Morning News Brief

Matthew Grant, the 22-year-old Rochester Institute of Technology student who went missing last month, has been found and is safe, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.  He was found roughly 300 miles away from RIT’s campus in Palmerton, Pennsylvania, and had no idea about the efforts to find him until Wednesday afternoon.  Matthew originally went missing Monday, Nov. 20, when he left his off-campus home in Henrietta.  His car was found in Delaware Water Gap which is about halfway between New York City and Scranton, and police organized a grid search.  Grant says that he heard about the search and went to the police station to call his mother.

A group of student activists from several area colleges held a protest at the University of Rochester Wednesday, speaking out against what they call “anti-Palestinian censorship” on their respective campuses.  The protest follows an incident on the U of R campus Monday, when the school said the group “Students for Justice in Palestine” held an unauthorized event on campus. Despite repeated warnings to disperse, the group did not.  The U of R said a public safety officer was hit in the head by a student during the incident. That student was reportedly arrested on scene. The officer involved received medical attention and was not seriously injured.

A teacher is out in LeRoy after they violated the schools anti-fraternization policies according to Superintendent Merritt Holly.  The teacher, John Beckler, resigned, and his conduct is being investigated by police after he sent texts and used social media to message students about things unrelated to school.  No information has been released on what the communications were about or if they ventured into criminal territory.  

The National Transportation Safety Board has released its final report on the crash of the Mercy Flight helicopter in April of 2022 just north of the Thruway.  The helicopter was being used in a training flight when it went down, killing both occupants, an instructor from Texas, and a veteran and State Police civilian pilot from Churchville.  The report shows that they were practicing recovering from what’s called a vortex ring state when one of the pilots moved the controls in a way that caused the main rotor blade to hit the tail and caused the helicopter to break up and crash.  No mechanical or system faults were found and marks on the wreckage supports this finding.  

Former Buffalo Bills punter Matt Araiza is being dropped from a lawsuit filed by a woman who alleged she was raped by San Diego State University football players in 2021, it was announced Tuesday.  The woman agreed to dismiss Araiza from the lawsuit she filed last year while Araiza agreed to dismiss his defamation countersuit against her, and no money will be exchanged, attorneys for both sides told various media outlets.  Araiza says he wants to return to the NFL after he was booted from the Bills over the lawsuit.  Earlier this year, the New York Jets hosted Araiza for a workout at the team’s facility, six days after a San Diego State investigation found no wrongdoing by him in connection with the alleged rape.

Genesee County Sheriff’s Office, the City of Batavia Police Department and the Village of LeRoy Police Department will be participating in a coordinated effort with the Genesee County STOP-DWI program to bring awareness to the dangers of impaired driving yesterday through January 1st.  More police cars will be out in high traffic areas especially at times when people like to enjoy a little alcoholic refreshment.  The campaign is designed to increase awareness of police and make people think twice before drinking and driving.