Genesee Co. authorities seek missing 15-year-old girl

Authorities are searching for a missing 15-year-old girl, Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson announced Wednesday.

Norreana Horton was last seen Monday leaving Kearsely High School with Robert Tramble, a 54-year-old man who is not related to her, Swanson said in a press conference.

Video footage captured Horton getting into a black 2011 Chevrolet Tahoe Tahoe, which had a broken tail light.

Tramble was inside and did not appear to have used force with the teen, the sheriff said.

Since Horton is a 15-year-old and under the state age of consent, authorities are treating the case as a kidnapping as they investigate, Swanson added.

"We treat every dead body as a homicide until proven otherwise," he said. "Every missing 15-year-old is treated as a kidnapping until proven otherwise."

Tramble has a criminal history dating back to 1988, including second-degree homicide, Swanson said.

Horton, a foster child and ward of the state under the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, has a history of running away, Swanson said.

Investigators learned Tramble might have previously been in contact with Horton's birth mother, who does not have custody of her, Swanson said.

State officials notified Genesee Township police when the high school flagged Horton's absence that day.

Investigators found Horton had two phones, one of which had pinged its location around an apartment complex at night, Swanson said.

Law enforcement is now searching the Genesee Township/Indian Hills area, he said.

Swanson also provided an update Wednesday on the ongoing investigation of Kelly McWhirter, a Flushing woman missing since Oct. 14 and presumed dead.

Investigators suspect her late husband, Steven Higgins, of killing her and disposing of her body.

Investigators are still seeking more information and recently searched areas in Prescott and near Skidway Lake, Swanson said.

The FBI, which is investigating McWhirter's disappearance with the Genesee County Sheriff's Office, is now rebuilding Higgins' phone, which was smashed.

Months before McWhirter's disappearance, Higgins had made three unusual Google searches, including a query on how far to bury a phone to avoid surveillance and another on the definition of the word avenge, Swanson said.

"The Google searches that he did, they paint a picture," Swanson said. "That's why we know this was premeditated. He thought about it, planned it, and we're trying to backtrack all these days, weeks and months that he did plan this violent attack and the death of Kelly."