Michigan
Abandoned dog found wandering with toy, jet crashes at Thunder Over Michigan, and more of 2023's top stories
As the year winds down, we’re taking a look back at some of the biggest stories in 2023.
Here are some of the Michigan stories that FOX 2 Detroit readers cared about most this year:
Abandoned dog seen wandering Detroit streets with stuffed toy rescued
A dog captured attention and broke hearts when she was spotted wandering Detroit with a stuffed toy earlier this year.
“Everybody was posting pictures in Detroit of who they were calling Nicholas, now Nikki because it’s a female, and of course started tagging Heather, South Lyon Murphy – can you help trap this dog?” said Katrina Weaver, the owner of It Is Pawzable Dog Training.
With teamwork, they were able to capture the German shepherd. Rescuers learned that Nikki’s owner had recently died, leaving her to wander the streets alone with her favorite toy.
Nikki was heartworm positive, so she received treatment and went to a foster home.
Wynter Smith disappearance and death investigation
An Amber Alert over the summer ended murder charges against a man after the body of 2-year-old Wynter Cole-Smith was found in Detroit.
Rashad Trice is accused of sexually assaulting and stabbing his ex-girlfriend before kidnapping her daughter Wynter on July 2. He was arrested July 3 after a chase in St. Clair Shores. When he was caught, Wynter was not with him, prompting the Amber Alert.
Wynter’s body was found July 5 in a Detroit alley after phone location data led investigators to that area.
Trice is now facing numerous charges in three counties – Ingham, Wayne, and Macomb, along with federal charges.
He’s due in court early next year.
Jet crashes at Thunder Over Michigan Airshow
A jet performing at the annual Thunder Over Michigan Airshow crashed over the summer and burst into flames outside a Belleville apartment.
According to the crash report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the fighter jet took off from Willow Run Airport in Ypsilanti around 3:15 p.m. Aug. 13. The pilot told investigators that the plane made a “banana pass” (a low-level knife-edge pass) from the runway it departed before he banked the plane.
This is when the pilot noticed the engine afterburner did not ignite, and speed was decreasing. The pilot said he used swing wings to increase the plane’s lift as he troubleshooted the issue.
As he worked to troubleshoot, the rear passenger said they needed to eject from the plane. However, the pilot did not want to yet. Both seats then ejected before the plane crashed at Waverly on the Lake apartments.
Warren police rescue boy who was electrocuted
A story from last year drew attention this year when video of a heroic rescue was released.
Warren Police Corp. Det. Daniel Rose and Officer David Chapman were honored this year with saving an 8-year-old boy who had been electrocuted in the summer of 2022.
When Rose and Chapman arrived at the scene for a different incident, they found the boy clinging to a downed wire.]
“When I picked him up first and brought him over he was shaking, you could feel him shaking,” Chapman said. “We don’t know what we’re going into, we just know that we have to do something.”
They rushed the child to a hospital in the back of a squad car, saving his life.
Michigan State University shooter found dead
On Feb. 13, a man later identified as Anthony McRae, opened fire on Michigan State University’s campus.
McRae killed three students – Arielle Anderson, Brian Fraser, and Alexandria Verner – and injured five others.
It prompted an hours-long manhunt that ended in Lansing when McRae shot himself when confronted by police.
Authorities have said they don’t know the motive for the shooting. A report released a few months after the shooting did say that McRae told a man he was beaten up by students three weeks before the campus attack. It’s not clear if they were MSU students.
The man told police that McRae was attacked in downtown East Lansing where he would collect cans for cash. It isn’t clear if that alleged attack had any correlation to the shooting.
The shooting led to calls for change at the university, and safety measures have been stepped up since it happened. McRae, who was not a student and had no connection to the school, was able to walk into two buildings.
According to the school, the university has improved the Family Assistance Center processes, expanded and centralized security cameras on campus, implemented a centralized security operations center, upgraded electronic building access, and updated door locks on campus.
Michigan
Watch: Dog with PVC pipe stuck around neck rescued in Michigan
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A dog is safe after being found wandering the streets in Wayne County with a piece of PVC pipe stuck around its neck.
Michigan Humane put out the call for help on social media on Tuesday after they received some photos of the dog and reports that it was seen near the border of Detroit and Dearborn.
The state’s oldest animal welfare group posted an update and some pictures of its own on Thursday, showing the dog in their care and getting the piece of pipe removed.
“Thanks to everyone’s support and tips, we were able to find the stray dog with a PVC pipe on his neck today and bring him into our shelter,” the social media post read. “We successfully removed the pipe from his neck, and he is safe in our care, receiving medical treatment.”
Michigan Humane did not provide any other information on the dog’s health status and did not elaborate on how the pipe may have ended up around the dog’s neck but believe it was put there intentionally. The organization has also announced a $2,500 reward for information leading to an arrest in this case.
Michigan Humane also thanked the Dearborn Police Department for helping them track down the dog and Carhartt for amplifying its message.
Michigan
Michigan State Spartans Insider Podcast: Recapping Spartans’ Win Over Washington
No. 16 Michigan State just keeps winning, and it’s doing so against quality Big Ten teams.
The Spartans steamrolled Washington at the Breslin Center on Thursday, besting the visitors, 88-54. They did so in front of a vibrant home crowd on what was the annual Alumni Night.
With the victory, Michigan State improves to 13-2 on the year, 4-0 in Big Ten play and 8-0 on its home court. It is also extended its win streak to eight games.
Our Aidan Champion recaps the win on this postgame edition of the Michigan State Spartans Insider Podcast.
You can watch the episode below:
Michigan State coach Tom Izzo addressed the media after Thursday’s contest.
Below is a partial transcript from Izzo’s opening statement:
Izzo: “Well, when you have a game like that, it’s hard to even know what to say except — that was Matt Larson that said it walking up the steps — I hope every media person, every alum, every student and every fan, appreciates the specialness we have here. The alumni reunions that we have every year are incredible, but for that many former Izzone members to come back over 20 and 30 years was special. Special for me, I think special for my team. And I almost felt sorry for Washington; I mean, they probably thought they were coming in here and there’d be no students. And that group was so good and so fired up; there was no entitlement, none of them left, none of them transferred. They were unbelievable. And I could have stayed there for a half hour after and thanked each and every one of them. But in all the things that happen, please appreciate that this place is different. It’s different. You can say it about places all over — this place is damn different. And I’m just thankful for them, I’m thankful for our marketing people, I’m thankful for our Izzone coach and I’m thankful for all the people that put in the work to get this thing done. I don’t want to make it bigger than the game, but for Tom Izzo, it’s bigger than the game. And when Matt said it to me walking up the steps, I thought it was special.”
Don’t forget to follow the official Spartan Nation Page on Facebook Spartan Nation WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE, and be a part of our vibrant community group Go Green Go White as well WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.
Michigan
Michigan State football lands Division II transfer WR Rodney Bullard from Valdosta State
Jonathan Smith continues to replenish his roster and Michigan State football’s receiver room.
The Spartans picked up a pledge Thursday from wideout Rod Bullard, a transfer from Division II Valdosta State in Georgia. The 6-foot, 170-pound native of Albany, Georgia, has two years of eligibility remaining after redshirting in 2022 and playing 28 games the past two seasons.
As a sophomore in the fall, Bullard caught 42 passes for 1,001 yards with 12 touchdowns and an average of 23.8 yards per catch. The Blazers lost to Ferris State in the Division II national title game, and Bullard had three catches for 15 yards in the 49-14 loss.
In 2023, he had 43 catches for 566 yards and seven scores and returned 16 kicks for a 24.8-yard average with a 99-yard touchdown return.
Bullard is the 14th transfer and third incoming receiver, joining Chrishon McCray (Kent State) and Omari Kelly (Middle Tennessee State). The Spartans lost wideouts Jaron Glover (Mississippi State), Jaelen Smith (Texas-San Antonio), Aziah Johnson (North Carolina) and Antonio Gates Jr. (undecided) among 13 outbound transfers from their 2024 team that finished 5-7 and missed a bowl game for the third straight season.
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.
Subscribe to the “Spartan Speak” podcast for new episodes weekly on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or anywhere you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.
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