LITITZ, Pa. - A 14-year-old girl was missing after her parents were shot to death in their home Sunday morning, and authorities issued an arrest warrant for an 18-year-old believed to be her boyfriend.
Michael and Cathryn Borden, both 50, were killed shortly after 8 a.m. in their home in Warwick Township, about 60 miles west of Philadelphia.
The couple's 9-year-old son, David, the youngest of five children, had fled to the home of neighbors, who called 911, said Lititz Police Chief William Seace. An older daughter still living at home and two adult sons were also safe, he said, but Kara Beth Borden, 14, was gone.
"We don't know whether she has been abducted or is willingly a part of this," Seace said, but he said until police can determine otherwise, they are operating on the assumption Kara was kidnapped.
Authorities Sunday night issued an arrest warrant for David G. Ludwig, 18, on two counts of criminal homicide, one count of recklessly endangering and one count of kidnapping.
Seace said information from the other children indicated Ludwig shot both victims, and he reportedly abducted Kara at gunpoint.
"We think they're boyfriend and girlfriend," Seace said. "The young girl was out during the night, came home, and her parents confronted her. From what we understand, he came to the house."
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 on the quiet street of two-story homes 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.
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.
