(2/26/2019) - The Bay County Prosecutor's Office is mulling charges after an investigation into alleged prostitution at three spas.
Back in September, the Green Spa in Kawkawlin Township was raided by the Michigan State Police, along with two other spas. It started out as human trafficking investigation that turned into a prostitution probe.
Teresa Elston lives near two of the spas -- the Green Spa and the Kawkawlin Tanning and Spa -- and was glad to hear police were investigating.
"I thought maybe they would go away, but they didn't," Elston said.
The open sign is on at both of the spas in Kawkawlin. The Euclid Spa was also investigated and appears to be open.
"It makes me feel really angry, because we get so much traffic around our house, that we shouldn't have," Elston said.
Michigan State Police have finished their investigation and their report is at the Bay County Prosecutor's Office to review for possible criminal charges. Prosecutor Nancy Borushko could not be reached for comment on the status of her review.
Elston also worries about the young women who she believes work at the spas.
"There's a lot of young gals around the neighborhood and stuff, and it's a little scary because you don't know who is coming and going," she said.
A woman at the Green Spa said the investigation has hurt her business, which she said is a massage parlor and spa. She said there is no illegal activity going on here.
It's not clear who owns the three businesses. Elston is tired of the traffic the Kawkawlin Tanning and Spa brings to her neighborhood and tired that this most recent investigation hasn't shut the places down for good.
"There seems like there has to be a way to get rid of it, because everybody, everybody that lives here knows what it is, and its not a tanning spa, I can guarentee that," she said. "I mean, there are tanning beds but I wouldn't tan in there."