The very last SMS that 14-year-old April Millsap sent was chilling.
It read: “Omg… I think I am being kidnapped.”
The teenager was out walking her dog Penny when she sent the ominous message to her boyfriend.
Her beaten and bruised body was found hours later after her loyal border collie led a couple who were out walking to the young girl.
April was lying in a drainage ditch in Michigan in the US, near the woods where she’d walked her dog.
Later, reports came out that the dog had tried to lure other walkers to her body of her mistress.
She was standing guard over her.
Young April had just graduated from middle school and was to start high school next month.
CBS news report police feel the person who killed April may have been familiar with her dog, Penny. Armada Police Chief Howard Smith told CBS Detroit: “I think with the characteristics of this person in this particular crime there was very different that other crimes – was the fact that she was walking her dog Penny out there on the trail, the dog was there, the dog stayed there during in the commission of the crime.”
Her devastated family also said they believed April knew her killer, with her grandfather Dennis Levans telling the Detroit Free Press: “It’s almost like it had to be something like somebody knew them. We can’t think of any other reason.”
“We can’t come up with any other logical reason. We’re at a loss, she was just a beautiful young lady,” he said.
“This person that may match this profile may familiar with the dog or may be very familiar with dogs in general.”
According to local newspaper The Macomb Daily, police are now ‘zeroing in’ on a suspect.
Michigan State Police Lt. Michael Shaw told the paper: “We are pretty confident that we are zeroing in on the person who did this and the person knows that as well.”
Only a few hours ago, a search warrant was issued and FBI searched a property in connection with April’s murder.
April’s funeral is being held tomorrow.
The town she lived in of 11,000 people is in mourning, with pink ribbons adorning houses and streetscapes in honour of the young teenager.
Even her dog, the loyal Penny, who never left her side while she lay dead, has had her chest dyed pink as a tribute to her beloved April.
Top Comments
I can't even think about this.
My friend has developed an app for androids and iphones called Safe Runner- not only is it a fitness app but when your headphones are pulled out of their jack it automatically calls your emergency contact and notifies them of your exact GPS location and starts video recording. Perfect for going running at night in winter. Im not sure it would have saved this girls life but it sure makes me feel better about still being able to exercise at night plus it was developed by a Perth mumma with her own money. cant imagine what this poor girls family and boyfriend are going through. http://saferunner.co/