APRIL MILLSAP - 14 yo (7/2014) - / POI; unidentified motorcyclist - Armada MI

14-year-old April Millsap found dead in Armada, murder investigation now under way

3:03 PM, Jul 25, 2014
11:18 AM, Jul 26, 2014

ARMADA, Mich. (WXYZ) - The Armada community is planning to hold a candlelight vigil for the teen girl found murdered in a wooded area Thursday night.

The prayer service is scheduled for Saturday at St. Mary Mystical Rose Church on Main Street at 6:30 p.m.

During a live news conference Friday, Armada Police say the death of a 14-year-old girl has now prompted a murder investigation.

April Millsap's body was found in a wooded area Thursday night. Joggers found her body and alerted police around 8:30 p.m.

The teenager's dog led the joggers to her body.

State Police were called to assist at the scene near Fulton and Depot roads in Armada. The scene is adjacent to a residential area.

According to police, the teenager went to walk her dog and did not return home. Family members noticed a police presence in the area and went to check it out. That's when they were notified that April's body had been found.

At this time, Michigan State Police are looking for a Long Grey Box Van that was seen in the area of the crime scene. The van is being described as a painters-style van that has dents all over it. Two white men were seen in the van.

Detectives are also trying to locate a motorcyclist that was seen in the area. Witnesses say they saw a young man riding a small blue and white motorcycle on the trail around the time April was killed.

It has not been determined what, if any role the van or motorcycle has in the investigation. If you were in the area in a similar type van or riding a similar type of motorcycle, or know someone who was, you are asked to call police at 1-877-616-4677 or visit www.michigan.gov/michtip .

Grief counseling will be held at Armada Middle School from 9:00 a.m. to noon on Saturday, July 26.

A fund has been set up to help the family pay for funeral expenses. You can contribute at any Fifth Third Bank. Any checks should be labeled "For the benefit of April Millsap."

Stay with 7 Action News and WXYZ.com for the latest on this developing story.

http://www.wxyz.com/news/region/macomb-county/murder-investigation-under-way-after-14-year-old-april-millsaps-body-discovered-in-armada

Hello Everyone,

I am new to this forum but have been following it for over a year now. I was just on Yahoo where there was an article about this girl. I was reading the comments and found the following update on the story from someone who claims to be local. I thought I would share:



By: "Commenter"
6 hours ago

"Here's what we know.

April Millsap was killed the evening of July 24th on a walking path that runs within yards of her home.

The walking path is over 20 miles in length with varying degrees of pavement.

Law enforcement (local, state, and FBI) have a description of a man and of a motorcycle as the main leads in the case.

No explanation of cause of death or how April was found has been made public.

April's immediate family and her boyfriend have been cleared by police.

The day after her death, it was reported that April sent a text to her boyfriend that said "OMG. I think I am about to be abducted". It was suggested that this report came from her boyfriend but since then nothing has been said about the text, except that she sent it to her boyfriend.

On Wednesday, police executed a search warrant at a home that is about 21 miles from April's home but only yards off that same walking path. The motivation was that a man living at the home was said to match the description of the man seen on the walking path near April's body at about the time she is said to have died. But the reason for the search warrant was that the owner of the home was growing massive amounts of marijuana. 

Arrest warrants were then issued and 2 arrests were made at the home. One of a man in his late 60s and another of a man about 30 years of age. The arrests were made in connection to the marijuana, not the murder.

The men at one point were identified as father and son but that is no longer being reported. They have not been identified.

Neighbors interviewed by reporters say the motorcycle that matched the police description was infamous around that home for a long time (presumably heard and seen) but suddenly disappeared from their view.

Neighbors also reported that the family was very unfriendly (if that means anything) and suggested that their involvement in 'all of this' would not surprise them.

The older man has a felony record with 2 arrests and convictions for (and I am painting this broadly) inappropriate relations with 1) a girl under 13, and 2) a girl under 16. The younger man has a record (not sure if felony or misdemeanor) for failing to pay child support.

When local reporters were reporting the story and filming the house (which is a very large and beautiful home on a very large piece of land in a rural area), a woman on the lawn and on the phone alternately waved and flipped off the cameras and reporters.

The FBI has taken the lead in the investigation and was seen removing large amounts of evidence from the home on Wednesday.

I am local to this story and thought you'd like to know where it stands as of 4pm (est) on July 31."

Collapse Replies (1) Reply

Wow, thank you, Mimi!

Mom numb as police look for killer of Michigan girl, 14

Tresa Baldas, Detroit Free Press
10:36 p.m. EDT July 28, 2014

MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. — Four days after her teen daughter was found murdered on a nearby recreation trail, Jennifer Millsap sat in a plastic white lawn chair outside her Armada Village home Monday, struggling to comprehend what was happening.

The body of 14-year-old April Millsap was found Thursday evening, hours after she disappeared while taking her dog for a walk on the popular Macomb Orchard Trail near her home in northern Macomb County. Joggers found the girl's body in a ditch. It was April's dog, Penny, who led them to her body.

Police said the killing occurred sometime between 6:20 and 8:20 p.m. When April didn't return home from her walk, they said, her mother called police.

"I'm just existing. I'm just numb," the 43-year-old mother said later through a broken porch screen door. She didn't want to discuss her daughter's death — noting funeral arrangements hadn't been made yet — and referred questions to the state police.

Police released a sketch Sunday of a person of interest with whom they want to talk.

Michigan State Police Lt. Michael Shaw said "no one's been ruled out yet" and that police are focusing on three things: a gray box van, occupied by two men; a blue-and-white motorcycle that was spotted on the trail the day April was killed, driven by a thin white male in a black helmet, and the composite sketch of a male who was seen on the trail. It's not known if he is a suspect or a witness.

Shaw also confirmed that police are investigating a text message that was sent from April's phone to her boyfriend's phone. He would not disclose the contents of the text, or say when it was sent.

"We don't know who sent it — if it was April, if it was the killer, or someone else," Shaw said.

The Associated Press has reported that the text read "OMG … I think I'm being kidnapped," though Shaw said that's not accurate.

Shaw said that police are continuing to interview family members and a boyfriend.

The teen's death was ruled a homicide by the Macomb County Medical Examiner's Office. The cause of her death has not been released. Police have said there were no gunshot or stab wounds.

The case has triggered widespread publicity, with police now receiving more than 450 tips in the case. It has stunned people in the usually quiet and quaint village of 1,730 people.

"My heart just absolutely breaks for the family," said Chrysler retiree Susan Paull, an Armada resident whose grandson went to school with April and frequently rides his bike on the trail.

"It's devastated this little town," Paull said, adding, "It's going to change a lot of people's habits and attitudes, and we're not going to be so carefree now."

Melinda and Mike Burczycki, whose two teen sons were riding their bikes on the trail the day April was killed, are also a little on edge now. They still feel their community is safe, they said. But Melinda Burcyzyki noted, "Now we start to wonder" about possible crime.

Christy Majewski, who works at the Armada Pharmacy along Main Street, said everyone in town is talking about the case. She said folks are both saddened and anxious "to figure out who did it."

"Everyone wants to know, 'Was this random?' " Majewski said.

Three of April's classmates from Armada Middle School don't think it was, though they have no clue who did it or why. The three teen girls strolled down Main Street on Monday, wearing red clothes to match April's hair, which she often dyed red.

They described April as a very nice girl who made funny faces, loved shopping and enjoyed trying to make people laugh when they were down.

April's death, they said, just doesn't seem real. "We can't believe that she's gone," one of them said.

http://www.wzzm13.com/story/news/nation/2014/07/28/mom-numb-as-police-look-for-killer-of-14-year-old-armada-girl/13303815/

Murdered 14-Year-Old Sends Horrifying Text Right Before Her Death

Posted by Kiri Blakeley on Jul 30, 2014 at 1:04 PM



Did a teenage girl send out a text message to her boyfriend telling him that she was about to be murdered? This might be the tragic case with 14-year-old April Millsap, who was walking her dog along a bucolic trail in Armada, Michigan, when she apparently sent a text to her boyfriend that read, "OMG ... I think I am being kidnapped." She was later found dead on the trail, her faithful dog guarding her body.

April always walked her dog, Penny, along the same trail, in the early evening. But after April -- or someone -- sent the message, she disappeared. The only witness to the murder, her dog, later barked at joggers, who found her body.

The text message is key to the investigation, though police don't yet know if April actually sent the text, or her murderer did, or maybe even someone else entirely. If it wasn't April who sent the text, it's a good bet whoever did is responsible for this horrible crime or knows who is.

Could April have managed to send a text while being kidnapped and murdered? And if she could reach her phone, why not dial 911? Could someone have sent the message to throw off police? I'm sure police are investigating all angles. They would not yet reveal how she was killed.

Whatever happened, it's a tragedy. April lived in a sparsely populated woodsy area where everyone knew everyone. Who would think something so horrific would happen? You send your teen out with her dog on a trail she's walked many times before, you expect her to return safely.

Police are looking for a gray 'painter’s-type' box van with dents on it and two men inside, who were seen in the area around the time of her murder. They are also looking for a man in his 20s with medium-length curly hair.

]http://www.cafemom.com/articles/in_the_news/175413/teen_murdered_text_message?utm_medium=sem2&utm_campaign=prisma&utm_source=outbrain&utm_content=0&non_us=US#

Police focus on shoe print, trash in teen trail murder

9:47 a.m. EDT August 22, 2014

ARMADA, Mich. (Gina Damron and Christina Hall, Detroit Free Press)-- A month after April Millsap's body was found near the Macomb Orchard trail, police continue to investigate the Armada teen's killing.

A person with knowledge of the investigation said authorities are investigating that Millsap had a shoe print on her upper torso.

Meanwhile, police have named James D. VanCallis of Wales Township a person of interest in the case. He has not been charged in the 14-year-old's death. Millsap was found dead July 24 near the trail.

Within a week of July 24, someone at the VanCallis home contacted Jeff's Rubbish Disposal saying extra trash needed to be picked up because the basement had flooded, said Kristy Meikle, who said she is the office manager for the business.

She said the VanCallises have used the company since 2010 and have trash collected once a week. She said the company takes garbage to the St. Clair County landfill.

Meikle said police contacted the business for information.

Michigan State Police Lt. Michael Shaw would not comment Thursday on whether authorities searched the landfill.

Dean Ankouny, VanCallis' attorney, said his client is being "wrongfully targeted."

On Thursday, Ankouny said he is unaware of any violent criminal record for 32-year-old VanCallis. Ankouny also said he has no knowledge of any ties between his client and Millsap.

In July, authorities executed a search warrant and arrested VanCallis and his father, who is a registered sex offender, on drug charges. On Monday, authorities executed another search warrant.

David Porter, a spokesman for the FBI Detroit field office, said he "cannot comment about what law enforcement was looking for, found or seized during the execution of a search warrant." Porter also said he couldn't comment on physical evidence in the investigation or any future charges.

Ankouny said the VanCallis family has been cooperative with police.

"They have nothing to hide," he said. "They want the killer found just like everyone wants the killer found."

Millsap died from blunt head trauma and asphyxia due to neck compression and her death was ruled a homicide, according to her death certificate. Her dog, Penny, led joggers to her body.

Contact Gina Damron: 313-223-4526 or gdamron@freepress.com

http://www.wzzm13.com/story/news/crime/2014/08/22/april-millsap-armada-james-vancallis/14434189/