A Brief, Yet Somber Tribute

A typical summer thunderstorm swelled up over the Green Hills of Northern Missouri two nights ago. As it roared its way through my family's long-time stomping grounds, they started giving the Upper Midwest's Doppler radars, storm chasers, and residents concern as they showed signs of dropping a tornado.

As residents and loved ones from afar feared a repeat of the storms that dropped deadly twisters on Milan and Kirksville 14 months ago, NBC Action News assignment editor Nick Dutcher relayed warnings from the National Weather Service by way of his Twitter. When Adair County fell under a tornado warning, I asked him how close it was to Kirksville. He replied with reports of two radar-detected cells in the northern half of the county. Fortunately, the storms didn't produce any tornadoes of significance, if any.

Tragically, our brief exchange of Tweets turned out to be among the last things Nick would do from the assignment desk. Yesterday, police found Nick slain at his home in south Kansas City, and his SUV stolen. Nick was just 30 years old, and friends, colleagues, and media practitioners across the metro are stunned and in disbelief.

I only knew Nick from the many Tweets he posted whilst at the assignment desk: breaking news in the area during the run-up to 10 pm newscasts, extensive severe weather coverage, his love for Celine Dion's repertoire, and the occasional reality TV show. He was one of the few KC-area journalists I followed on Twitter during my eight months in the Kentish Riviera. And as Kansas City media pause to remember the young life taken away from us, I too reflect.

Nick, his family, friends, and the NBC Action News team, will be in my thoughts and prayers.

Meanwhile, KCPD are investigating Nick's death as a homicide, but have no suspects at this moment. Earlier this evening, they located his stolen Ford Escape abandoned just north of Swope Park. Anyone with new information pertaining to Nick's murder should call the KCPD's TIPS hotline at +1 816 474 8477.