ARMADA, MI — The Associated Press say 14-year-old April Millsap texted, “OMG… I think I’m being kidnapped” on the day she was later found dead in a ditch.
UPDATE:
But the St. Clair County man left “a unique fingerprint” in the beating and stomping death of 14-year-old April Millsap near a popular northern Macomb County trail in the summer of 2014, Assistant Prosecutor William Cataldo told Macomb County jurors today.
That is VanCallis’ motorcycle. The blue, white and black motorcycle with modifications and two different-size wheels is on video at an Armada gas station shortly before April’s slaying July 24, 2014, Cataldo said. And it’s also seen on the Macomb Orchard Trail later that day by witnesses and caught on video riding past an Armada house after the slaying. Cataldo said a fitness app on April’s phone was showing quick movement in the same area at the time.
See the rest at the bottom….
Last Thursday, Millsap took the family collie, “Penny” out for a walk but never returned home. Hours later, a couple jogging along the Macomb Orchard Trail found Penny standing guard over Millsap’s dead body, in a drainage ditch 15 to 20 feet off the trail.
“The dog protected the body, stayed with the body, actually moved in and out,” Armada Police Chief Howard Smith said. “They went by the dog the first time, thinking the dog may be coming after them. When they came back the other way on the trail and the dog was still there that made the people curious.”
Police have not released how Millsap was killed, but have said she was not stabbed or shot. They also stated detectives have interviewed relatives and Millsap’s boyfriend, “but they are not considered suspects in her death.”
Authorities are asking anyone who may have seen April on July 24 to call the state police tip line, 877 616-4677. They’re also trying to get some info on two vehicles seen around the area – a gray, painter’s-type van with many dents in it, with two while males inside, and a small-capacity blue and white motorcycle seen on the trail with a young male rider.
On Sunday police released a sketch of a man who was seen on the trail. They have no said if he is considered a suspect or a witness. “We just want to talk to him,” Michigan State Police Lt. Michael Shaw said.
Regarding the ominous text sent from her phone, Shaw said, “We don’t know who sent it — if it was April, if it was the killer, or someone else.” He added that the context of the text, the one currently in my headline, is not being accurately reported. Unfortunately, I didn’t read this fact until after I had already written this article.
Updated source: http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/macomb/2016/02/05/vancallis-armada-millsap-trial/79838234/