ABC 17 News Investigates Archives

Rural mid-Missouri hospitals could feel impacts of COVID-19 vaccine mandate

November 10, 2021 3:58 PM Deborah Kendrick

By January 4, nearly 17 million healthcare workers will have to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Columbia homicide victim owned Mid-Missouri businesses

October 15, 2021 4:01 PM Lucas Geisler

ABC 17 News discovered James Hundle, 52, owned Ruckus Bar and Grill and Splasher’s Laundromat in Columbia for several years. Both businesses have since changed hands, but one former employee of Hundle’s remembered him as a good boss that enjoyed having fun.

Columbia police report: Drugs, speeding may have contributed to car driving off overpass in fatal crash

October 15, 2021 4:56 PM Matthew Sanders

The June 23 crash killed Wesley Griffith, 39. Police said at the time he was not wearing a seat belt. He was thrown from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene.

Truck stolen from Miller County homicide victims seen near Callaway County before victims found dead

September 24, 2021 3:50 PM Lucas Geisler

The new detail in the cases surrounding McLean comes from a search warrant the Missouri State Highway Patrol requested for information from OnStar. Law enforcement wanted information from the General Motors-owned company to help track the movement of the Chevy Silverado truck Pam and Daniel Stephan owned.

Fingerprints, DNA taken from McLean in multi-state death investigation

September 10, 2021 1:12 PM Lucas Geisler

The Sioux City Police Department took the evidence from J.T. McLean’s body on Thursday, according to a search warrant obtained by ABC 17 News. The inventory lists just the fingerprints and DNA swabs.

South Dakota deputies serve warrants in J.T. McLean case

September 9, 2021 8:16 PM Lucas Geisler

ELK POINT, S.D. (KMIZ) Deputies found a white cord and rubber straps inside the truck a mid-Missouri murder suspect killed himself on Wednesday night. The evidence seized through a search warrant could be used in murder investigations in Boone and Miller counties. Deputies there are looking into the deaths of four people, including Allison Abitz,

Columbia city manager responds to abuse of power claims made by former workers

August 3, 2021 5:22 PM Lucas Geisler

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The city manager of Columbia said the city government hasn’t been given anything specific to investigate on claims he abused his power. City manager John Glascock released a statement on Monday after two former city workers claimed he may have violated city ordinance and state law in reprimanding them. ABC 17 News

Former Columbia city budget officer pushes back on reasons given for his firing

July 29, 2021 8:46 PM Lucas Geisler

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) While City Manager John Glascock presented the FY22 budget Thursday morning, one of the people that helped prepare it watched from outside city government. Kyle Rieman, the former city budget officer, was fired on July 26. The circumstances leading Rieman here has him confused. “If you had asked me a month ago

Former worker says city manager abused power in doling out discipline to employees

July 26, 2021 4:10 PM Lucas Geisler

Colleen Spurlock had been on the job for about a year for the city of Columbia. She was working as a fellow in the city manager’s office, learning the ins and outs of government and helping with special projects and city council requests.

Columbia city manager questioned over handling of employee speech at city council

July 22, 2021 6:19 PM Lucas Geisler

Attorney Andy Hirth sent a letter Wednesday to city manager John Glascock pushing back on Glascock’s decision to put city budget officer Kyle Rieman on paid leave. Glascock did not specify why he was put on leave in a July 9 memo to Rieman, but Hirth’s letter said Glascock told Rieman it was “insubordination.”

Emails show sudden decision on removal of Moser’s recycling centers

July 20, 2021 2:20 PM Lucas Geisler

Recycling drop-off sites have been plagued by illegal dumping issues.

DEFENDERS: Protecting yourself against ransomware attacks

June 10, 2021 5:36 PM Deborah Kendrick

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) After several major companies were hit with ransomware attacks, the White House gave a stern warning this week to companies to beef up it’s security systems. It’s not just big corporations that are at risk, cybersecurity experts worry about small businesses and individuals who are also targets. “I worry for these small

ABC 17 Investigates: Moniteau County deputy put on probation after verbal exchange

June 8, 2021 6:56 PM ABC 17 News Team

CALIFORNIA, Mo. (KMIZ) ABC 17 News Investigates what happened with a Moniteau County deputy getting put on probation. That deputy is back on duty after he was put on probation last week because of an interaction with a citizen. This is body camera footage from the interaction on May 27th that we got through a

DEFENDERS: Cryptocurrency scams skyrocket as popularity increases

May 27, 2021 8:49 PM Deborah Kendrick

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) It’s a popular trend hitting the financial market, investing in cryptocurrency. However, with the rise in popularity comes online scammers. According to a report from the Federal Trade Commission since October 2020, consumers have reported losing more than $80 million to cryptocurrency investment scams. In that report, nearly 7,000 reports were received

DEFENDERS: Mental health apps might not be as confidential with data

May 20, 2021 9:10 PM Deborah Kendrick

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Mental health apps are becoming more popular, especially during the pandemic. Like any sort of app or website, your data might not be as safe as you think. Prasad Calyam with the University of Missouri Engineering school told ABC 17 News anytime a user inputs their data into an app, the user

Pandemic delays hiring of staff for Columbia mental health crisis unit

May 18, 2021 8:27 PM Lucas Geisler

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Nearly a year after Columbia city manager John Glascock announced a new unit to handle emergency calls involving mental health crises, the unit remains unstaffed. Glascock added seven positions in the fiscal year 2021 budget revealed in July to create a “public safety mental health collaboration with the Police Department.” Health leaders

Weather service communication outages pose threats in severe weather

May 6, 2021 12:26 PM Zola Crowder

A nationwide outage in March rendered the weather service’s chat function, which also serves as a source of communication, inaccessible for a whole day.

DEFENDERS: Avoid these red flags when booking vacations

May 6, 2021 8:53 PM Deborah Kendrick

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) With Memorial Day weekend and summer around the corner, you might be looking to book your next vacation. As rental vacation sites gain more popularity it is also populated with scammers. Before you start booking your next vacation, the Better Business Bureau says to watch out for several red flags. “Since it’s

Missouri has wasted more than 5,000 coronavirus vaccine doses at a cost of $300,000

April 27, 2021 2:13 PM Molly Stawinoga

Missouri’s wasted coronavirus vaccine from Feb. 1 through April 5 cost taxpayers more than $100,000, and Missouri providers lost out on more than $200,000 in payments from giving the shots.

Opioid overdose deaths in Missouri up more than 30 percent in 2020

April 25, 2021 2:00 PM Deborah Kendrick

Data from “NoMoDeaths,” a state collaborative project to help combat the opioid crisis, shows the first three quarters of 2020 saw a nearly 31% increase in opioid-involved overdose deaths.