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***UPDATE 4:30 P.M.***An 18-year-old Montgomery County man is currently in jail for kidnapping a girl and sending multiple schools into lockdown.Robert Dean Bethel allegedly kidnapped his 15-year-old girlfriend at gunpoint Tuesday afternoon. Bethel returned her safely Wednesday morning, but then made comments that sent schools in Montgomery and Callaway counties on lockdown.Authorities say the kidnapping

***UPDATE FRIDAY 8:17 P.M.***David Hosier will face trial in front of a jury from Cass County, picked in April, and then brought back to Jefferson City to hear the case. Jury selection began earlier this week in Clay County — but the Cole County prosecutor says they were unable to get enough qualified jurors and

Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster has charged two Columbia men in connection with a construction scam.Joshua B. Whitlock and Kendale Lamont Williams are each charged with three counts of felony stealing by deceit and three counts of felony unlawful merchandising practices.The Attorney General’s office says the pair were operating under the business name, “Select Living

Blair Townsend is going to turn four years old and her mother is using technology to help her grasp the concept of reading.The Columbia Public School District says this new method will work if it is started early on.Two years ago, two local elementary schools started using MyON Reader, and now Columbia Public Schools are

The Boone County Sheriff is stepping up the department’s effort to crack down on crime in the Columbia city limits.Sheriff Dwayne Carey says his deputies are serving more warrants in Columbia. He believes this effort could make a big difference specifically related to cutting back on crime. Carey says this is not a public relations

VERSAILLES, Mo. (AP) — A malnourished calf has died several days after being rescued from a central Missouri farm where 15 head of cattle were found dead.The Morgan County Sheriff’s Office says in a news release Wednesday that the calf was in poor health when it and 19 other surviving cattle were removed from the

Despite the fact that Missouri lawmakers had previously called gun control a federal issue, some have already decided to file bills that would negate President Obama’s recommendations.Currently, more than two dozen bills have been filed. Two of them seek to block all gun control from the federal government.House Bill 170 tried to block any federal

Arctic air continues to build in central and northern Canada. Temperatures have dropped to as low as -50 degrees in some areas. This airmass (a not-so-cold version of this cold air) will move south into the Midwest Saturday night through next Tuesday.Highs will be near 40 degrees Thursday, and then warm into the upper 40s

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) – Earnest Ross scored 15 points while surviving two spills, helping No. 17 Missouri rebound from its biggest setback of the season with a 79-62 victory over Georgia on Wednesday night.Alex Oriakhi had 13 points on perfect 5-for-5 shooting, eight rebounds and four blocks for the Tigers (13-3, 2-1 SEC), who were

***UPDATE 10 A.M.***The former CEO of a failed artificial sweetener facility waived a preliminary hearing Thursday at which Missouri prosecutors were to have laid out evidence of theft and fraud charges against him, but he will be back in court next week to face a formal arraignment.Bruce Cole appeared at a Moberly courthouse looking the

Columbia police arrested a man Wednesday night for a gun disturbance.Officers responded to the 2900 block of Argyle Drive around 8;20 p.m. for a disturbance with a handgun. Victims told police that 39-year-old Quincy Avant was driving recklessly in the street and trying to pick up his girlfriend and child.The victims say Avant became angry

A Montgomery City man has been charged for his role in a kidnapping case earlier this week.Robert D. Bethel, 18, is charged with felony kidnapping and armed criminal action. He is also charged with a misdemeanor count of violating a protection order.Bethel is being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $100,000 cash-only bond.

The Columbia Police Department announced Thursday it will offer two training sessions to instruct citizens how to handle an active shooter or violent intruder.The department says the sessions will teach citizens and businesses how to plan and react to an armed intruder.Police will hold the training sessions on Saturday, February 2nd. The first session will

Gov. Jay Nixon appointed Ann Covington of Columbia to the University of Missouri Board of Curators on Thursday.Covington, the former Missouri Supreme Court judge, will be on the board that oversees the four-campus UM System.She was the first female judge to serve on the Missouri Supreme Court after being appointed in 1989 and served until

The Columbia Police Department is investigating the death of a woman in the north-central section of the city.Authorities say they found a 59-year-old woman dead outside of a home in the 1200 block of Larch Court around 3:50 p.m. Thursday.Police say the cause and circumstances of the death are still unknown. The death is still

***UPDATE FRIDAY 8:53 P.M.***Elonzo Johnson, Jr, 21, has been charged with first degree assault and armed criminal action. *** UPDATE 10:26 P.M. ***Neighbors told ABC 17 News crews the chaos started because family members of those involved in the shooting continued fighting.”Two ladies yelling at each other saying they are going kill you and stuff

The Missouri Department of Transportation and the City of Columbia are working together on various road construction projects to improve road safety in Mid-Missouri.Among the list of projects will be Stadium Blvd., which continues to be an issue in Columbia due to increasing traffic demands.”That means we are going to add capacity to Stadium Blvd.

University of Missouri health officials are preparing for an increase in flu cases as students prepare to pack into the dorms and classrooms ahead of the upcoming semester. This year’s flu season is already taking a toll, with some hospitals setting up temporary tents outside of hospitals just to keep up with all of the

A short-staffed 911 call center is a safety concern for people who reside in Boone County, said Dan Atwill, presiding commissioner for the county. That’s why the commissioners met with the county counselor Thursday to hear recommendations on raising the sales tax in Boone County to get funds for the 911 center. In recent months,

A Williamsburg, Mo. man was found guilty of statutory sodomy Thursday.Boone County jurors convicted 43-year-old Sean Andrew Price of two counts of first-degree statutory sodomy.According to the prosecutor, Price is accused of sex crimes that occurred in 2008 with a 7-year-old girl.The judge has scheduled sentencing for February 25th. Price faces up to life in