Cooper Archives

Boonville sex offender arrested after online sting

January 29, 2024 3:55 PM Matthew Sanders

A Boonville sex offender was arrested Monday after investigators say he exchanged graphic, sexual messages with a detective posing at two different teenagers.

Boonville man accused of breaking 1-month-old baby’s leg

January 26, 2024 6:19 PM Ryan Shiner

BOONVILLE, Mo. (KMIZ) A Boonville man was charged on Wednesday with child abuse after he was accused of breaking his 1-month-old baby’s leg in December. Austin Cooke, 19, was booked into the Cooper County Jail on Wednesday on a $100,000 bond. A court date has not been set. According to the probable cause statement, Boonville

Two injured after UTV equipment failure in Cooper County

January 11, 2024 7:31 AM Erika McGuire

A UTV crash in Cooper County Wednesday afternoon sent two people to the hospital.

Man charged with failure to register as sex offender, allegedly did not report social media accounts

December 26, 2023 2:56 PM Ryan Shiner

COOPER COUNTY, Mo. (KMIZ) An Otterville man was charged with three counts of failing to register as a sex offender after authorities say he failed to register his social media accounts. Mitchell Harrington, 43, is being held at the Cooper County Jail on a $7,500 bond. Online jail records indicate he has a court date

Sign installations on I-70 in Cooper County to cause lane closures next week

November 20, 2023 4:52 PM Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Westbound Interstate 70 in Cooper County will be down to one lane between mile markers 91 and 104 beginning 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 27, according to a press release from the Missouri Department of Transportation. The closures will end 6 a.m. the next day, according to the release. The lane closures will

Boonville police officer charged with domestic assault

November 20, 2023 10:27 AM Matthew Sanders

A Boonville police officer has been charged with domestic assault after a dispute over a child early Sunday.

Multiple people arrested in Mid-Missouri, accused of breaking Halloween sex offender rules

November 1, 2023 4:16 PM Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Multiple people were arrested in Mid-Missouri on Tuesday on suspicion of not complying with sex-offender Halloween restrictions. In Chariton County, Timothy Schnetzler, 42, of Salisbury, was arrested on suspicion of several charges. He was charged with failure to register as a sex offender, drug possession, two counts of first-degree endangering the welfare

Inmate found dead at Cooper County Jail

November 1, 2023 2:33 PM Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) An inmate at the Cooper County Jail was found dead on Friday in a cell, according to a Monday social media post from the Cooper County Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff’s office said Brooke Bailey, of Jefferson City, was found dead on Friday. She was 33. The post says she was being held

Closures expected on I-70 ramps at Route BB overpass

October 31, 2023 9:12 PM Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Intermittent closures should be expected this week for the on/off ramps at the Route BB overpass on Interstate 70, according to a Tuesday night press release from the Missouri Department of Transportation. The contractor first plans to remove temporary overhangs on the new bridge Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the release. Traffic

Another blast at bridge in Rocheport scheduled for Sunday

October 31, 2023 8:42 PM Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A portion of Interstate 70 near Rocheport is scheduled to close for an hour Sunday to blast footings of the old Missouri River bridge at Rocheport, according to a Tuesday press release from the Missouri Department of Transportation. The interstate and a perimeter around the blast will be closed 7:30-9:30 a.m., according

MoDOT says it would have communicated more about explosion in hindsight

October 30, 2023 12:05 PM Morgan Buresh

While a large blast at the Missouri River bridge construction site Sunday seemed to take locals by surprise, crews can be seen laying material Friday over the top of the piers that were blasted.

Residents who remain one year after Wooldridge wildfire are still rebuilding

October 22, 2023 5:56 PM Erika McGuire

One year after the Wooldridge fire burned over 3,000 acres and destroyed at least 23 buildings in the Cooper County town, the rebuilding continues for those affected by the natural disaster.

Cooper County Fire Protection District using lessons from Wooldridge wildfire a year later

October 20, 2023 11:15 AM Erika McGuire

Sunday marks one year since the small Cooper County community of Wooldridge was burned by a wildfire.

Moniteau County deputy hurt in Cooper County crash

October 16, 2023 11:09 AM Matthew Sanders

A Moniteau County sheriff’s deputy was hurt early Saturday when he wrecked his patrol car in neighboring Cooper County.

Wooldridge woman dies after being hit by vehicle in Cooper County

October 12, 2023 8:03 AM Nia Hinson

COOPER COUNTY, Mo. (KMIZ) A Wooldridge woman died after being hit by a vehicle Wednesday night in Cooper County. A crash report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol states that Terry Ricketts, 59 was hit by a vehicle on Interstate 70 Eastbound near the 111 mile marker around 10:30. The driver of the vehicle allegedly

MDC: More than 16,500 deer harvested during new early antlerless firearms season, 348 from Callaway County

October 11, 2023 7:52 PM Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) There were 16,575 deer harvested around the state during the new three-day firearms season for antlerless deer, according to a press release from the Missouri Department of Conservation. The new, three-day season lasted from Oct.6-8, and hunters in Mid-Missouri saw a benefit, with 338 deer harvested in Callaway County, while there were

Registered sex offender in Boonville charged with several child sex crimes

October 10, 2023 10:22 PM Ryan Shiner

BOONVILLE, Mo. (KMIZ) A registered sex offender in Boonville was charged on Friday in Cooper County with several child sex crimes. Terry Bulen, 57, was charged with first-degree child molestation, incest and two counts of first-degree aggravated sodomy. Bulen was not on the Cooper County Jail’s online roster on Tuesday night. However, records on Casenet

No injuries reported in Cooper County RV fire

October 4, 2023 4:47 PM Ryan Shiner

BOONVILLE, Mo. (KMIZ) No injuries were reported in an RV fire on Tuesday on Interstate 70 in Cooper County near mile marker 107, according to a Cooper County Fire Protection District official. According to an email from Cooper County Fire Protection spokesperson William Johnson, an RV blew a tire on the back, passenger side of

CPS, Jefferson City School District awarded $300,000 from DESE school safety grant; Fulton Public Schools, Southern Boone get $200,000

October 2, 2023 7:40 PM Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Columbia Public Schools and the Jefferson City School District were among the few schools to get the maximum amount of funding from the latest round of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education School Safety Grants. CPS and JCSD each received $300,000 for school safety improvements. Fulton Public schools was another area

Kansas City man seriously injured in Cooper County crash

September 26, 2023 6:10 PM Ryan Shiner

BUNCETON, Mo. (KMIZ) A 31-year-old man from Kansas City, Kansas, suffered a serious injury Tuesday in a one-vehicle crash in Cooper County on Route O at the intersection with Pisgah Road, according to a Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report. The crash occurred when Christian Quintero-Valasquez failed to negotiate a left curve in his 2013