News

A registered sex offender is now behind bars after walking into a Columbia elementary school. Mark Salisbury was on parole for statutory sodomy when he walked a young girl into her classroom at Shepard Elementary School. The principal of the school, Jacquie Ward, says the teamwork of school officials and local law enforcement officers as

New details are emerging about a proposed Sam’s Club in Jefferson City, which ABC 17 News first reported on in May. According to an agenda released by the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission, a request has been filed by Land Development Company and Frank Twehous on behalf of Sam’s Club. The request is asking for

When most people think of fresh seafood, the state of Missouri doesn’t usually come to mind. However, that soon could change with the research done by a University of Missouri professor who built his own salt water shrimp farm in mid-Missouri. The greenhouse is just north of Columbia at the MU Bradford Research Center. Researchers

Nine people were injured after two tractor-trailers crashed near Moberly Thursday night. The Missouri State Highway Patrol says the crash happened around 11 p.m. on Highway 24. Troopers say one truck, driven by Oscar Osorio, 51, of Harlingen, Texas, rear-ended another truck. Osorio’s truck was able to come to a stop, but the second truck

Continuing construction on the diverging diamond interchange at Stadium Boulevard and I-70 will close some lanes next week. On Monday and Tuesday, the I-70 westbound on-ramp from Stadium Blvd. to the interstate will be closed. The closure will happen from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. Monday and Tuesday nights. Also, construction crews will close lanes

Jefferson City police are looking for two suspects involved in armed robbery. Investigators say it happened around 2 a.m. Friday at the Phillips 66 on Stadium Drive. Police say the suspects came in armed with handguns and demanded money. The cashier handed over the cash and the suspects took off running. The police department’s K-9

A gas leak is prompting Pilot Grove C-4 to dismiss early Friday. Superintendent D.J. Leberton confirmed the K-12 school dismissed students at 10 a.m. He said Missouri Gas and Energy responded to a leak Friday morning and are still on scene. Leberton says there is still a smell of gas, so as a precautionary measure

Thursday night, the Jefferson City Council got to see a new conference center feasibility study for the first time. The 119-page document shows the center losing between $250,000 and $500,000 per year for the first 10 years. It’s not known who would pay the six-figure subsidy. Council members have said repeatedly that taxpayers would not

Two county employees were honored by the Boone County Commission Thursday for helping to return a wheelchair to the victim of a hit-and-run. One night, about six weeks ago in June, Jeff Guyer was searching on Highway HH near Hallsville for his lost dog. He found his dog a short distance down the road, but

An accident on Highway 50 involving a box truck slowed traffic Thursday afternoon. Jefferson City police say the truck was heading westbound in the 3700 block of Highway 50 around 3 p.m. when the trailer began to fishtail. The driver, Richard Moffat, 49, of Jefferson City, says he lost control of the truck and when

Jefferson City’s new conference center will need hundreds of thousands of dollars to stay afloat. Sources tell ABC 17 News that a market study found the facility will need a $200,000 to $300,000 annual subsidy. That means the center would operate at a net loss. It’s not clear who would pick up the tab, however

The superintendent of a Mid-Missouri school district could be relieved of his duty if he commits another offense. In May 2012, Dr. Bryan Thomsen, superintendent of the North Callaway R-1 School District, was arrested for driving while intoxicated. He pleaded guilty to the charge this summer and was placed on two years of unsupervised probation.

Part of a home in Boone County was severely damaged in a house fire Thursday afternoon. Around 1:30 p.m., fire crews were called to a home in the 4100 block of Eagle View Court, southwest of Columbia. Eleven units from the Columbia Fire Department and the Boone County Fire Protection District responded to the scene.

The Better Business Bureau is warning Mid-Missouri residents about a potential construction scam by a Columbia business. The BBB says several customers paid Switzer Construction and its owner, Cory Smith, thousands of dollars for home repairs that were never completed. One woman reportedly paid $3,500 last fall for repairs to a porch, stairs and garage,

Two people are dead and one person is seriously injured after a car crash Wednesday west of Sedalia. The Missouri State Highway Patrol says a car driven by Eric G. Evans, 33, of Windsor was traveling west on Main Street when it left the road, hit a utility pole and overturned several times. Evans suffered

The Missouri Department of Corrections says an inmate died at the Jefferson City Correctional Center on Wednesday. Elijah Horne, 53, died at the facility around 11:22 p.m. Wednesday. Corrections officials say he died of apparent natural causes. Horne’s death is the second at the prison in the past five days. On Saturday, inmate Paul Honeycutt,

Escaped Missouri fugitive Brian Adkison has been captured in Ohio, according to authorities. The Westlake Police Department confirmed to ABC 17 News that Adkison was arrested Wednesday. Around 1 p.m., he was spotted by a resident on a bike, before fleeing into woods nearby. Officers set up a perimeter in the area and discovered Adkison

The Liberty Police Department said it has wrapped up its investigation into the death of runner Chad Rogers and determined that there was no foul play involved. The Jackson County Medical Examiner’s Office said Rogers died of natural causes and attributed the death to valvular heart disease and a combination of heart-related factors. A toxicology

The former owner of Peppers Nightclub pleaded guilty in court Wednesday to a lesser charge than prosecutors originally considered. Karon Rowe pleaded guilty to misdemeanor fraudulent use of an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card. She had been originally charged with felony unlawfully receiving food stamps. Boone County assistant prosecutor Andi Hayes says Rowe was placed

Authorities in southwest Missouri are searching for the man who hit a woman and her guide dog. Affiliate KSPR-TV reports Kathy Marburger was walking to a Springfield bus stop when a car hit her, knocking her and her dog, Zena, to the ground. “The car rode into me, knocked me down and knocked Zena down,”