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Rochester Hills Authorities: Man beat girlfriend with metal cross ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. (AP) -- Authorities say a suburban Detroit man beat his girlfriend with a 2-foot metal cross during an hours-long assault. The Oakland Press of Pontiac reports 29-year-old Craig Savage appeared briefly Tuesday in 52-3 District Court in Rochester Hills, where a judge rejected a request to reduce his bond. He's due in court Feb. 6 for a preliminary examination. Defense lawyer Steven Lynch says the charges are "still just allegations at this point." He says the allegations are completely out character for Savage. Authorities say Savage assaulted his 31-year-old girlfriend the morning of Dec. 23 at an apartment in Oakland County's Oxford Township. He faces charges including second-degree criminal sexual conduct, unlawful imprisonment and assault with a dangerous weapon. Authorities say Savage's girlfriend was able to leave after he fell asleep. Waterford Twp. $1,000 reward after ashes of boy reported stolen WATERFORD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) -- A $1,000 reward is being offered after a suburban Detroit family reported that an urn containing the ashes of their 12-year-old son was stolen during a break-in at their home while items of monetary value were left. Wendy and Dave Turnquist said they returned Friday to their home in Oakland County's Waterford Township to find a side-door window smashed and the urn containing Ryan McDonald's ashes missing. The urn had been sitting on a bedroom dresser, they said. "They could leave (the ashes) on my front doorstep, I don't care," Wendy Turnquist, 42, told the Detroit Free Press for a story published Wednesday. "When he passed away, he was going to get cremated so that he could be with me because I was kind of his life, and he was kind of my life." The reward is being offered by Crimestoppers. Details of the theft were reported Sunday by The Detroit News. Ryan died in 2007. For many years he battled Kearns-Sayre syndrome, a rare neuromuscular disorder. "This is just like losing him all over again," Wendy Turnquist, who moved from Genesee County's Davison Township to Oakland County shortly after Ryan died, told The Flint Journal. Terry McDonald, Wendy Turnquist's ex-husband and Ryan's father, said he wishes the person who took the urn would return it. "This was our child. This was all we had left of his memory," said McDonald, 47, who lives in the Flint area. The urn has a picture frame on each side that includes photographs of Ryan and a copy of his obituary. Dave Turnquist, Ryan's stepfather, has said other valuables in the home including a bracelet, an iPod touch and a laptop weren't taken. He said the theft is sickening. "How heartless can you be to steal the ashes from a grieving mother," Dave Turnquist told The Oakland Press of Pontiac. "It was a very gutless act." Police said they are investigating. Tips were being sought from the public. "It appears that someone may have known the family because that was the only thing that was stolen," said Waterford Police Chief Daniel McCaw. "If you think about it, why would someone just take that only?" Published: Thu, Jan 5, 2012