Family fears teen ran away to meet Israeli national, rain continues all day, haunted house opens inside Eloise
WEDNESDAY NEWS HIT - A Macomb County girl's family is worried that the 16-year-old ran away to meet an Israeli national she met online.
UPDATE: Father says missing teen is home, going to hospital for exam
Samantha Merecki disappeared Tuesday morning. Her car was found that night in the parking lot of the Kroger at 21 Mile and Card roads in Macomb Township.
She was raised Catholic but now identifies as Jewish and is an activist. Her activism has even been written about by local news outlets, including the Detroit Jewish News and the Macomb Daily.
"She’s become very interested in the Jewish culture, and the Israeli culture, and supporting that movement the past few months," said her mother, Gloria Hollingsworth. "And I think he took the opportunity … and manipulated her young mind."
Samantha Merecki's father said he talked to her Tuesday online and tried to get her home.
Her family fears that the man they believe she went to meet will take advantage of her.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Macomb County Sheriff's Office at 586-469-5151.
Haunted house opening inside Eloise Psychiatric Hospital
Eloise, an abandoned psychiatric hospital in Westland, is being transformed into a haunted house this Halloween season.
VIEW: Haunted house guide
Alice Cooper will be there Thursday for the ribbon-cutting of Eloise Asylum before it opens to the public Oct. 1.
One of the remaining buildings on the Eloise land, the old commissary, is a homeless shelter. Proceeds from the haunted house ticket sales will help people who use the shelter.
The 30,000-square-foot Kay Beard building will house two haunted attractions. Tickets start at $40 for both.
Rain continues all day Wednesday
The rain isn't letting up Wednesday.
It will be windy and wet into Thursday, with all of Metro Detroit under a Flood Watch until then.
Some areas could see 2-4 inches of rain. Parts of southeast Michigan have already exceeded 2 inches, including Armada, while other areas are nearing that.
After the wet week, the rain will clear up Friday, making way for a nice weekend.
2 teens dead after high-speed crash
Two 17-year-old teens died Monday in a crash in Lenawee County.
Police said the teens were in a vehicle that was speeding before the driver lost control around 8 a.m. and left the road on north M-52. The vehicle hit a landscaping boulder and flipped several times.
The driver and front-seat passenger, who are both 17, were injured. Both backseat passengers died.
Drugs or alcohol do not appear to be factors in the crash.
What else we're watching
- As renovations are completed on Michigan Central Station, the community is being asked for input about what they want to see for the former train depot and surrounding area.
- A judge overturned the conviction of a man who’s serving a life sentence in prison for an arson that killed five children 20 years ago.
- The public health officer in Kent County said he’s a victim of "brute mob hatred" after ordering masks in schools.
- A rally was held Tuesday to call for a harsher punishment a year after a construction worker was killed by a driver.
- The mother of a Howell High School student who was brutally beaten by classmates said her son, who has autism, trusted his attackers.
Live on FOX 2
Daily forecast
The rain will continue all day.
Search for Brian Laundrie continues after Gabby Petito’s death ruled a homicide
Florida law enforcement resumed their search for Brian Laundrie at a Sarasota County preserve. Also, the Wyoming coroner confirmed the remains found near Grand Teton National Park do belong to Gabby Petito – and she died as a result of homicide.