Boone Archives

Victim testifies in Columbia rape, assault cold case

February 4, 2025 12:03 PM Haley Swaino

A woman who was 17 at the time of her 1984 attack testified Tuesday on the first day of her alleged assailant’s trial.

Boone County Joint Communications says 911 outage is fixed

February 3, 2025 8:04 PM Ryan Shiner, Madison Stuerman

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Boone County Joint Communications said Tuesday morning that it was back online. A public alert at about 9:30 a.m. said 911 service had been restored. Boone County sent a public safety alert to residents on Monday evening after it began experiencing a phone outage. BCJC said in the alert – sent a

Boone County Recorder of Deeds warns of mail scam

February 3, 2025 3:15 PM Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Boone County Recorder of Deeds Office in a Monday press release warned residents of a mail scam. The release says that fake notices titled “Recorded Deed Notice” have been mailed to residences. The “notices” are design to look official, but aren’t affiliated with the government and are trying to mislead people

Humane Society employee saved after getting trapped in tipped trailer

January 31, 2025 3:27 PM Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Central Missouri Humane Society employee had to be saved by firefighters after they became trapped in a food storage trailer that tipped over on Friday morning. CMHS wrote in a press release that hundreds of pounds of food fell around the employee. No injuries were reported and firefighters were able to

Large police presence in northeast Columbia Friday morning

January 31, 2025 4:30 AM Erika McGuire

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A large police presence was seen early Friday morning in northeast Columbia. ABC 17 News crews arrived on scene on Mulberry Road just before 4 a.m. and saw five to six Columbia Police Department vehicles along with a Bearcat SWAT vehicle. An ABC 17 News photographer on scene saw multiple officers focused

Late-night power outage hits southeast Columbia

January 30, 2025 10:59 PM Lucas Geisler

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) – Power went out for more than a thousand people in southeast Columbia on Thursday night. Columbia Water & Light posted on X that 1,150 customers lost power just before 11 p.m. The city’s outage map showed crews working at the substation on Grindstone Parkway and Ponderosa Street. The post did not

Man accused in Boone County shooting pleads guilty to 2 felonies, sentenced to probation

January 30, 2025 3:37 PM Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A man who was accused of shooting another person in December after an argument pleaded guilty to a pair of felonies on Monday. Anthony Sharp, 52, of Columbia, pleaded guilty to illegal gun possession and unlawful use of a weapon. He was sentenced to five years’ probation with a seven-year suspended sentence.

Columbia teenager to be sentenced for Jago murder in April

January 30, 2025 9:28 AM Matthew Sanders

Jermarion Burnett-Howard, 18, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and unlawful use of a weapon in the death of Janet Jago, 72, and will be sentenced on April 3.

Habitat for Humanity set to host Realtor Build event Wednesday

January 29, 2025 5:29 AM Jazsmin Halliburton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Habitat for Humanity will be hosting a realtor build event that will help families in need for affordable housing Wednesday. The event will be at noon at the Habitat for Humanity construction site in the Boone Prairie Subdivision off Brown Station Road. The event will focus on working on the interiors of

Suspect used incendiary device outside Boone County Courthouse, sheriff’s office says

January 28, 2025 5:57 PM Matthew Sanders, Nia Hinson

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A court marshal and Columbia Police Department officer arrested a man who threw an incendiary device at the front of the Boone County Courthouse on Tuesday afternoon. The Boone County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a Facebook post that Nicholas A. Walters, 39, of Columbia threw “a device that can … best be

Lanes of I-70 near Millersburg, Columbia to close this week

January 28, 2025 2:29 PM Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Missouri Department of Transportation on Tuesday announced a pair of closures on Interstate 70. One lane of eastbound Interstate 70 near mile marker 138 in Millersburg will be closed for part of the day on Wednesday for repairs, according to a Tuesday press release from the Missouri Department of Transportation. The

Columbia man indicted by federal grand jury for child sex crimes

January 28, 2025 2:17 PM Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Columbia man was indicted by a federal grand jury Tuesday in Jefferson City for child sex crimes. William Lee Nichols, 53, was charged in the indictment with sexual exploitation of a minor child, using a child to prodice child porn and distributing child porn, all of which allegedly occurred from June

Columbia police encounters with homeless population increase in 2024

January 24, 2025 5:32 PM Meghan Drakas

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Columbia’s police officers are having more frequent encounters with homeless people — so many that the Columbia Police Department has a team dedicated to dealing with that part of the population. The number of calls for service and arrests involving homeless people jumped 38% in Columbia from 2023 to 2024, according to

Columbia teenager killed in southern Boone County crash

January 27, 2025 7:48 PM Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A teenager was killed in a single-vehicle crash Monday night on Highway 63, near Claysville Road in southern Boone County, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. According to an MSHP crash report, a 2007 Chevrolet Impala – driven by an 18-year-old man from Columbia – was heading southbound when it went

Moberly teacher among three killed in Highway 63 crashes

January 24, 2025 11:16 AM Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Moberly middle school teacher was one of the three people who died on Highway 63 in Boone County on Thursday. Moberly School District Superintendent Cristina Wright wrote in a letter to Moberly school families that Ashley Apel was killed in one of the crashes. Apel was in a vehicle that was

Kehoe orders flags in Howard County, firehouses statewide to fly at half-staff in honor of firefighter who died from 9/11-related cancer

January 24, 2025 7:38 PM Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Gov. Mike Kehoe ordered U.S. and Missouri flags to by flown at half-staff at firehouses statewide and government buildings in Howard County on Sunday in honor of firefighter Larry Roland Duncan. Flags will also be flown at half-staff at the firefighters memorial in Kingdom City. Duncan died on Wednesday, Jan. 15 from

Former state trooper found guilty of sexual abuse, kidnapping

January 24, 2025 2:18 PM Matthew Sanders, Haley Swaino

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Boone County jury found a former state trooper guilty of sexual assault and kidnapping Friday after a three-day trial. Jeffery Durbin had been charged with sexual abuse, a felony, and third-degree kidnapping, a misdemeanor. The jury returned the verdict after deliberating for about three hours. Durbin and his accuser each took

3 dead in 2 nearby crashes on Highway 63 in northern Boone County

January 23, 2025 4:54 PM Matthew Sanders, Jazsmin Halliburton, Ryan Shiner

BOONE COUNTY, Mo. (KMIZ) Three people died in two separate crashes Thursday on Highway 63 in Boone County, north of Columbia. Emergency dispatchers alerted the public at about 4:30 p.m. Thursday that a crash had closed Highway 63 southbound at Highway 124. Two people died in a head-on collision. According to the crash report release

Schaefer confirmed as DNR director

January 23, 2025 6:16 PM Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Former state Sen. Kurt Schaefer has been confirmed as the next director of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Senate Republicans confirmed Thursday on social media. Gov. Mike Kehoe announced Schaefer as his pick for the role last month. Schaefer previously served as the DNR’s general counsel and deputy director. Schaefer represented

$8 million settlement reached in MU Health Care data breach class-action lawsuit

January 23, 2025 4:00 PM Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A settlement has been reached in a class-action lawsuit involving a data breach of MU Health Care in 2020. MU Health Care in September 2020 stated that private information about patients occurred during May 2-4 of that year. Court documents say roughly 190,000 patients were impacted. An unopposed motion for final approval