSISTING AGENCIES:

Nashville Police Department, Barry Township Police Department, Bellevue Fire Department, Johnstown Fire Department, LifeCare EMS, Life EMS, Memorial MedFlight, Barry County Central Dispatch, Goldsworthy’s Towing

INVESTIGATORS: Deputy Mark Noteboom, Deputy Hansford, Deputy Odette, and Deputy Blundell

RELEASED BY: Sergeant TJ Heald

04/02/2026

BARRY COUNTY SHERIFF NEWS RELEASE

SHERIFF DAR LEAF

TYPE OF INCIDENT: Drowning

DATE/TIME: 04/01/2026 @ 1625 Hours

LOCATION: Head Lake, Hope Township, Barry County

INFORMATION:

The Barry County Sheriff’s Office responded to Head Lake in Hope Township where the victim, Monty Minshall, a 63 year old male was fishing from his flat bottom boat. Deputies arrived on scene located the capsized boat and the victim floating near the boat. With the assistance of a lake resident’s paddle boat Deputies were able to pull him to shore. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

ASSISTING PERSONNEL:

Barry County Sheriff’s Office Road Patrol, Barry County Sheriff’s Office Marine Division, Barry County Central Dispatch, Delton Fire Dept., and Life EMS.

INVESTIGATORS:

Deputy D. Price, Deputy W. Romph and Sergeant S. Lehman

RELEASED BY:

Sergeant Lehman

03/17/2026

If you notice a large police presence in Dowling today, Tuesday, March 17th, everything is secure and there is no threat. The Barry County Special Response Team (SRT) is conducting training in the area from 4p.m. - 8p.m.

03/13/2026

Another scam letter misrepresenting Publishers Clearing House - other than the overall impression of an unprofessional letter, there are numerous clues that shout loudly that this is a scam. My favorite is the reference to the price patrol.

03/09/2026

BARRY COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE NEWS
RELEASE
SHERIFF DAR LEAF

TYPE OF INCIDENT: Fatal Crash
DATE/TIME: Thursday, March 5, 2026 at 12:37 hours
LOCATION: M 37 Hwy / E Bristol Rd, Johnstown Twp

INFORMATION:
The Barry County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a two vehicle fatal traffic crash. The crash occurred on M 37 Hwy near E Bristol Rd in Johnstown Township.

The preliminary investigation revealed a 54 year old male from Battle Creek was traveling south on M 37 Hwy in a Kia Soul. A 64 year old female from Battle Creek was traveling north on M 37 Hwy in a Honda Civic. The driver of the Kia lost control on the wet roadway and went into the northbound lane. The driver of the Honda was unable to avoid the Kia and the two vehicles collided.

The driver of the Kia was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the Honda was transported to an area hospital with non-life
threatening injuries.

The crash remains under investigation. Drugs and alcohol are not believed to be a factor
in the crash.

ASSISTING AGENCIES:
Barry Township Police Department, Johnstown Township Fire, Life Care EMS, Barry County Central Dispatch, Goldsworthy’s Towing, and the Michigan Department of Transportation.

INVESTIGATORS:
Deputy Jon VandenBerg, Deputy David Price, Deputy Elijah Arnold, and Sergeant Scott Ware.

RELEASED BY:
Sergeant Scott Ware

03/01/2026

Please join us in congratulating Deputy O’Neill and Deputy Meece who graduated the KVCC Corrections Academy on Friday. We are extremely proud of them.

Deputy O’Neill was picked to give a speech at the graduation.

02/27/2026

Scam Alert - A resident of Barry County received this check and letter last week.

Had this individual deposited the check and called the Claims Manager, they would have been instructed to wire money out of their account to claim their prize. By the time their bank notified them that it was a scam, their money would have been gone.

The check paper is legitimate. The routing and transit number is legitimate. Fidelity Investments is a real company.

Notice the improper use of grammar and sense of urgency on pg 2 in the Prize Draw Guarantee section. These are a few red flags that help us identify these too good to be true situations.

Be cautious when responding to unsolicited mail and always include family or close friends in decision making of this type.