Fredonia man traveling in Hungary found dead

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The search for a Western New York man who went missing in Europe has reportedly come to a tragic end.

Days after Mackenzie Michalski went missing while traveling in Hungary, law enforcement and local media in Budapest reported that she had been found dead and a man had been arrested for her murder.

According to law enforcement agencies in Budapest, the man accused of her murder is an Irish citizen. They say he confessed to the crime and led police to where the body was hidden.

Police will hold a press conference on Saturday to release more details.

Michalski was a Fredonia native but moved to Portland, Oregon. She was supposed to fly home from Europe on Tuesday, but her family said she never got on that plane.

I spoke with Michalski’s friend, Gretchen Tower, who was traveling in Europe with Michalski and was one of the last people to see her earlier this week. Budapest, Hungary was the last stop on their European birthday trip.

Tower described the whole situation as a “nightmare”.

“We had a wonderful three days in Hungary. Explored, ate, walked around the city,” Tower said.

But on Monday, it was time for the friends and former colleagues at Buffalo General to end their adventure, and they went their separate ways.

“She walked me downstairs from the Airbnb, we hugged goodbye, said ‘I love you,’ and I went to the airport,” Tower said.

Tower was heading to Italy to visit other friends, and Michalski was staying one more night in Budapest before her scheduled flight the next day. The two exchanged text messages late Monday night.

“She was in a bar in the Jewish ruins area drinking a glass of wine and looking like she was having dinner,” Tower said.

‘It’s a nightmare’: Search continues for Western New York man missing in Europe

Tower said she responded to Michalski’s message around 12:45 a.m. Tuesday. This was the last time they communicated.

She didn’t answer, but Tower said there was no urgency or concern. That changed later Tuesday morning when Tower received a message from Airbnb that Michalski had not checked out of the place they were staying in Budapest.

“I started to worry and I texted and said, ‘This is completely out of character for her, she would never do this, I don’t know what’s going on,'” Tower said.

Later Tuesday, still without contact, Tower called the U.S. Embassy to report Michalski missing.

“She was kind, loving, smart, articulate, responsible. Something happened to her. She will never, never, never, never… never… just disappear,” Tower said. “I can’t even put it into words. I am horrified that she is no longer with us or that she has been kidnapped into a human trafficking ring.”

Tower told me that Michalski’s family and her boyfriend were planning to travel to Hungary to help find her.

News of Michalski’s disappearance has reached elected leaders here in Western New York, and they have said they are reaching out to us to see what can be done.

A State Department spokesperson confirmed to 7 News that the State Department is aware of reports of a missing US citizen in Hungary and said the following:

“When a U.S. citizen goes missing, we work closely with local authorities as they conduct search efforts and work hard to maintain open lines of communication with families. The State Department has no higher priority than the welfare and safety of U.S. citizens. US citizens abroad. We are ready to provide appropriate assistance to US citizens and their families in need. Due to privacy and other considerations, we have no further comment at this time.”

A GoFundMe has been created to support the search. which you can find here.

On Wednesday night, we also spoke with two of Michalski’s friends – Brooke Adams and Mary Eustace – who were hoping to help spread the word about the efforts being made to find the Western New York native.

You can view our previous report below.

Friends search for Fredonia man who disappeared while on vacation in Hungary