‘He's just out there': Grandmother very concerned about Clayton State student missing from hospital
Kathy Traylor said she is not well, and she wants the public's help finding him.
'I haven't eaten. He's just out there,' she told Channel 2s Tom Jones, fighting back tears.
Traylor says she desperately wants to find her 19-year-old grandson, Eric Pitts Jr.
RELATED STORY:
Clayton Co. 19-year-old missing after walking away from hospital in 'delusional state,' police say
'He might hurt himself or somebody might hurt him. I don't know 'cause he's out of his mind,' she said.
Pitts hasn't been seen since police say he was taken to Southern Regional hospital early Wednesday for a mental health evaluation.
Traylor says a nurse who was with him explained what happened when he got there.
'She said he said he had to use the bathroom. And as he was walking towards the bathroom, he jetted out the double doors,' she said.
He had on green hospital scrubs and no shoes.
This all began after Traylor says she learned her grandson exhibited erratic behavior in his campus dorm.
She called campus counselors and police, and they went to his room. Traylor says a counselor told her what was going to happen next.
'She said Eric is going under 1013 so we can go ahead and find out what's going on,' she said.
Traylor said she was told he was going to a mental health facility. She says she was surprised to find out he was at Southern Regional.
'They should have said Southern Regional. Then I could have went. So they wasn't communicating,' Traylor said.
She said she just wants her grandson home safe and sound.
'I don't know what's going on with my baby. I don't know,' Traylor said.
She says she raised her grandson and noticed him starting to change a few months ago.
Clayton County police are asking anyone who sees him or know where he is to contact them.
TRENDING STORIES:
Man found guilty of killing Gwinnett County father at baby shower learns his fate
Manhunt underway after woman, child shot, killed at DeKalb apartment complex
Porch pirate 'syndicate': 10 charged with stealing $6M in electronics
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


USA Today
a day ago
- USA Today
Video shows gator chomp on invasive python, swim away with it in its jaws
Video captured by a woman riding her bike near a Florida swamp earlier this month shows one apex predator attacking another. Footage shot in the Florida Everglades shows a large alligator gliding through water with a massive Burmese python clutched in its jaws. Local media outlet WPLG-TV reported Alison Joslyn was riding her bike in the Shark Valley area on Friday, Aug, 8, when she noticed the reptiles in the water. 'I stayed and watched it for quite a while as it was struggling to eat the python,' Joslyn said, according to Storyful. Video: Gator chomps on python in Florida Everglades Florida python hunt Burmese pythons pose a threat to Florida's natural ecosystem and are considered invasive in The Sunshine State. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) frequently organizes a competition targeting Burmese pythons, which are dangerous to other animals in the Everglades. Earlier this summer, from July 11 to July 20, FWC held its annual 10-day hunt when participants removed Burmese pythons from various locations in South Florida. More than 900 people participated in the 2025 Florida Python Challenge. Contributing: Audrey Taylor Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@ and follow her on X @nataliealund.


New York Post
2 days ago
- New York Post
Illegal migrant who killed Rachel Morin sat emotionless as family members remembered mom at sentencing
The Salvadorian illegal migrant who viciously raped and killed Rachel Morin was emotionless as her grieving children remembered their 'kind' and 'determined' mom at his sentencing Monday — where he was given life without the possibility of parole. Harford County Circuit Court Judge Yolanda Curtin threw the book at Victor Martinez-Hernandez, 24, after an hours-long hearing Monday where Morin's family members, including four of her five children, delivered emotional victim impact statements. Morin's eldest daughter described her mom, who has the 'best laugh,' as 'kind, strong, honest, determined and funny,' in a heartbreaking written statement she asked the prosecutor to read to the court, WBAL-TV reported. 'I had to relive the worst two days of my life in order to write this,' the statement from the 20-year-old read. Her three youngest children delivered their statements via audio recordings. 'She was a good mom,' her son could be heard saying in one recording. 'Every time I see a picture of her I think about the life I had with her and my four sisters. I miss her.' Morin's children range in age from 9 to 20. 3 The killer of Maryland mother-of-five Rachel Morin was sentenced Monday. Facebook/Rachel Morin 'You took a life that was not yours to take,' the judge told Martinez-Hernandez, according to WBAL-TV. 'Your acts not only brutalized a young woman but also terrorized a community. 'You are not a candidate for rehabilitation. There is simply no hope to rehabilitate you.' A jury found Martinez-Hernandez guilty in April of murdering Morin, 37, as she was exercising on the Ma & Pa Heritage Trail in Bel Air, Maryland, on Aug. 5, 2023. He strangled her and then bashed her head against rocks before hiding her partially naked body in a drainage culvert on the trail that is about 30 miles northeast of Baltimore. Morin's younger brother, John Morin, said through tears Monday that he's experienced a 'tidal wave of grief' since his sister's slaying, according to a post on X by ABC 2 reporter Blair Sabol. Martinez-Hernandez remained stony-faced and emotionless as the family members told the judge about the toll that Morin's murder had taken on the family. After, through a Spanish translator, Martinez-Hernandez addressed the judge, thanking her 'for the opportunity to speak' but that he would 'not be giving any testimony.' Morin's mother, Patty Morin, told the court she has suffered nightmares, panic attacks, and insomnia since her daughter's death. 'The depths of grief are equivalent to the depths of love felt,' Patty said. 'This will impact generations to come.' Ahead of the sentencing, the heartbroken mom told Fox News' 'Fox & Friends' that she didn't know if she wanted to hear from her daughter's murderer at the sentencing, because she would never really know if an apology was simply a bid for a lighter penalty. 'To be honest, I don't know, because even if he spoke, would I believe what he said?' Patty said. 'If he said he was sorry, could I believe that he actually is or if he's just saying that to you know, to hope for a lesser sentence.' 3 Illegal immigrant Victor Martinez-Hernandez was convicted in April of the brutal rape and killing of Morin. Tulsa Police Department The killer wasn't captured until nearly a year later in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in June 2024, after investigators were able to match the DNA taken from his sock to the DNA found at the crime scene. He was convicted of first-degree murder, first-degree rape, first-degree sexual offense and kidnapping and faced up to life in prison. He didn't face the death penalty as the Free State doesn't allow capitol punishment. Martinez-Hernandez entered the country illegally after allegedly slaying another woman in his home country of El Salvador. 3 Martinez-Hernandez was an illegal immigrant from El Salvador. X/BarrySimmsWBAL Morin's killing gained national notoriety as an example of former President Joe Biden's dangerous border policies. Patty was outspoken against Biden for his policies, which she blamed for the fact that Martinez-Hernandez was able to get into the country and kill her daughter. The murder of Laken Riley also made headlines as Jose Ibarra, a Tren de Aragua gang member, was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for slaying the promising 22-year-old nursing student on Feb. 22, 2024, in Georgia.


American Press
2 days ago
- American Press
UPDATE: Explosions at US Steel plant leave 1 dead and dozens hurt or trapped under rubble
Explosions at a U.S. Steel plant near Pittsburgh left one dead and dozens injured or trapped under the rubble Monday, with emergency workers on site trying to rescue victims, officials said. The explosions sent black smoke spiralling into the midday sky in the Mon Valley, a region of the state synonymous with steel for more than a century. An Allegheny County emergency services spokesperson, Kasey Reigner, said one person died and two were currently believed to be unaccounted for. Multiple other people were treated for injuries, Reigner said. Allegheny County Emergency Services said a fire at the plant started around 10:51 a.m. The explosions sent a shock through the community and led to officials asking residents to stay away from the scene so emergency workers could respond. 'It felt like thunder,' Zachary Buday, a construction worker near the scene, told WTAE-TV. 'Shook the scaffold, shook my chest, and shook the building, and then when we saw the dark smoke coming up from the steel mill and put two and two together, and it's like something bad happened.' Dozens were injured and the county was sending 15 ambulances, on top of the ambulances supplied by local emergency response agencies, Reigner said. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said via X that 'multiple explosions' occurred at the facility. Clairton residents like Amy Sowers, 49, felt an explosion nearby. Sowers, who was sitting on her porch located less than a mile from the plant, felt her house shake. 'I could see smoke from my driveway,' she said. 'We heard ambulances and fire trucks from every direction.' Sowers decided to leave the area after she said she smelled a faint smell in the air. Sowers, who grew up in Clairton, has seen several incidents at the plant over the years. Despite health concerns, Sowers said many residents cannot afford to leave. A maintenance worker was killed in an explosion at the plant in September 2009. In July 2010, another explosion injured 14 employees and six contractors. 'Lives were lost again,' Sowers said. 'How many more lives are going to have to be lost until something happens?' Air quality concerns and health warnings The plant, a massive industrial facility along the Monongahela River south of Pittsburgh, is considered the largest coking operation in North America and is one of four major U.S. Steel plants in Pennsylvania that employ several thousand workers. In a statement, U.S. Steel said an 'incident' occurred at the plant's coke oven batteries 13 and 14. The company, now a subsidiary of Japan-based Nippon Steel Corp., said emergency teams were immediately dispatched to the scene, but it gave no other details about the cause of the explosions, casualties or damage. The company's CEO, David Burritt, said in the statement that U.S. Steel is working with authorities to investigate the cause. The plant converts coal to coke, a key component in the steel-making process. To make coke, coal is baked in special ovens for hours at high temperatures to remove impurities that could otherwise weaken steel. The process creates what's known as coke gas — made up of a lethal mix of methane, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. Clairton Mayor Richard Lattanzi said his heart goes out to the victims of Monday's explosions. 'The mill is such a big part of Clairton,' he said. 'It's just a sad day for Clairton.' The Allegheny County Health Department said it is monitoring the explosions and advised residents within 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) of the plant to remain indoors, close all windows and doors, set air conditioning systems to recirculate, and avoid drawing in outside air, such as using exhaust fans. It said its monitors have not detected levels of soot or sulfur dioxide above federal standards. According to the company, the plant produces 4.3 million tons (3.9 million metric tons) of coke annually and has approximately 1,400 workers.