US believes circulating video from Syria could show missing American, officials say
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(LONDON) — The U.S. believes an individual seen in a video circulating online could be Travis Pete Timmerman, an American who went missing from Hungary earlier in the year, two officials familiar with the matter told ABC News.
Officials said they were seeking to provide support to the person, who doesn’t speak in the short video and is seen lying on a mattress on the floor.
Timmerman, 29, has been missing since June 2, 2024, the date of his last contact, according to Missouri State Highway Patrol.
It wasn’t immediately clear when and where the circulating video was taken, but the person speaking in Arabic to the camera identifies the man as an American, according to a translation. The speaker was identified as a Syrian local.
Police in Budapest, the Hungarian capital, published a statement in August seeking information about Timmerman, whom they said was missing.
“According to available data, the 29-year-old man was last seen at a church in District II, and has since left for an unknown location, with no sign of life,” police said, according to a translation.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News’ Joe Simonetti contributed to this report.
(SEOUL) — South Korean investigators are seeking an arrest warrant for President Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived imposition of martial law, according to the Yonhap news agency.
A joint investigation team reportedly announced on Monday they sought the warrant on insurrection and abuse of power charges after Yoon ignored three summonses to appear for questioning.
Under South Korea’s constitution, if a sitting president is accused of insurrection, the police have the authority to arrest him while he is still in office.
A court will decide whether to issue an arrest warrant for Yoon, which would mark the first presidential arrest in the country’s history.
Yoon declared martial law in a televised speech on Dec. 3. The president said the measure was necessary due to the actions of the country’s liberal opposition, the Democratic Party, which he accused of controlling parliament, sympathizing with North Korea and paralyzing the government.
The move sparked protests, and hours after the declaration, the National Assembly voted to demand that the president lift the martial law order. A majority of parliament — all 190 members who were present, out of the 300-person body — voted to lift the decree — requiring that it then be lifted, under the South Korean constitution.
Following the National Assembly’s vote, Yoon said he withdrew the troops that had been deployed to carry out martial law and “will lift martial law as soon as we have a quorum in the cabinet.” The State Council then convened to vote to officially lift it.
The country’s Democratic Party called on Yoon to resign following what it called the “fundamentally invalid” declaration of martial law. Without Yoon resigning, the opposition party worked to enact impeachment proceedings against the president.
Yoon has been suspended from his position since Dec. 14, when the National Assembly voted for his impeachment in a 204-85 vote.
Earlier this month, however, Yoon vowed to “fight until the last moment” and said that he had never intended to disrupt the “constitutional order” when he ordered hundreds of troops into the National Assembly on Dec. 3.
The public reaction has been complex and varied, reflecting the deep political, social, and generational divides in South Korea. But overall there is a mass consensus that putting the country under martial law was an inexcusable action, no matter what motivated the president to do so.
“It was an unthinkable, unimaginable situation,” Seo Jungkun, a professor at Kyunghee University in Seoul, previously told ABC News. “President Yoon attempted to suspend the functions of the national assembly. He ordered the removal of lawmakers, therefore he could be charged with treason,” Seo explained, referring to a testimony by Lt. Gen. Kwak Jong-geun, who oversaw the special forces dispatched to the National Assembly on the night of the martial law declaration.
ABC News’ Joohee Cho and Hakyung Kate Lee contributed to this report.
(BUDAPEST, Hungary) — A 31-year-old American tourist in Hungary who had been missing for several days was killed, and a suspect has been arrested for her murder, authorities said Friday.
Mackenzie “Kenzie” Michalski, a nurse practitioner, was last heard from early Tuesday while visiting Budapest, according to her friends, who spread the word about her disappearance.
The American went missing while at a nightclub on Tuesday, according to Budapest police. Amid the search for her, investigators identified a man she was seen with in several nightclubs, police said.
The suspect — a 37-year-old Irish citizen — was arrested and allegedly confessed to killing her, police said. He allegedly showed police where he had hidden her body, police said. The name of the suspect, who was a “a couple of years the victim’s senior,” according to investigators, was only identified as L.T.M.
Investigators provided more details about the murder during a news conference Saturday.
Michalski and the suspect met at a nightclub and spent the night together going to other venues, according to investigators. They then went to the suspect’s rented apartment and he allegedly killed here there, according to investigators.
The perpetrator then tried to cover up the murder; so he allegedly cleaned his apartment and hid the woman’s body in the wardrobe cabinet while he went out to buy a suitcase, according to the police.
He then allegedly put the victim’s body in the suitcase, rented a car and drove to Lake Balaton with the suitcase in the trunk, police said.
The suspect allegedly hid the victim in the woods, in an area outside Szigliget and then drove back to Budapest, investigators said.
The suspect allegedly made several suspicious internet searches including “Do pigs really eat dead bodies?”, “Texas woman killed by a wild boar,” according to investigators.
Michalski lived in Portland, Oregon, and was a native of Fredonia, New York, according to ABC Buffalo affiliate WKBW.
A friend told WKBW that she and Michalski had been traveling with a group of friends through Europe and had spent three days in Hungary before parting ways on Monday.
The friend, Gretchen Tower, told WKBW that Michalski was staying behind for one more night in Budapest before flying out on Tuesday.
When Michalski never checked out of the Airbnb they shared in Budapest, her friend said she began to worry. Michalski also missed her flight, according to her friends.
After not hearing from her, Tower told WKBW she called the U.S. Embassy on Tuesday to report Michalski missing.
The U.S. State Department said Friday it is aware of reports that Hungarian police have detained a suspect in connection with the disappearance of a U.S. citizen in Hungary. It said the U.S. Embassy is in contact with Hungarian police but has no further comment due to “privacy and other considerations.”
Michalski’s family and friends released a statement on Friday that said they are “deeply saddened to confirm a report published by Hungarian police announcing the death of our beloved Kenzie.”
“Kenzie will forever be remembered as a beautiful and compassionate young woman who dedicated herself to caring for others and making the world a better place,” the statement said. “As a nurse practitioner, Kenzie used her humor, positivity, and limitless empathy to help heal her patients and encourage family and friends alike.”
Her family and friends thanked the U.S. and Hungarian authorities for their “prompt attention, diligence, care, and consideration” as well as those who helped raise awareness about her disappearance.
“We are thankful that Kenzie’s soul is now at peace,” the statement said. “Her memory and legacy will endure in the hearts of all whom she’s touched. To understand Kenzie’s spirit is to wholeheartedly embrace the vast joy and wonder of life. Her wish for the world: fully embrace the present moment, be your authentic self, practice kindness, and always walk in the light.”
Yan Dobronosov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
(LONDON) — One person was killed and least six others, including a pregnant woman, were injured in Kyiv as Russia launched more than 100 drones in an overnight strike into New Year’s Day, Ukrainian military and civilian officials said.
“In war, there are no holidays, and for Russia, nothing is sacred or inviolable,” Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. “It spares no one, killing people even amidst New Year celebrations, starting a deadly countdown from the very first day. The world must not allow tyranny and dictatorship to go unpunished or endorsed in the new year.”
Ukraine’s air force said at least 111 attack drones were launched toward 10 regions throughout Ukraine, including the capital. Ukraine shot down 63 of the drones and another 46 failed to strike a target, the military said.
“As the world marks the first day of the New Year, Russia launched 111 drones at the people of Ukraine,” U.S. Ambassador Ambassador Bridget A. Brink said on social media. “We are thankful for the air defenders and first responders whose tireless heroism protects us all.”
Ukraine began the new year under “another massive air attack,” said Ruslan Stefanchuk, the chair of Ukraine’s parliament.
“These inhumans decided to give us a hot start to the year and, like real weaklings and cowards, continued to hit civilians,” Stefanchuk said on social media. “I wish the victims a speedy recovery.”
Air raid sirens began blaring before sunrise in Kyiv, urging people to make their way to shelters, the Kyiv City State Administration said.
Most of the injured were in the city’s central Pecherskyi neighborhood, where the strike started a fire in an apartment building, Vitali Klitschko, Kyiv’s mayor, said in a post in Ukrainian on the Telegram messaging app.
“Two of them were hospitalized. Two were treated on the spot by doctors,” Klitschko said. A pregnant woman was among the injured, the city administration said in a statement.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said one person had been killed in that strike on a residential building.
Falling debris also broke windows, started a fire in a garage and damaged trams in the western Sviatoshynskyi neighborhood, Klitschko added.
“The air attack was repelled by aviation, anti-aircraft missile troops, electronic warfare units, mobile fire groups of the Air Force and the Defense Forces of Ukraine,” the air force said.
