The end of the year is a time of reflection. From Caitlin Clark to a plane making an emergency landing on the Thruway, there were many memorable events in the Capital Region in 2024.

It began with a terrifying start. In early January, a tour bus on its way from Montreal to New York City rolled off the side of the Northway in Lake George.

There were 22 people were on board. One person was killed and 11 were injured. The driver of the bus was eventually ticketed.

Later that month in Washington County, Kevin Monahan was found guilty of second-degree murder, reckless endangerment and tampering with evidence in the driveway shooting trial.

Monahan shot and killed Kaylin Gillis, who was in a car turning around in his driveway back in 2023.

A few months later, Monahan was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.

In February, 13 Investigates was able to help a family that fell victim to a check scam.

Rebecca and William White nearly had their bank account drained by a person claiming to need a painter.

Police said the scam was one of the most elaborate they’ve seen.
Thanks to our story, the couple was able to recoup some of the money from their bank and through the help of a GoFundMe.

Tragedy at the border in March sent shock and sadness all the way to the Capital Region.

A helicopter crash in Texas killed Casey Frankoski of Rensselaer and John Grassia III of Schenectady.

A third Capital Region resident, Jacob Pratt, was injured and continues to recover.

A baby was found in a pipe on the General Electric campus.

Baby Halo later died at Ellis Hospital, from exposure and hypothermia.

The child’s mother, Persia Nelson was charged.
Investigators say she dropped the child down the pipe.
A trial could happen early in 2025.

Last winter will be remembered for a lack of snow, but spring came in like a lion – in the form of an ice storm.

The ice and heavy, wet snow knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of Capital Region residents.
Many went days before the lights came back on.

The end of March brought star power to Albany in the form of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament and superstar Caitlin Clark.

Four days of massive attendance at MVP Arena ended with Iowa and South Carolina advancing to the Final Four.

However, many will remember analyst Rebecca Lobo taking a shot at New York’s Capital City – saying on ESPN, “Good luck finding something to do in Albany.”

Parts of New York plunged into darkness in April, for the solar eclipse.

The incredible event created amazing images across the country, including from NewsChannel 13’s cameras in Fort Drum and Lake Placid.

Later that month, the man who kidnapped a little girl from Moreau Lake State Park was sentenced for the crime.

Craig Ross Jr. admitted to taking the child, sparking a frantic two-day search, before the girl was found with Ross in a camper behind a trailer home in the town of Milton.

May arrived with a massive search for the person accused of hitting a UAlbany student with an illegal dirt bike.
Surveillance video showed the alleged driver speeding down Albany streets.
Police eventually zeroed in on Austin Breyette, 25, of Watervliet.
The student hit, Alexa Kropf, continues her recovery.

History was made at Saratoga Race Course in June.
Due to construction at Belmont Park, the third jewel of the Triple Crown was run at Saratoga.

Massive crowds flooded the race course a month earlier than normal.

The winner was a horse named Dornoch.

The Belmont returns to Saratoga again this June.

July will best be remembered for its weather.

On July 16, five tornadoes were reported in the National Weather Service Albany forecast area.

That included Great Sacandaga Lake, where several properties were damaged.
More tornadoes arrived later in the month, breaking a July record.

Weather wasn’t the only thing heating up in August.

So was the race for the White House, and it brought Vice President Kamala Harris to Pittsfield for a fundraiser.

The eventual Democratic nominee was the star of the event at the Colonial Theater.

A sudden passing rocked the racing world later that month.

John Hendrickson, philanthropist and horse racing enthusiast passed away.

He was honored at the track with a moment of silence.
Hendrickson and his wife, Marylou Whitney, were Saratoga Springs fixtures and generous supporters of the Spa City community and their backing of the backstretch workers in particular is legendary.

As we turned the page to September, police cracked a cold case in Albany.
Keri Mazzuca, 52, was charged with murder.

Baby Moses was the name given to an unknown baby found dead near the Moses statue in Albany’s Washington Park on Sept. 7, 1997.

In October, there was hope another cold case would be solved.

Human remains were found near Troy’s Burden Pond.

Many speculated they could belong to Jaliek Rainwalker.
The Washington County 12-year-old vanished in 2007.

Police ultimately found the remains were those of Amanda King, who went missing from Glenville back in 2013.

A death in a state prison in October, still remains under investigation.

Robert Fisher died at Elmira Correctional Facility.

He had just started serving a sentence after being convicted of raping and killing 3-year-old Josefina Cunningham in July of 2023.

The cause of Fisher’s death still hasn’t been released.

November means Election Day and it was an historic one.

On the national stage, Former President Donald Trump captured a resounding victory, and Republicans will have control of both chambers of Congress.

Here in the Capital Region, one of the nation’s most high-profile congressional races went down to the wire.

Democrat Josh Riley defeated incumbent Republican Marc Molinaro in NY-19, just weeks after the two squared off in a debate right here at our NewsChannel 13 studio in Menands.

December brought with it more heartbreak.

An 11-year-old and 12-year-old died in Albany’s Washington Park Lake.

Police said the 12-year-old fell through ice on the lake and the 11-year-old tried to save him.
Both were students at North Albany Middle School.

The year closed in dramatic fashion. A plane made an emergency landing on the New York State Thruway, right in the middle of the day.

The pilot of the aircraft was identified as a 19-year-old from South Carolina.
No one was hurt.