State Roundup

Saugatuck
Oregon-Michigan bait probe leads to $2,000 fine

SAUGATUCK, Mich. (AP) - Authorities say an Oregon bait company has paid a $2,000 fine after shipping Pacific herring to Michigan in containers labeled as worms.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources says the herring was illegal because it wasn't certified as being free of a virus that can kill Great Lakes fish.

The herring was sent earlier this year to a sports shop in Saugatuck in western Michigan. The shop isn't in hot water because it was told the bait was OK.

In a statement released Wednesday, the DNR says it shared information with federal authorities. The DNR says Crowe's Bait of Milwaukie, Oregon, paid a $2,000 penalty to the federal government.

Messages seeking comment from the bait dealer weren't immediately returned.

Detroit
Showdown looms between U.S. gov't and air bag maker

DETROIT (AP) - A showdown is looming between U.S. safety regulators and a Japanese company that makes air bags linked to multiple deaths and injuries.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration wants Takata Corp. to recall millions of potentially faulty driver's side air bag inflators across the U.S. The air bags can explode with too much force, sending metal shrapnel into the passenger compartment.

But Takata insists that current recalls, issued only in high-humidity areas, mainly in the South, are enough. A broader recall isn't supported by the evidence, Takata says.

The safety agency said Tuesday that Takata must act or face legal action.

The showdown comes on the eve of a Senate hearing about the air bags. A Takata executive and a top agency official are scheduled to testify.

Tawas City
Michigan toddler recovers after going missing

TAWAS CITY, Mich. (AP) - More than a week after she disappeared into the woods for nearly a day, a 2-year-old girl has fully recovered, her father said.

Brooklyn Lilly's father, Tom Lilly, said Tuesday she is "back to her normal self" following the Nov. 5 scare, The Bay City Times reported. Brooklyn disappeared from her mother and stepfather's home in Iosco County's Tawas City. Her grandfather was watching her at the time.

"He took his eyes off her for a few seconds," Lilly said. "She went one way, and he went the other way looking for her. It happens. He just learned his lesson that you don't take your eyes off her for a second."

A Michigan State Police canine unit found her nearly a full day later by a creek about three-quarters of a mile from her home. She was treated at a hospital for scratches and exposure and was released.

"Everything was all good," Lilly said. "They were worried about her white blood cells because they were high, but they got them down and we went home Saturday."

When he first saw his daughter after her rescue, Lilly said she told him that she had taken "a long walk in the woods" and that she wouldn't do it again. But Lilly said he still plans to buy a tracking bracelet for Brooklyn.

"She scared me," he said. "It was a scary thing I never want to experience again. She's happy to be with her daddy."

Delta Township
Prosthetic arm missing after vehicle theft

DELTA TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) - Authorities in the Lansing area say they recovered a stolen vehicle but are still looking for a prosthetic arm that was inside.

The Eaton County sheriff's department tells the Lansing State Journal that the vehicle was stolen Tuesday night in Delta Township and later recovered. The department says two suspects were arrested, but the electric prosthetic arm wasn't found.

Lt. Mark Wriggelsworth says Wednesday morning that details about the type of vehicle involved in the theft weren't being immediately released.

The department is seeking tips from the public in the case. The suspects are juveniles and they're suspected of stealing another vehicle as well.

Orange Township
Sheriff: Man kills 2, arrested after standoff in home

ORANGE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) - A man fatally shot two family members at different homes in Michigan's northern Lower Peninsula and held a hostage for several hours at another home before surrendering to sheriff's deputies early Wednesday, authorities said.

The man was arrested after releasing the hostage and leaving the Orange Township home where he had barricaded himself inside for five or six hours starting late Tuesday, Kalkaska County Sheriff David Israel told the Traverse City Record-Eagle. No one was injured at the home.

The man's wife and father-in-law were killed at homes in the Coldsprings Township area, Israel said. The couple's divorce was pending and the shootings followed a "domestic situation," he said. Names of those involved weren't immediately released.

Children from the home where the woman was shot reported the shooting to a neighbor, a Kalkaska County sheriff's deputy, who called 911, MLive.com reported. The suspect later called dispatchers to say he was holding a hostage in Orange Township.

A court hearing for the man could come as early as Wednesday. The Associated Press left a message seeking updated information from the sheriff.

The hostage wasn't a relative of the suspect and appears to have been taken at random, Israel said. The circumstances are under investigation.

Orange Township is roughly 20 miles southeast of Traverse City and about 190 miles northwest of Detroit.

Published: Thu, Nov 20, 2014