A Port Huron man suspected of killing his wife and fleeing with their five-year-old son is in custody after authorities, including the Oakland County Sheriff’s SWAT team, apprehended the man in Orion Township early Sunday morning.

Douglas Edwin Ball, Jr., 39, was the person of interest in the homicide of Lydia Rose Ball, 30, also of Port Huron, according to a press release from the Port Huron Police Dept.
The investigation began when the Port Huron police were called to a home on the 1200 block of Rawlins in Port Huron. Lydia Ball’s parents called authorities after going to the home to check on the well-being of their daughter, the PHPD said.
Police then discovered Lydia Ball dead inside the home after 4 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 20.
“The investigation at the scene indicated Mrs. Ball was the victim of a homicide and that her husband, Douglas Ball, was a person of interest. Information was obtained that Ball had fled the scene with his 5-year-old son,” said Port Huron Police Captain Jeff Baker, in a news release.
An Amber Alert was then issued for the missing boy.
The Port Huron police tracked Ball to a mobile home park in Orion Township, and called the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department for assistance.
Police surrounded the home Swallow Court and Oakland County SWAT forced entry into the home about 8:20 a.m. Sunday, securing the child and taking Ball into custody without incident, according to a press release from Oakland County Sheriff’s Department.
Ball was transported back to Port Huron, where the investigation continues.
The PHPD did not release the cause of death of Lydia Ball, and the motive and abduction are still under investigation.
An autopsy will be conducted this week on Lydia Ball, and the case will be presented to the St. Clair County Prosecutors Office for charges, the PHPD said.
Port Huron detectives took custody of the boy, and he will likely be turned over to grandparents, according to the PHPD.
The Oakland County Sheriff’s Department SWAT team, the Michigan State Police, the Macomb FBI office, and National Center of Missing and Exploited Children Code Adam investigators all assisted in the investigation, according to the PHPD press release. — Jim Newell