Monday, November 14, 2005
Police said a teen boy driving a red Volkswagen Jetta took her.
LITITZ, Pa. (AP) -- A 14-year-old girl was missing after her parents were shot to death in their home Sunday morning, and authorities were searching for her 18-year-old boyfriend, who reportedly abducted her at gunpoint.
Michael and Cathryn Borden, both 50, were found shot to death shortly after 8 a.m., Lititz Police Chief William Seace said.
The couple's 9-year-old son, David, the youngest of five children, had fled to the home of neighbors, who called 911, Seace said. An older daughter still living at home and two adult sons were also safe, he said.
But Kara Beth Borden, 14, was missing. Police said she was last seen that morning at the family's home in Warwick Township, about 60 miles west of Philadelphia, and was reportedly abducted at gunpoint by David G. Ludwig, 18.
"The young girl was out during the night, came home, and her parents confronted her. From what we understand, he came to the house," Seace said.
"We don't know whether she has been abducted or is willingly a part of this," Seace said, but he added that until they can determine otherwise, police are operating on the assumption that Kara had been kidnapped.
Secret romance
Stephanie Mannon, a 16-year-old friend who had worked with Ludwig, said he and Kara had been seeing each other secretly.
"Their parents didn't approve of them being together" because of the age difference, she said. "It wasn't because he was a shady character, because he wasn't."
The Borden family had lived in the home in the normally quiet community for several years, said neighbor Tod Sherman, 47. Mike Borden worked for a printing company, and the children were home-schooled, he said.
Sherman said the family knew Ludwig through a home-schooling network and he had occasionally seen the teen at their home.
Sunday morning, neighbors woke to the sound of an ambulance and a phone call from Lancaster County emergency management officials warning them to stay inside.
Neighbors upset
Neighbor John Hohman, 40, said he looked out a window after getting the call and saw police running through the neighborhood. About an hour and a half later, he said, authorities told residents to go to their basements and wait until further notice.
"We were really upset. We didn't know what was going on," Hohman said.
Hohman described Kara, who sometimes baby-sat for his family, as "a very nice girl."
Sherman described her father as "very smart and focused, a nice guy."
"They were super people," he said.
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