Gilgo Beach murders: What questions remain following Rex Heuermann’s arrest?

Gilgo Beach murders: What questions remain following Rex Heuermann’s arrest?
Gilgo Beach murders: What questions remain following Rex Heuermann’s arrest?
Thomas A. Ferrara/Newsday RM via Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — The shocking revelation that New York City architect Rex Heuermann had been charged with three murders in connection to women found dead along Long Island’s Gilgo Beach provided some answers about the decade-old case. But it also generated just as many new questions.

Heuermann has been charged with the murders of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello, and has been called the “prime suspect” in the death of a fourth woman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes. All four women were found in the same area of the beach, bound in the same fashion and with three covered in burlap.

However, six other bodies were found in the same area in late 2010 and early 2011, and police investigators said the investigation into Heuermann is far from over.

Here are some of the biggest questions that remain even after Heuermann’s arrest.

What about the other 6 bodies found on Gilgo Beach? Who were the victims?

Heuermann has only been tied to four murders, known colloquially as the Gilgo Four because they were the first four women discovered in December 2010. The four remains were found along the beach about 500 feet from each other, according to police.

In the ensuing months, police found four more sets of remains along the same stretch of beach and two other sets of remains on nearby beaches.

On March 29, 2011, police found the remains of Jessica Taylor, a 20-year-old sex worker who had gone missing in 2003. Other parts of Taylor’s body had been found nearly eight years before in Manorville, New York, in eastern Long Island.

A week later, on April 4, 2011, police found the remains of an unidentified woman and a toddler about a mile and a half east of Taylor’s remains and a little over 2 miles east of the Gilgo Four. The woman would later be identified as Valerie Mack, whose partial remains had been discovered in Manorville in 2000. Police have suggested there may be a connection to Taylor’s remains, some of which were also found in Manorville.

The baby’s remains were later discovered through DNA evidence to be the child of a woman whose remains were found on April 11, 2011, in Nassau County, Long Island. Other parts of her remains were found in 1997.

On the same day the woman and young child were discovered, an unidentified Asian male was discovered closer to the remains of the Gilgo Four. The person has never been identified. Authorities said the person was about 17 to 23 years old and had died five to 10 years before being discovered.

The final set of remains often tied to the case were those of an unidentified woman found near Tobay Beach in Nassau County on April 11, 2010. She has also never been identified, and, like the mother of the infant, was not found on Gilgo Beach like the other eight victims.

Is Heuermann tied to any other murders?

While police aren’t naming any other victims in connection with Heuermann, they are leaving the door open to the possibility that he was involved in more killings. Investigators spent all weekend going through Heuermann’s home in Massapequa Park looking for evidence.

“There’s more work to do in this investigation regarding the other victims of the Gilgo Beach bodies,” Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison said Friday.

Heuermann’s DNA has been entered into a statewide database, and detectives are now checking to see if his DNA or behavior fit unsolved murders and missing persons cases in New York City, an NYPD official told ABC News.

“We’re coming to the end of our initial investigation of the so-called Gilgo Four,” Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney told ABC News Monday. “We’ll prosecute those cases, and while we’re doing that, we’re going to continue to investigate those other ones. And just like with the initial parts of our investigation, we’ll allow the evidence to dictate what we do and will allow the evidence to speak for us. We’re not going to engage in conjecture.”

Investigators have long believed it was possible there was more than one killer because of the different conditions of the victims. Additionally, the wooded stretches along Ocean Parkway were long known as dumping grounds for bodies.

Why were police searching for the bodies and how is Shannan Gilbert connected?

Police discovered the first four women while searching for Shannan Gilbert, a missing sex worker who had called police after fleeing from a home in the area, saying, “They are trying to kill me,” according to the family’s lawyer, John Ray. Gilbert had gone missing in May 2010, but authorities were unable to locate her or her remains throughout the summer despite several searches.

It wasn’t until December that Suffolk County police came across the remains of the Gilgo Four, and then the subsequent other bodies.

Gilbert’s remains were finally found in December 2011 in nearby Oak Beach.

In January 2020, then-Suffolk County Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart said Gilbert’s death “doesn’t match the pattern of the Gilgo Beach homicides.” The medical examiner has officially ruled her death as an accidental drowning. Gilbert’s family, however, has been steadfast in saying that they believe she was murdered.

Why did it take so long to arrest Rex Heuermann?

Authorities first discovered the bodies of the Gilgo Four in December 2010, but Heuermann wasn’t arrested until almost 13 years later.

When announcing the arrest of Heuermann on Friday, Tierney credited the formation of a task force dedicated to solving the Gilgo Beach murders in January 2022 as a turning point in cracking the case.

On March 14, 2022, previous evidence led to Heuermann being identified as a suspect to investigators for the first time, according to court records. Shortly before Costello’s disappearance, a man matching the description of Heuermann had shown up to her home as a client for her services, only for Costello to pull a ruse that ended up with her taking his money and a man chasing Heuermann from the home. The suspect was driving a Chevy Avalanche truck, as described by a witness interviewed after Costello’s disappearance.

When investigators began searching for a man who owned a Chevy Avalanche in the area of Gilgo Beach, they came across Heuermann’s name.

Another hindrance to investigators at the time of the discovery of the four bodies were strands of hair that could not be tested by available DNA methods at the time.

A female hair was discovered on a belt used to tie Brainard-Barnes’ legs together, while two female hairs were discovered on Waterman — one on the tape used to bind her body — and one female hair was found on a piece of tape used to bind Costello’s body. By using mitochondrial DNA testing not available in 2010, all of the hairs were determined to be from the same woman — with more than a 99% match for Heuermann’s wife, according to court documents. Police don’t believe she was involved, as she was out of the country when the killings occurred, according to cellphone records noted in the court records, but that Heuermann had the hairs on his body.

Mitochondrial DNA testing was also done on a single male hair found on the burlap used to wrap Waterman’s body, which was a 99.96% match for Heuermann himself.

What was the motive for the killings?

The biggest remaining question may be why, if the allegations are true, did Heuermann allegedly commit the murders?

The extensive bail application form that outlines how and why Heuermann was arrested makes only hints as to the motive. The court record outlines that Heuermann was regularly searching for “sadistic, torture-related pornography” and showed an interest in searching for other known serial killers, but it doesn’t specifically provide a motive.

Harrison provided a simple explanation during Friday’s press conference: “Rex Heuermann is a demon that walks among us.”

ABC News’ Aaron Katersky, Ella Torres and Emily Shapiro contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

These are the US cities, states with air quality being affected by Canadian fires

These are the US cities, states with air quality being affected by Canadian fires
These are the US cities, states with air quality being affected by Canadian fires
ABC News

(NEW YORK) — As Canada continues to battle its worst wildfire season on record, toxic smoke has traveled south and is once again blanketing states across the U.S.

A total of 20 states are under air quality alerts Monday, stretching from Montana to New York and as far south as North Carolina and Tennessee as of Monday morning, according to AirNow, an air quality website run by a partnership between the federal government and state and local air quality agencies.

Cities including Billings, Montana, Cleveland and Pittsburgh had Air Quality Index ratings of above 150, which is considered “unhealthy.”

Meanwhile, residents in Chicago woke up to the fifth worst air quality among major cities worldwide, according to an ABC News analysis.

“Haze from wildfire smoke will persist in our region into Monday,” National Weather Service Chicago tweeted Sunday. “Resulting poor air quality may be unhealthy for sensitive groups. Limit prolonged outdoor activity if you have a chronic respiratory issue.”

Mayor Brandon Johnson recommended over the weekend that vulnerable groups, such as children, teenagers, senior citizens, pregnant people and those with heart or lung disease, stay indoors and that people who travel outdoors consider wearing masks,

This is because wildfire smoke is made up of several toxins, including fine particulate matter — known as PM2.5 — which is 30 times smaller in diameter than a human hair.

These particles are too small to be seen with the naked eye and can be breathed deep into the body, entering the nose and throat and traveling to the lungs.

PM2.5 can cause short-term health effects, even for healthy people, including irritation of the eyes, nose and throat; coughing, sneezing; and shortness of breath. It can also cause long-term effects such as asthma and heart disease.

By Monday evening, the heaviest smoke in the U.S. is expected to be concentrated over upstate New York around Tupper Lake, which is about 80 miles from the Canadian border, and Burlington, Vermont.

“Air Quality Health Advisories are in effect for the entire state today,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul tweeted Monday. “New Yorkers should continue to monitor the latest information from [the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation], http://airnow.gov, or their weather app, and take necessary steps to stay safe.”

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced it would be handing out masks all day Monday at the bus terminal in Manhattan.

The forecast shows on Tuesday morning, much of the surface smoke will start dissipating and by the evening, it is expected to be light to medium.

However, Canada may not be the only country in North America that has to battle wildfires. Red flag warnings went into effect Monday for much of eastern Washington and parts of Oregon and Colorado due to dry air, dry ground, and breezy conditions.

Combined with low humidity and strong winds, the conditions are prime for fires to be sparked and to grow rather quickly.

ABC News’ Kenton Gewecke contributed to this report.

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Gilgo Beach investigators comb unsolved murders for potential ties to suspect

Gilgo Beach investigators comb unsolved murders for potential ties to suspect
Gilgo Beach investigators comb unsolved murders for potential ties to suspect
Douglas Sacha/Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — As investigators dig into the “double life” of suspect Rex A. Heuermann, the Manhattan architect charged in the murders of three women in Long Island, they’re also checking to see if they can tie him to unsolved murders or missing persons cases throughout New York state, an NYPD official told ABC News.

Police throughout New York are interested in whether they might be able to tie Heuermann to victims beyond Gilgo Beach. Detectives are now checking to see if his DNA or behavior fit unsolved murders and missing persons cases in New York City, an NYPD official told ABC News.

Additionally, Heuermann’s DNA has been entered into a statewide database, available to all law enforcement agencies in New York.

Heuermann, 59, has been charged with the murders of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello, whose bodies were found covered in burlap along Ocean Parkway on Long Island’s South Shore in December 2010. He was also named the “prime suspect” in the death of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, a fourth woman discovered in the same spot, police said.

Heuermann appears to fit into a profile of serial killers who’ve led double lives, a former FBI agent said.

Some suspects in serial crimes appear to lead normal lives at work and home, which they can separate from their misdeeds, Brad Garrett, a former FBI profiler, told George Stephanopoulos on Monday’s “Good Morning America.”

“Serial offenders lead parallel lives — in other words, George, they can do horrendous things, kill people, torture people, whatever it might be,” Garrett said. “They can go home, they can feed their kids, they can kiss their wives goodbye … and their life goes on.”

The architect commuted into New York City from his home in Massapequa Park, where he lived with his wife, according to court documents. He’s a father of two, the documents said.

But, at the same time, he allegedly signed up for online accounts using fictitious names to search for sex workers for “dates” or “hookups,” according to court documents. And he also had permits for 92 firearms, prosecutors said.

“That’s why the term ‘hide in plain sight’ is very relevant to serial offenders,” Garrett said.

Heuermann’s defense attorney, Michael Brown, said in a statement Monday: “There is nothing about Mr. Heuermann that would suggest that he is involved in these incidents. And while the government has decided to focus on him despite more significant and stronger leads, we are looking forward to defending him in a court of law before a fair and impartial jury of his peers.”

Police remained on Monday at his Massapequa Park home searching for clues.

They also searched a storage unit bin in nearby Amityville as they try to solidify the case involving the three first-degree murder charges and see if they can tie him to the six other Gilgo victims, all found along the same stretch of beach in late 2010 and early 2011.

“I wouldn’t be surprised” if they found additional cases to tie Heuermann to, Garrett said, but he warned that the suspect may have “changed” his pattern after bodies were found on Gilgo Beach in 2010.

ABC News’ Ivan Pereira contributed to this report.

 

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Houston confirms 1st heat-related death of the year amid extreme heat across US

Houston confirms 1st heat-related death of the year amid extreme heat across US
Houston confirms 1st heat-related death of the year amid extreme heat across US
SimpleImages/Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — The most populous city in Texas has confirmed its first heat-related death of the year as record high temperatures scorch a swath of the United States.

The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences told ABC News on Sunday that there has been one heat-related death in Houston, the only one to occur in Texas’ Harris County so far this year. Victor Ramos, 67, was found in his Houston home, which didn’t have air conditioning, and was taken to a local hospital where he died on June 24. The manner and cause of death were ruled to be accidental hyperthermia, according to the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences.

More than a dozen heat-related deaths have been recorded in Texas this year, according to a count kept by The Associated Press. At least 11 of those fatalities happened in Webb County, which includes the city of Laredo.

The news came as more than 75 million people across 13 U.S. states from California to Florida remain under heat alerts. As of Monday morning, the National Weather Service had issued excessive heat warnings for a number of cities such as Palm Springs, California; Las Vegas, Nevada; Phoenix, Arizona; and Corpus Christi, Texas. Heat advisories were issued for other cities such as Denver, Colorado; Houston, Texas; Alexandria, Louisiana; and Miami, Florida.

The extreme heat peaked in the Southwest over the weekend and was expected to drop off slightly in the coming days. But temperatures will continue to top 110 degrees Fahrenheit from Las Vegas to Phoenix.

Arizona’s capital has recorded temperatures of 110 degrees and higher over the past 17 days and is on track to break the all-time-record of 18 consecutive days set in 1974. Overnight temperatures in Phoenix haven’t dipped below 90 degrees for the last seven days and one more night would set a record.

El Paso, Texas, has recorded temperatures topping 100 degrees over the past 31 days, smashing the previous record of 23 consecutive days set in 1994. The El Paso Fire Department said Sunday that four people suffering from heat-related symptoms ranging from minor to severe at a car show in Ascarate Park had to be transported to a local hospital, while multiple others were checked at the scene.

Much of Texas and into the Deep South saw some respite from the dangerous combination of hot and humid weather on Sunday afternoon, with heat index values not as high as recent days. However, it was still dangerously hot for many along the Gulf Coast where temperatures were forecast to feel like 105 to 110 degrees and up.

Temperatures are forecast to return to the 100s for much of the South and the West on Monday, with highs in the 120s in Death Valley and 110 in Phoenix, Las Vegas and Palm Springs. Meanwhile, heat index values will reach the 100s across the Southeast, with up to 115 in Corpus Christi. The extreme heat is expected to continue throughout the week.

Unusually warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico and western Atlantic Ocean are contributing to the persistent and oppressive humidity and are limiting nighttime cooling, making it difficult for people in the region to find adequate relief overnight without the aid of air conditioning.

ABC News’ Marilyn Heck and Vanessa Navarrete contributed to this report.

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Loss of sea ice putting migrating beluga whales in danger

Loss of sea ice putting migrating beluga whales in danger
Loss of sea ice putting migrating beluga whales in danger
Kevin Schafer/Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — The annual great beluga migration is underway, but the whales are facing increasing dangers as the climate warms and human activity decimates their habitat.

Every July, about 57,000 beluga whales make their way from the Arctic to warmer waters further south. In these safe southern havens, the shallow water protects them from predators, allowing them to feed, have babies and molt their skin on the rocks of the riverbeds.

The important role sea ice plays in the beluga whale migration pattern and the overall ecosystem of the Arctic are ever apparent as it continues to melt rapidly.

Known as the world’s refrigerator, the Arctic is losing sea ice at alarming rates. The detriment to polar bears has been well documented due to the loss of feeding opportunities due to the melt. But the melting ice also poses additional risks to beluga whale populations in several ways.

As the sea ice disappears, the belugas are losing their protection from their main predators: orca whales.

Since belugas do not have dorsal fins, they can get up close and hide under the sea ice, away from the killer whales that hunt them, experts told ABC News.

Changing temperatures in ocean waters are also bringing more killer whales farther north, Tracy Romano, chief scientist and vice president of research at the Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, Connecticut, told ABC News.

The sea ice also acts as the base of the food chain in the Arctic, Alysa McCall, director of conservation outreach and staff scientist at Polar Bears International, told ABC News. The algae growing on the sea ice serves as an underwater garden, attracting the fish that beluga whales feed on, McCall said.

In addition, as the sea ice patterns change in the Arctic, belugas may find that the locations of the sea ice are different than what they expect and can get trapped underneath, unable to come up to the surface to breathe, McCall said.

The melting sea ice also has indirect effects on beluga populations. As the sea ice dwindles, it opens up more lanes for commercial shipping. The increase in activity is leading to more noise pollution, which hinders the species known as the most vocal whale in the world.

“They really depend on being able to chit chat with each other under the water, and so we are seeing a lot more activity and shipping that could kind of be fuzzing their communication, which is not good,” McCall said.

The melting is also opening up more possibilities for environmental disasters such as oil spills, the experts said.

An increase in drilling for oil and gas goes “hand in hand” with the increase in accessibility from the lack of sea ice, McCall said.

In 2021, National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced that the Arctic was warming twice as fast as the rest of the world. In addition, the last 16 years have had the lowest 16 sea ice extents in the satellite record, according to NASA and the National Snow and Ice Data Center.

Where you can watch beluga whales in migration

Marine life enthusiasts can now watch the migration of tens of thousands of beluga whales from the Arctic through a live cam set up by conservation group Polar Bears International.

One of the favorite spots for belugas is the Churchill River, which runs through Manitoba, Canada, where the waters are shallow. There, they can have their babies and “eat a lot of food” away from the threat of orca attacks, McCall said. The warmer water and the shallower substrates in those estuaries often have pebbles and are shallow, which allows the belugas to rub on the bottom to remove dead skin, Romano said.

During this time of year, witnesses can see thousands of beluga whales “vacationing” in the river, Romano said. The whales are friendly and social, according to McCall.

“It’s a pretty special time of the year,” she said.

On the beluga feed, viewers will be able to see the whales on their journey, with many appearing to smile for the underwater “Beluga Cam.” They often bring their babies right up to the camera, McCall said.

Why mitigating climate change is essential

In the winter, the belugas will make their way back north. But change in their migration patterns and timing could shift due to a warming climate, McCall said.

“We might find over time as we lose more Arctic Sea ice a shift in of beluga whales farther north, and maybe they won’t be able to come as far down south,” McCall said. “We’re not sure yet what that really looks like.”

While beluga whales are listed as “least concern” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species, there are pockets of populations all over the world that are beginning to see declines, including in Alaska and near the Estuary of Saint Lawrence in Quebec, Canada, Romano said.

Beluga whales play a critical role in the Arctic ecosystem and are “great sentinels” for what’s happening in the waters, Romano said. Since they are so high on the food chain, monitoring the species allows researchers to compare how water conditions could impact humans.

“If something is happening to belugas, it could be applicable to humans as well,” Romano said.

Protecting the species would entail protecting the entire Arctic ecosystem as a whole, which will require major climate change mitigation, the experts said.

“We want to be able to recover those populations decreasing in number and enable populations that are stable to thrive,” Romano said.

 

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$900 million Powerball jackpot expected for Monday night’s drawing

0 million Powerball jackpot expected for Monday night’s drawing
0 million Powerball jackpot expected for Monday night’s drawing
IronHeart/Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — The Powerball jackpot is expected to grow to an estimated $900 million for Monday night’s drawing, a sum that would be the third-largest Powerball jackpot in history, the lottery said.

The estimated cash payout would be about $465.1 million.

The was no Powerball jackpot winner in Saturday night’s $875 million drawing, Powerball said Sunday.

There have been 37 consecutive drawings without a jackpot, Powerball officials said in a press release. The most recent jackpot winner was in the April 19, 2023, drawing, which had a grand prize worth $252.6 million, the lottery said.

The $900 million jackpot trails only two previous drawings, the lottery said. A ticket in California won a $2.04 billion jackpot in November 2022 and tickets in California, Florida and Tennessee hit a $1.586 billion jackpot in January 2016.

Saturday’s winning numbers were 2, 9, 43, 55, 57 and the red Powerball was 18.

Two tickets in Texas and one in Colorado matched all five white balls, winning the $1 million prize on Saturday.

The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million.

 

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Three banks robbed by ‘Sticky Note Bandit’ dressed as woman, FBI says

Three banks robbed by ‘Sticky Note Bandit’ dressed as woman, FBI says
Three banks robbed by ‘Sticky Note Bandit’ dressed as woman, FBI says
Darrin Klimek/Getty Images

(HOUSTON) — A man dressed as a woman walked into three Texas banks this month and handed tellers sticky notes with “threatening” messages demanding cash, earning him the nickname “Sticky Note Bandit,” the FBI said.

The man, who hasn’t been arrested or publicly identified, left two of the Houston-area banks with undisclosed sums, the bureau’s Violent Crime Task Force said in a press release.

The man allegedly entered Hancock Whitney Bank in Houston on July 5 “dressed as a female, approached a teller, and handed them a threatening note written on a sticky note which demanded cash,” the FBI said. He left that branch with an undisclosed sum, the FBI says.

“No one was physically hurt during the robbery,” a statement said.

The suspect, who was described as a 5-foot-8-inch Black man with a “thin to medium build,” allegedly used a similar method at two Wells Fargo branches in Houston on July 11 and 13.

“During the last two robberies he wore a black wig, black sunglasses, a blue medical mask, a green women’s style sweater, black women’s ballet flats, and carried a black purse,” the FBI said.

He then allegedly handed to the tellers “threatening” notes demanding cash, authorities said.

During the July 11 robbery, the “teller walked away from the counter and locked themselves in the back room for safety,” the FBI said. “The suspect remained in the bank lobby for a short time, then fled the scene on foot without any money.”

He left the July 13 robbery with an undisclosed sum, the FBI said.

 

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Heat waves, poor air quality and severe storms: US experiencing acute weather conditions from coast to coast

Heat waves, poor air quality and severe storms: US experiencing acute weather conditions from coast to coast
Heat waves, poor air quality and severe storms: US experiencing acute weather conditions from coast to coast
ABC News

(NEW YORK) — Potentially deadly weather conditions are affecting millions of Americans from coast to coast.

Extreme heat, poor air quality and severe storms bringing flash flooding threats will be plaguing regions all over the country on Sunday.
More than 80 million Americans across 14 states from Washington to Florida are currently under heat alerts.

The temperature at Furnace Creek in Death Valley, California, may reach 130 degrees for the first time since 2021, forecasts show. On Saturday, temperatures were measured at 126 degrees.

It has been the hottest first two weeks of July on record for Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona, as well as on the other side of the country in Tampa, Fort Myers and Key West, Florida.

In the Northeast, more than 56 million people are under a flood watch, as heavy rain moves through on Sunday morning, causing flash flooding in parts of Virginia, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

El Paso, Texas, has seen 100-degree days for 30 days in a row, crushing the former record. The forecast calls for triple-digit temperatures for at least the next week.

Elsewhere in the country, daily record-high temperatures are expected to be broken in at least 38 cities from Oregon to Florida, including cities in California like Palm Springs, Fresno and Sacramento; cities in Arizona from Flagstaff, Phoenix and Tucson; Las Vegas and Reno in Nevada; El Paso, Houston, Austin and Corpus Christi in Texas; and Salt Lake City.

On Saturday, Phoenix broke its daily record when it reached 118 degrees, continuing the stretch of temperatures past 110 degrees to 16 days.

The South is also still dealing with hot temperatures, with heat indexes along the Gulf Coast forecast to reach past 110 degrees in the upcoming week. Miami has been upgraded to an excessive heat warning through Monday as the heat index is expected to reach up to 112 degrees.

The smoke that has been over the upper Midwest the last couple of days is about to make a push eastward as 900 wildfires continue to burn in Canada, the vast majority in British Columbia. More than half of the fires in Canada are characterized as “out of control.”

By 6 p.m. ET the smoke will have reached Cleveland and eastern Kentucky, forecasts show.

On Monday at 7 a.m. ET, the smoke will still be heavy from Montana to Nebraska, while the eastern plume of heavy smoke reaches along the East from western New York to the Smoky Mountains and Asheville, North Carolina.

By Monday afternoon, the smoke is expected to become very heavy over parts of New York and Pennsylvania. For now, New York City seems to remain only under light conditions through Monday.

Areas from Montana to Chicago woke up to reduced air quality and hazy skies on Sunday morning, with Chicago among cities with the worst air quality in the world this morning, according to IQAir.

The influx of precipitation is a continuation of flash flooding conditions that plagued the region on Saturday. More than 3 inches of rain fell in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, which caused flash flooding and killed at least three people.

The ground is already extremely saturated in much of the Northeast from more than a week of rainfall, which is increasing flood risks. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Weather Prediction Center has issued a moderate risk advisory for excessive rainfall from Maine to Delaware, including large cities like New York City and Philadelphia, indicating that numerous flash floods are likely, with significant events possible.

A tornado watch has also been issued for 14 million people in the Northeast until 3 p.m. Included in the alert are much of Long Island, New York, all of Connecticut, much of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and parts of Rhode Island and southern Maine. Flash flooding and severe thunderstorm warnings had already been issued in those areas.

The heaviest and strongest storms will move through the Northeast on Sunday morning and through the afternoon. Storms are expected to quiet down by the evening, except for some lingering activity from upstate New York to Vermont, forecasts show.

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Alabama police locate missing woman who reported toddler walking on the highway

Alabama police locate missing woman who reported toddler walking on the highway
Alabama police locate missing woman who reported toddler walking on the highway
Hoover Police Department

(HOOVER, Ala.) — An Alabama woman who went missing on Wednesday after reporting a child walking on the highway returned home late Saturday and was transported to a hospital for evaluation, police said.

The Hoover Police Department said 25-year-old Carlethia “Carlee” Nichole Russell made a 911 call on Wednesday to report that she saw a toddler walking on the side of Interstate 459 in Alabama at around 9:30 p.m.

Russell then stopped her car to check on the toddler and called a family member to report what she saw. The family member lost contact with Russell, but the line remained open, according to police.

Police who responded to her 911 call found the Russell’s vehicle and some of her belongings at the scene when they arrived. But, they were unable to find her or a child in the area.

Police said they had not received any additional calls of someone missing a small child.

Police said a single witness reported seeing a grey vehicle and a man standing outside Russell’s car, but police have no further information about that person or the vehicle.

Russell was wearing a black shirt, black pants and white Nike shoes, according to police.

An anonymous donor had offered $20,000 for the safe return of Russell and Crimestoppers of Metro Alabama were offering an additional $5,000.

“We are leaving nothing off the table and no stone unturned in investigating some of these facts,” Hoover Police Department Lieutenant Daniel Lowe said at a press conference.

ABC News’ Victoria Arancio contributed to this story.

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Four killed in mass shooting in Georgia, shooter remains on the loose: Police

Four killed in mass shooting in Georgia, shooter remains on the loose: Police
Four killed in mass shooting in Georgia, shooter remains on the loose: Police
Sheila Paras/Getty Images/STOCK

(HAMPTON, Ga.) — A gunman remains on the loose after fatally shooting four people in Hampton, Georgia, on Saturday morning, police said.

Police said they are looking for 41-year-old Andre Longmore in connection with the shooting of 3 adult males and 1 female. The names of the victims have not been released.

There were at least four different shooting locations within close proximity, police said at an afternoon press conference.

Longmore was last seen in a Black GMC Acadia with Georgia tags.

There is no motive for the shooting at this time, police said. The suspect is considered armed and dangerous.

The incident began at around 10:45 a.m. Saturday, in the Dogwood Lakes subdivision in Hampton, a city about 40 miles south of Atlanta, Henry County officials said.

The Hampton Police Department is leading the investigation with the assistance of the Henry County Police Department, Henry County Sheriff’s Department, Henry County Homeland Security and Henry County Crime Scene Unit.

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