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Tag: law enforcement

  • Panamanian investigators remove documents from offices of co

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    PANAMA CITY — Panamanian investigators carried documents Thursday out of offices belonging to a Hong Kong-owned company that operated ports at either end of the Panama Canal until its concession was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court last month.

    Public prosecutor Azael Samaniego, of the anti-corruption office, told local media outlets that visits were made to three offices of the Panama Ports Company in Panama City and that the Panama Maritime Authority and investigators from the National Directorate of Judicial Investigation also participated. The Panama Ports Company is the local subsidiary of Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison.

    Samaniego said his office had information pointing to the possible commission of a crime, but he did not specify what the crime could be. He said an investigation was in its early stages.

    The Panama Ports Company did not respond to requests for comment, nor did Panamanian law enforcement agencies.

    The investigation comes days after the Maritime Authority seized the Balboa and Cristobal ports from the Panama Ports Company. The company has previously rejected the court’s ruling and the Chinese government has accused Panama’s government of bowing to United States pressure.

    The ports, which have been operated by the company since 1997, became embroiled in a legal dispute after getting caught in the middle of the U.S. and China’s competition for influence in the region.

    The Trump administration objected to the ports being controlled by a Chinese company and accused China of running the canal, something both Panama and China deny.

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  • Arrest log

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    The following arrests were made recently by local police departments. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Massachusetts’ privacy law prevents police from releasing information involving domestic and sexual violence arrests with the goal to protect the alleged victims.

    LOWELL

    • Tasha Perry, 39, 65 Summer St., Apt. 162, Lowell; warrant (failure to appear for assault and battery with dangerous weapon).

    • Ibrahim Mbouemboue-Yogno, 35, 218 Wilder St., Apt. 24, Lowell; keeper of disorderly house, disturbing peace, assault and battery on police officer, assault and battery with dangerous weapon (door).

    • Whitney Labossiere, 28, 1005 Westford St., Apt. 4, Lowell; disorderly conduct, trespassing after notice.

    • Kenneth Eng, 21, 27 Hastings St., Lowell; operating motor vehicle after license suspension, making illegal turn from wrong lane.

    • Jeremy McWhinnie, 35, 157 Summer St., Apt. L, Lowell; warrants (failure to appear for assault and battery on police officer, resisting arrest, and disorderly conduct).

    NASHUA, N.H.

    • Kevin Mulligan, 29, 7 1/2 Martin St., Nashua; simple assault.

    • Hayden Lee Wilburn, 32, 44 Amherst St., Nashua; warrant.

    • Ricardo Encarnacion, 31, 290 Ruggles St., Roxbury Crossing; three counts of theft by unauthorized taking ($0-$1,000).

    • Danielle Evans, 32, 39 Palm St., Apt. 2, Nashua; criminal trespassing.

    • Kenneth Gurski, 70, no fixed address; criminal trespassing, nonappearances in court.

    • Edgar McIntosh, 19, 20 Century Road, Nashua; disobeying an officer, speeding (26 mph over limit of 55 mph or less).

    • Rachel Tutein, 30, 16 Cold Spring Road, Westford; stalking (domestic violence).

    • Kimberlee Bryson Cora, 29, 104 Ash St., Nashua; nonappearances in court.

    • David Perez, 37, 18 Mulberry St., Nashua; nonappearance in court.

    • Brian Anthony Desautels, 54, 23 Cushing Ave., Nashua; simple assault.

    • Hector Solano, 54, 25 Amory St., Roxbury; lane control violation, driving motor vehicle after license revoked/suspended, nonappearances in court.

    PELHAM, N.H.

    • Victoria Coyle, 38, Dracut; suspension of vehicle registration.

    • Nicholas Gentile, 39, Chelmsford; suspension of vehicle registration.

    • Sara Beaulieu, 46, Tyngsboro; suspension of vehicle registration.

    • Jean Richard, 28, Lowell; suspension of vehicle registration.

    • Heloisa Moreira Oliveira, 28, Lowell; suspension of vehicle registration.

    • Michael Ingham, 50, Pelham; driving under influence.

    • Brian Arsenault, 39, Tyngsboro; suspension of vehicle registration.

    • Robert Carleton, 23, Pelham; simple assault (domestic violence).

    • Daniel McGillicuddy, 45, Dracut; two counts of violation of protective order.

    • Jessica Conway, 25, Dracut; driving motor vehicle after license revoked/suspended.

    • Luis Lopez, 55, Lowell; suspension of vehicle registration.

    • Tamy Smith, 33, Lowell; suspension of vehicle registration.

    • Frantz Letang, 48, Andover; arrest on another agency’s warrant.

    • Nathan Harrington, 49, Lowell; suspension of vehicle registration.

    • Carmen Ruiz, 25, Hudson, N.H.; suspension of vehicle registration.

    • James Frederick, 51, Hudson, N.H.; operating motor vehicle after certified as habitual offender, driving under influence (subsequent offense), driving motor vehicle after license revoked/suspended for driving under influence.

    WILMINGTON

    • Mohammed Ali Jones, 43, 25 School St., Apt. 2, Everett; operation of motor vehicle with registration suspended or revoked, uninsured motor vehicle, license not in possession.

    • Nolan Patrick Vigeant, 22, 42 Hanover St., Wilmington; operation under influence of alcohol, two counts of leaving scene of property damage, marked lanes violation, speeding.

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  • Third victim dies from wounds suffered in Rhode Island ice rink attack, police say

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    PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A deadly shooting during a youth hockey game in Rhode Island last week has claimed a third victim, a grandfather whose daughter and grandson were also killed in the attack, authorities said Wednesday.

    Gerald Dorgan, who had been in critical condition, has died from his injuries, according to Pawtucket police.

    Pawtucket Mayor Donald Grebien said he was heartbroken that another person has died because of the shooting.

    “Our thoughts and prayers remain with the victim’s family, friends, and all those impacted by this tragic act of violence,” he said in a statement.

    Dorgan’s daughter, Rhonda Dorgan, and grandson, Aidan Dorgan, were also killed in the shooting.

    Police identified the shooter as Robert Dorgan, 56, who died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Dorgan also went by the names Roberta Esposito and Roberta Dorgano, authorities said. Robert Dorgan’s ex-wife was Rhonda Dorgan and adult son was Aidan Dorgan.

    Officials have said the shooter was specifically targeting family members.

    Rhonda Dorgan’s mom, Linda Dorgan, and a family friend, Thomas Geruso, were wounded.

    Law enforcement have credited several people who intervened and quickly stopped the attack. At least three bystanders were able to contain the shooter in the middle of the stands as the crowd fled and ran around them.

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  • 2nd day of dry, windy weather fuels Colorado wildfires in Thornton, Eastern Plains

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    A second day of powerful, gusty winds hit the Front Range and Eastern Plains on Wednesday, fueling at least two wildfires in metro Denver and northeastern Colorado and snarling travel at Denver International Airport.

    More than 100 firefighters from across the metro area responded to a grass fire that sparked at 11:30 a.m. near Pinnacle Charter High School, 8412 Huron St. in Thornton.

    The fire burned across 10 acres of dry, grassy fields and charred vehicles as it produced billows of black smoke visible across the Denver area. Smoke reduced visibility on Interstate 25 to the point that state transportation officials closed the highway in both directions for more than an hour.

    Four firefighters and one other person were injured by the fire, Thornton Fire Chief Stephen Kelley said at a briefing at City Hall. Their injuries did not appear to be life-threatening, but no further information on the nature or severity of the injuries was available, Kelley said.

    Police officers went door to door Wednesday afternoon to evacuate people after the fire started, and city officials sent out evacuation notices through the statewide Integrated Public Alert and Warning System, Kelley said. Pinnacle Charter High School and several nearby businesses also were evacuated.

    Thornton is in the process of switching to a different city emergency alert system and does not have one in place currently, Kelley said.

    City leaders could not say how many homes were evacuated and did not provide a map of affected neighborhoods, although officials confirmed most evacuations occurred northeast of the fire.

    Flames burned for more than two hours before fire crews gained full containment at 2:07 p.m. Thornton officials lifted evacuations at 3:30 p.m. Kelley said firefighters were to remain in the area overnight to put out hot spots and prevent the fire from rekindling. Continued road closures were likely because of firefighting activity, he said.

    No homes were destroyed by the fire, which started on a greenbelt between a residential neighborhood and businesses, Kelley said. The cause of the fire is under investigation and crews are evaluating fire damage to businesses. Although none of the businesses’ buildings appear to be damaged, rows of cars in nearby lots were burned.

    “It is our intent to get ahead of these fires so we don’t have the spread … experienced during the Marshall fire,” Kelley said. “I think we’re very fortunate today that we did not have an outcome similar.”

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  • No issues during ‘mall takeover’ planned for Northshore Mall

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    PEABODY — A planned “mall takeover” at the Northshore Mall on Friday was a dud, Peabody police Chief Tom Griffin said.

    The event circulated on social media ahead of its scheduled 3 p.m. start time. Similar events have been known to draw chaotic crowds and car meetups that often pose safety risks.

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    By Caroline Enos | Staff Writer

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  • Douglas County adopts law requiring stores to report theft — but drops fines for failing to do so

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    Douglas County commissioners passed a measure Tuesday that requires hundreds of retail stores in unincorporated parts of the county to file a report with law enforcement when thieves rip them off.

    But unlike an initial version of the law that was made public in December, the county will levy no fines on retailers for failing to do so — instead leaving any decision about punishment to a local court.

    The first version of the law called for fines of $50, and all the way up to $1,000, for businesses that failed to report a crime. That caused some unease in the business community that Douglas County was overreaching.

    Commissioner Abe Laydon said during the business meeting Tuesday that the ordinance was not meant to punish retailers but to keep the community safe.

    “This is the most prosperous county in the state of Colorado — we don’t want us to become a target for organized crime,” he said. “When we tolerate organized retail theft, we normalize lawlessness.”

    The latest rendition of the ordinance increased the time — from 24 hours to 96 hours — that businesses will have to report a theft. It also allows a retailer to report a crime via an online form rather than have police called to the scene.

    That was enough to allay concerns from Chris Howes, the president of the Colorado Retail Council. In an attempt to make the measure more palatable to local businesses, he said his organization had some “fruitful discussions” with the county after the law was first unveiled.

    “We don’t feel it punishes retail,” he said. “The focus on retail crime is overall going to be a benefit to us.”

    District Attorney George Brauchler said he wants to get the message across that “we do not tolerate thieves.”

    “If you come here to steal from us, plan on staying,” he said in a statement Tuesday. “Business owners and citizens alike should know that we will continue to protect their property rights.”

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  • 3 ways investigators could solve the Nancy Guthrie kidnapping

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    The throng of reporters camped out around Tucson is beginning to thin.

    It’s been nearly two weeks since Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos held a news conference updating the case.

    And despite more than 20,000 tips, the investigation appears to be cooling and the paths to solving the Feb. 1 kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie could be narrowing.

    Officials insist the investigation is still in full force and that they have some solid clues: Her blood drops on the doorstep. Her suspected abductor snatched the front door Nest camera, but not before it captured the ski-masked armed man with a backpack lurking on the porch and trying to cover the lens with his gloved hand. More than a dozen gloves have since been recovered in the surrounding community, including one authorities say matched that worn by the person in the video.

    Guthrie, the mother of “Today” show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, vanished from her Arizona home more than three weeks ago and there is still no person of interest, no suspect or even a description of a kidnapper’s getaway car.

    But so far there have been no DNA matches with known criminals in the federal database.

    Ransom notes came after the Feb. 1 kidnapping, but no proof that the Guthrie was alive followed. Locals were detained and quickly released as investigative leads dried up.

    Still, experts say it’s far too early to call this a “cold case” and noted a break could come at any moment.

    But the paths to finding Guthrie and her abductor are limited:

    1. Forensic evidence

    Investigators could get a scientific breakthrough with DNA evidence.

    Sheriff’s investigators say they are still checking DNA from the gloves recovered in the area and Guthrie’s home, which was searched after the 84-year-old grandmother failed to show up on a Sunday to her church group and a missing person’s case became the nation’s biggest kidnapping drama in decades.

    Nanos and his department have said there are multiple DNA strands mixed from the home — meaning two or more persons — and “there can be challenges separating DNA.”

    A glove was found two miles from the scene that authorities say it appears to match the pair worn by the masked man. But the DNA found on the glove did not match any in the Combined DNA Index System, which has more than 19 million offender samples nationwide.

    Investigators haven’t said how much weight they are giving to specific pieces of evidence. Still, experts say anything with Guthrie’s DNA discovered outside the home may also contain her abductor’s DNA.

    “We believe that we may have some DNA that may be our suspect, but we won’t know that until that DNA is separated, sorted out, maybe admitted to CODIS, maybe through genetic genealogy,” Nanos told NBC News.

    2. Familial DNA

    Genetic genealogy is most famous for apprehending the Golden State Killer, Joseph James DeAngelo Jr., known for serial rapes and murders in the 1970s and 1980s in California. The technique, known as forensic investigative genetic genealogy, incorporates public genealogy websites with DNA analysis. The National District Attorneys Assn. heralded it as a “new era in crime solving.”

    With FIGG, authorities can compare DNA collected from Guthrie’s home with publicly accessible databases containing the genetic profiles of millions of people who have given them over for family history research and other reasons. From there, investigators can sometimes find distant relatives to help piece together a family tree that can point to a suspect, said CeCe Moore, a genetic genealogist and co-founder of DNA Justice.

    In the Golden State Killer case, investigators retrieved old DNA processed in the Ventura County crime lab connected to one of his crimes. Instead of processing it on CODIS, they used another part of the DNA to search for potential relatives of the unknown killer in ancestry databases.

    If the person has a long family history in the United States, it’s a bit easier for investigators to use genetic genealogy, Moore added, because there’s more representation in the databases that law enforcement can access.

    However, law enforcement does not have easy access to the roughly 50 million genetic profiles contained in Ancestry.com, 23andMe and MyHeritage databases. Those companies have barred authorities from accessing such information and said they would release it only if compelled by a court order or warrant.

    Databases GEDmatch, FamilyTreeDNA and DNA Justice are open to law enforcement use but contain fewer than 2 million genetic profiles, Moore said.

    “Cases with Latin American subjects are incredibly difficult,” she said. “Mexico is typically a little bit easier because we have more representation in the database from Mexico than any of the other Latin American countries. But still, because we’re limited to the smallest databases, which are less than 2 million profiles, it’s going to be quite difficult, unless they just get lucky.”

    Investigators can also run familial searches on the CODIS system, where relatives of the suspect may have been placed. Such a search is legal in Arizona.

    3. Evidence breakthrough

    Identifying the suspected kidnapper: FBI agents have already identified the masked man’s backpack as a 25-liter Ozark Trail Hiker Pack sold at Walmart, which is now working to assist investigators. The masked assailant’s gun holster, slung between his legs, is what law enforcement terms a universal fit holster and is ill-fitted for a much larger gun. Retired LAPD Capt. Paul Vernon, who oversaw homicide probes, said the style of carry may be familiar to some at a gun range, and investigators will be pursuing the carry method as a signature part of the man’s behavior. Once law enforcement identifies the man’s specific clothing, weapon, and the carry holster, it may trigger someone’s memory and generate a vital tip, Vernon said.

    On Monday, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department addressed reports that there may be video of the suspect at Guthrie’s door on a day prior to her abduction, saying it was inconclusive.

    “We are aware that doorbell images released earlier in the investigation depict a suspect in different stages of attire, including with and without a backpack,” the department statement said. “There is no date or time stamp associated with these images. Therefore, any suggestion that the photographs were taken on different days is purely speculative.”

    Cellphone pinging: Investigators, particularly those with FBI technical units, will use geo-fencing to scour the cell towers around Guthrie’s home for cellphone users. They will seek to separate out the phones that aren’t usually there. Even if a kidnapper carries a disposable phone with prepaid minutes, also known as a “burner,” investigators will want to identify the phone and see if they can trace its past movements. In a Los Angeles County jewelry heist, investigators last year linked a burner phone from a traffic accident to the heist location and to other crimes. Vernon said that if you identify a phone, it’s possible to see if it pings along a route, say, along the highway from Tucson toward the border.

    Cameras: The investigation is also continuing to try to retrieve other data from cameras around Nancy Guthrie’s home. Detectives have asked residents of the Catalina Foothills neighborhood where Guthrie lived to submit any suspicious behavior captured on security cameras for the entire month before the abduction. Initially, they asked specifically for any videos related to Jan. 11. Authorities haven’t said whether they have evidence that the perpetrator may have surveilled the home before the kidnapping. But it is not uncommon for burglars, robbers and home invaders to be seen on surveillance of a crime in the weeks before, law enforcement experts say.

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    Richard Winton, Hannah Fry

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  • Volunteers scour the desert for Nancy Guthrie

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    The disappearance of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie’s mother three weeks ago has inspired a small number of volunteers to launch their own searches in the dense desert near her home in hopes of cracking the case.The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said while it appreciates the concern for Nancy Guthrie, it asked people inquiring about volunteering to give investigators space to do their jobs. Video above: Nancy Guthrie search turns to Mexico”We all want to find Nancy, but this work is best left to professionals,” the agency said in a statement over the weekend.Nancy Guthrie, 84, was last seen at her home just outside Tucson on Jan. 31 and was reported missing the following day. Authorities believe she was kidnapped, abducted or otherwise taken against her will. Drops of her blood were found on the front porch, but authorities haven’t publicly revealed much evidence. Despite the sheriff’s request for people not to search on their own, volunteers have continued to look. A small group reported finding a black backpack on Sunday, but it wasn’t the same brand as one identified in video surveillance that the FBI released of a masked man at Guthrie’s home the night she disappeared. A sheriffs’ spokesperson told Tucson television station KOLD that the bag and its contents didn’t appear to be viable leads. The Associated Press reached out to the sheriff’s department for comment on Monday.Two women from the group Madres Buscadoras de Sonora, or “Searching Mothers of Sonora,” who were carrying digging tools Sunday outside of Guthrie’s home, said they, too, would join the search. They posted fliers on Guthrie’s mailbox with her picture and their contact information.Tony Estrada, the former long-time sheriff in neighboring Santa Cruz County, said volunteer searchers have good intentions in wanting to help and can serve as a force multiplier, but it’s crucial that their efforts be coordinated with law enforcement.”You can’t have people all over the place looking for something and not reporting to anybody or letting them know that they’re going to be in that area,” Estrada said. “They may be trampling into things that may come out to be helpful in the future.”Nearly all search operations for U.S. law enforcement agencies are staffed with volunteers, said Chris Boyer, executive director of the National Association for Search and Rescue.Untrained volunteers who show up to help in a search may mean well, but experts say they could end up contaminating a crime scene.”It’s painful for law enforcement when that happens,” Boyer said. Volunteers should undergo background checks, be trained in things like administering first aid and preserving crime scenes, and work under the direction of law enforcement authorities, said Boyer, whose group provides education, certification and advocacy for search and rescue efforts across the United States and other countries.Several hundred people are working the Guthrie investigation, and more than 20,000 tips have been received, the sheriff’s office has said. The FBI and other agencies are assisting. Video below: United Cajun Navy says it will join search for Nancy GuthrieThe sheriff’s office has watched around the clock lately at Guthrie’s house. It also enacted a temporary one-way flow on the road so that emergency vehicles and trash collection trucks could get through. The constant presence of news crews, bloggers and curious onlookers has drawn mixed reaction from neighbors.Some appreciated the attention the case has been getting. Others have placed traffic cones and signs on their properties to keep people off. Meanwhile, the tribute to Nancy Guthrie outside her home keeps growing, with flowers, yellow ribbons, crosses, prayers and patron saints for older adults and in desperate situations.Aran Aleamoni and his daughter Ariana picked out a bouquet of red, pink and white flowers and placed them at the edge of Guthrie’s yard, alongside a sign that read “Let Nancy Come Home” and a statuette of an angel.”My heart goes out to the entire family,” said Aran Aleamoni, who has known the Guthrie family for a long time. “We are all pulling for you. We’re with you in your corner.”Billeaud reported from Phoenix.

    TUCSON, Ariz. —

    The disappearance of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie’s mother three weeks ago has inspired a small number of volunteers to launch their own searches in the dense desert near her home in hopes of cracking the case.

    The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said while it appreciates the concern for Nancy Guthrie, it asked people inquiring about volunteering to give investigators space to do their jobs.

    Video above: Nancy Guthrie search turns to Mexico

    “We all want to find Nancy, but this work is best left to professionals,” the agency said in a statement over the weekend.

    Nancy Guthrie, 84, was last seen at her home just outside Tucson on Jan. 31 and was reported missing the following day. Authorities believe she was kidnapped, abducted or otherwise taken against her will. Drops of her blood were found on the front porch, but authorities haven’t publicly revealed much evidence.

    Despite the sheriff’s request for people not to search on their own, volunteers have continued to look. A small group reported finding a black backpack on Sunday, but it wasn’t the same brand as one identified in video surveillance that the FBI released of a masked man at Guthrie’s home the night she disappeared.

    A sheriffs’ spokesperson told Tucson television station KOLD that the bag and its contents didn’t appear to be viable leads. The Associated Press reached out to the sheriff’s department for comment on Monday.

    Two women from the group Madres Buscadoras de Sonora, or “Searching Mothers of Sonora,” who were carrying digging tools Sunday outside of Guthrie’s home, said they, too, would join the search. They posted fliers on Guthrie’s mailbox with her picture and their contact information.

    Tony Estrada, the former long-time sheriff in neighboring Santa Cruz County, said volunteer searchers have good intentions in wanting to help and can serve as a force multiplier, but it’s crucial that their efforts be coordinated with law enforcement.

    Felicia Fonseca

    Neighbors walk by a growing memorial for Nancy Guthrie, the missing mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie, outside her home in Tucson, Ariz., Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026.

    “You can’t have people all over the place looking for something and not reporting to anybody or letting them know that they’re going to be in that area,” Estrada said. “They may be trampling into things that may come out to be helpful in the future.”

    Nearly all search operations for U.S. law enforcement agencies are staffed with volunteers, said Chris Boyer, executive director of the National Association for Search and Rescue.

    Untrained volunteers who show up to help in a search may mean well, but experts say they could end up contaminating a crime scene.

    “It’s painful for law enforcement when that happens,” Boyer said.

    Volunteers should undergo background checks, be trained in things like administering first aid and preserving crime scenes, and work under the direction of law enforcement authorities, said Boyer, whose group provides education, certification and advocacy for search and rescue efforts across the United States and other countries.

    Several hundred people are working the Guthrie investigation, and more than 20,000 tips have been received, the sheriff’s office has said. The FBI and other agencies are assisting.

    Video below: United Cajun Navy says it will join search for Nancy Guthrie

    The sheriff’s office has watched around the clock lately at Guthrie’s house. It also enacted a temporary one-way flow on the road so that emergency vehicles and trash collection trucks could get through. The constant presence of news crews, bloggers and curious onlookers has drawn mixed reaction from neighbors.

    Some appreciated the attention the case has been getting. Others have placed traffic cones and signs on their properties to keep people off.

    Meanwhile, the tribute to Nancy Guthrie outside her home keeps growing, with flowers, yellow ribbons, crosses, prayers and patron saints for older adults and in desperate situations.

    Aran Aleamoni and his daughter Ariana picked out a bouquet of red, pink and white flowers and placed them at the edge of Guthrie’s yard, alongside a sign that read “Let Nancy Come Home” and a statuette of an angel.

    “My heart goes out to the entire family,” said Aran Aleamoni, who has known the Guthrie family for a long time. “We are all pulling for you. We’re with you in your corner.”

    Billeaud reported from Phoenix.

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  • ChatGPT-maker OpenAI safety representatives summoned to Canada after school shooting

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    TORONTO — Representatives of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI have been summoned to Ottawa after the company said last week that it considered but didn’t alert Canadian police about the activities of a person who months later committed one of the worst school shootings in the country’s history.

    Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon said Monday that he expects the company’s top safety representatives to explain its protocols and how it decides to forward cases to law enforcement when he meets with them on Tuesday.

    OpenAI said last June that the company identified the account of Jesse Van Rootselaar via abuse detection efforts for “furtherance of violent activities.”

    The San Francisco technology company said that it considered whether to refer the account to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, or RCMP, but determined at the time that the account activity didn’t meet a threshold for referral to law enforcement. OpenAI banned the account in June for violating its usage policy.

    The 18-year-old killed eight people in a remote part of British Columbia this month and died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

    OpenAI said that the threshold for referring a user to law enforcement is whether the case involves an imminent and credible risk of serious physical harm to others. The company said that it didn’t identify credible or imminent planning. The Wall Street Journal first reported OpenAI’s revelation, reporting that about a dozen employees debated informing Canadian police.

    OpenAI said that it wasn’t until after learning of the school shooting that employees reached out to RCMP with information on the individual and their use of ChatGPT

    Solomon said that he contacted OpenAI immediately when he read the reports that OpenAI didn’t contact law enforcement in a timely manner.

    “I have summoned the senior safety team from OpenAI to come here to Ottawa from the United States,” Solomon said. “Canadians expect, first of all, that their children particularly are kept safe and these organizations act in a responsible manner.”

    Solomon said that some of his representatives already met with some OpenAI officials on Sunday. He wouldn’t say whether the Canadian government intends to regulate AI chatbots like ChatGPT, but insists that all options are on the table.

    Police said Van Rootselaar first killed her mother and stepbrother at the family home before attacking the nearby school. Van Rootselaar had a history of mental health contacts with police.

    The motive for the shooting remains unclear.

    The town of Tumbler Ridge in the Canadian Rockies is more than 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) northeast of Vancouver, near the provincial border with Alberta. Police said the victims included a 39-year-old teaching assistant and five students, ages 12 to 13.

    The attack was Canada’s deadliest rampage since 2020, when a gunman in Nova Scotia killed 13 people and set fires that left another nine dead.

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  • Police are finding suspects based on their online searches as courts weigh privacy concerns

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    HARRISBURG, Pa. — Criminal investigators hoping to develop suspects in difficult cases have been asking Google to reveal who searched for specific information online, seeking “reverse keyword” warrants that critics warn threaten the privacy of innocent people.

    Unlike traditional search warrants that target a known suspect or location, keyword warrants work backward by identifying internet addresses where searches were made in a certain window of time for particular terms, such as a street address where a crime occurred or a phrase like “pipe bomb.”

    Police have used the method to investigate a series of bombings in Texas, the assassination of a Brazilian politician and a fatal arson in Colorado.

    It’s not a wild guess by investigators to conclude that people are using Google searches in all manner of crimes, as the company’s search engine has become the main gateway to the internet and users’ daily lives increasingly leave online traces. The potential value to investigators of the data Google collects is obvious in cases with no suspect, such as the search for Nancy Guthrie’s kidnapper.

    The legal tension between the need to solve crimes quickly and the U.S. Constitution’s Fourth Amendment protections against overly broad searches was at the heart of a recent Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision that upheld the use of a reverse keyword warrant in a rape investigation.

    Privacy advocates see it as giving police “unfettered access to the thoughts, feelings, concerns and secrets of countless people,” according to an amicus brief filed in the Pennsylvania appeal by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Internet Archive and several library organizations.

    In response to written questions about the warrants, Google provided an emailed statement: “Our processes for handling law enforcement requests are designed to protect users’ privacy while meeting our legal obligations. We review all legal demands for legal validity, and we push back against those that are overbroad or improper, including objecting to some entirely.”

    Pennsylvania State Police were stymied in their investigation into the violent rape of a woman in 2016 on a remote cul-de-sac outside Milton, a small community in the center of the state. With no clear leads, police obtained a warrant directing Google to disclose accounts that searched for the victim’s name or address over the week when she was attacked.

    More than a year later, Google reported two searches for the woman’s address were made a few hours before the assault from a specific IP address, a numeric designation that lists where a phone or computer lives on the internet.

    That led them to the home of a state prison guard named John Edward Kurtz.

    Police then conducted surveillance and collected a cigarette butt he discarded that matched DNA recovered from the victim, according to court records. He confessed to the rape and attacks involving four other women over a five-year period, and was convicted in 2020. Now 51, he’s been sentenced to 59 to 280 years.

    Kurtz’s attorneys argued police lacked probable cause to obtain the information and impinged on his privacy rights.

    The state Supreme Court rejected those claims late last year but split on the reasons why. Three justices said Kurtz should not have expected his Google searches to be private, while three more said police had probable cause to look for anyone who searched the victim’s address before the attack. But a dissenting justice said probable cause requires more than just a “bald hunch” and guessing that a perpetrator would have used Google.

    Kurtz lawyer Douglas Taglieri made the same point in a court filing, but conceded, “It was a good guess.”

    Julia Skinner, a prosecutor in the case, said reverse keyword searches are much more effective when there are specific and even unusual terms that can narrow results, such as a distinctive name or an address. They are also particularly effective when crimes appear to have been planned out beforehand, she said.

    “I don’t think they’re used super frequently, because what you need to target has to be so specific,” she said. There were 57 searches returned in the Kurtz case, but many of them were first responders trying to locate the home in the immediate aftermath of the crime, Skinner said.

    In the similar case in Colorado, police sought the IP addresses of anyone who searched over a 15-day period for the address of a home where a deadly arson occurred. Authorities got IP addresses for 61 searches made by eight accounts, ultimately helping identify three teenage suspects.

    The Colorado Supreme Court ruled in 2023 that although the keyword warrant was constitutionally defective for not specifying an “individualized probable cause,” the evidence could be used because police had acted in good faith about what was known about the law at the time.

    “If dystopian problems emerge, as some fear, the courts stand ready to hear argument regarding how we should rein in law enforcement’s use of rapidly advancing technology,” the majority of Colorado justices ruled.

    Courts have long permitted investigators to seek things like bank records or phone logs. However, civil liberties groups say extending those powers to online keywords turns every search user into a suspect.

    It’s unclear how many keyword warrants are issued every year — Google does not break down the total number of warrants it receives by type, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in a January 2024 brief.

    The two groups said police working on the bombings in Austin, Texas, sought anyone who searched for terms such as “low explosives” and “pipe bomb.” And in Brazil, investigators trying to solve the 2018 assassination in Rio de Janeiro of the politician Marielle Franco asked for those who searched for Franco’s name and the street where she lived. A Brazilian high court is expected to decide soon on the legality of those search disclosures.

    Reverse keyword warrants are distinct from “geofence” warrants, where criminal investigators seek information about who was in a given area at a particular time. The U.S. Supreme Court said last month it will rule on that method’s constitutionality.

    For many people, their Google search history contains some of their most personal thoughts, from health issues and political beliefs to financial decisions and spending patterns. Google is introducing more artificial intelligence into its search engine, seemingly a way to learn even more about users.

    “What could be more embarrassing,” asked University of Pennsylvania law professor and civil rights lawyer David Rudovsky, if every Google search “was now out there, gone viral?”

    Google warns users personal information can be shared outside the company when it has a “good-faith belief that disclosure of the information is reasonably necessary” to respond to applicable laws, regulations, legal processes or an “enforceable government request.”

    In the Kurtz case, Pennsylvania Justice David Wecht drew a distinction between Kurtz deciding to search for the victim’s name on Google and a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision that limited the use of broad collections of cellphone location data.

    “A user who wants to keep such material private has options,” Wecht wrote. “That user does not have to click on Google.”

    ___

    AP Technology Writer Michael Liedtke in San Francisco and writer Mauricio Savarese in Sao Paulo, Brazil, contributed.

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  • Armed man shot and killed after entering Mar-a-Lago secure perimeter, Secret Service says

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    An armed man was shot and killed Sunday morning after he entered the secure perimeter of President Trump’s private Florida residence and resort, Mar-a-Lago, and was confronted by U.S. Secret Service agents and a Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputy.

    The man killed was identified by investigators as 21-year-old Austin Tucker Martin from North Carolina, according to a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation. Martin had been reported missing by his family a few days prior.

    Trump, who on Saturday night hosted the annual Governors Dinner at the White House, was not at Mar-a-Lago at the time of the incident.

    According to the Secret Service, law enforcement officers spotted a man in his early 20s with a shotgun and a fuel can by the north gate of Trump’s residence in Palm Beach, Fla., around 1:30 a.m.

    When a deputy from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office and two Secret Service agents went to investigate, they ordered him to drop the items, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric L. Bradshaw said during a news conference Sunday morning.

    “He put down the gas can, raised the shotgun to a shooting position,” Bradshaw said. “At that point in time, the deputy and the two Secret Service agents fired their weapons and neutralized the threat.”

    The man was declared dead at the scene. Rafael Barros, special agent in charge of the Secret Service’s Miami field office, said no law enforcement agents were harmed in the incident.

    The FBI is leading the investigation.

    Brett Skiles, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Miami field office, said the Evidence Response Team is processing the scene and collecting evidence. He asked residents in the vicinity to check their exterior cameras and contact the FBI or the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office if they spot anything that looks suspicious or out of place.

    The officers involved were wearing body cameras, Bradshaw said.

    Asked whether the man was known to law enforcement before the incident, Bradshaw said, “Not right now.”

    The Secret Service said in a statement that it is working with the FBI and Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office to learn more about the deceased man’s background, actions and motive. The agents involved in the incident, it said, will be placed on routine administrative leave during the investigation “in accordance with agency policy.”

    Martin hailed from the small town of Cameron — a staunchly Republican area of central North Carolina.

    Around 7 a.m. Eastern time on Sunday, a woman who appeared to be the slain man’s mother, Melissa Martin, posted a note on Facebook. “Please share so we can find my boy,” she wrote.

    An hour later, she posted a missing person notice that described Martin as around 6 feet tall and driving a 2013 silver Volkswagen Tiguan. He was last heard from, the note said, at 7:51 p.m. Saturday.

    Melissa Martin did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

    Braeden Fields, Martin’s 19-year-old cousin, told the Associated Press that Martin came from a family of Trump supporters. He was quiet, he said, and afraid of guns.

    “I wouldn’t believe he would do something like this. It’s mind-blowing,” Fields said. “He wouldn’t even hurt an ant. He doesn’t even know how to use a gun.”

    Martin worked at a local golf course, Fields said. He also set up a small business — artwork company Fresh Sky Illustrations, which focused on “bringing to life the hopeful feeling of being on a golf course,” its website said, “by illustrating golf course scenes and providing framed copies of handmade works in various golf course gift shops.”

    The incident at Mar-a-Lago comes amid a wave of violence against political figures — one that spans the ideological spectrum.

    Trump himself has been the target — most notably in July 2024, when he survived an assassination attempt during an outdoor campaign rally in Butler, Pa. A few months later, a man with a rifle was arrested by Secret Service agents as he was spotted hiding amid shrubs near Trump’s West Palm Beach golf course.

    In an interview Sunday with Fox News, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent blamed left-wing rhetoric — “venom coming from the other side” — for inspiring political violence against Trump. He cited a newly released U.S. Senate campaign ad by Illinois Democratic Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, in which a series of people say “F— Trump,” and called for the ad to be taken down.

    “We don’t know whether this person was a mastermind, unhinged or what,” he told Maria Bartiromo on “Sunday Morning Futures,” referencing the Mar-a-Lago intruder with a gun. “But they are normalizing this violence. It’s got to stop.”

    In September of last year, conservative activist Charlie Kirk was fatally shot during a campus debate hosted by his Turning Point USA organization at Utah Valley University.

    But Democrats have also been attacked and, in some cases, killed. In June 2025, a man posing as a police officer fatally shot Minnesota state House Democratic leader Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and wounded another Democratic lawmaker, state Sen. John Hoffman, and his wife, Yvette, at their residence.

    In April 2024, an armed man set fire to the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion, forcing Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family to flee during the Jewish holiday of Passover.

    On Jan. 6, 2021, a violent mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, some threatening to kill Republican Vice President Mike Pence and Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in an attempt to stop Congress’ certification of Joe Biden’s presidential election victory.

    Trump did not comment publicly on the incident Sunday morning. After 11 a.m. Eastern time, the president posted comments on social media about the U.S. men’s hockey team’s win at the Winter Olympics.

    White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, meanwhile, praised the Secret Service for its speedy work.

    “In the middle of the night while most Americans were asleep, the United States Secret Service acted quickly and decisively to neutralize a crazy person, armed with a gun and a gas canister, who intruded President Trump’s home,” Leavitt wrote in a statement on X. “Federal law enforcement are working 24/7 to keep our country safe and protect all Americans.”

    FBI Director Kash Patel said in a short statement that the agency is dedicating “all necessary resources” to the investigation and will continue working closely with the Secret Service as well as state and federal partners.

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    Jenny Jarvie

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  • Former ‘American Idol’ contestant charged with murder, staging crime scene in wife’s slaying in Ohio

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    Authorities in Ohio have arrested and charged a former contestant on “American Idol” with shooting and killing his wife and staging the crime scene to mislead investigators.

    Caleb Flynn, 39, pleaded not guilty Friday to charges of murder, assault and tampering with evidence.

    “I just want to take care of my daughters. I’m not a risk,” he told Judge Samuel Huffman in a video of his arraignment from jail.

    The judge set his bond at $2 million.

    Ashley Flynn, 37, was found dead Monday after officers received a report of a burglary and shooting at a Tipp City home, according to a news release by Tipp City Police. Her husband and two children were inside the home when officers arrived.

    In a 911 call released by authorities, a frantic Caleb Flynn tells a dispatcher someone broke into his home and killed his wife. He says she was shot multiple times in the head and he doesn’t know whether the intruder was still there.

    “There’s blood everywhere, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god,” he says.

    His attorney, Patrick Mulligan, said in a statement on Saturday he and Flynn were “disappointed and concerned about the short timeline and seeming rush to judgment in this case.” Police arrested Flynn on Thursday.

    “When the government runs out of leads or can’t develop leads and looks at a surviving spouse in cases such as these, the chance of a wrongful conviction increases,” the statement said.

    Tipp City Police Chief Greg Adkins defended the investigation, saying in an email on Saturday that it had “not moved fast.”

    “Rather, it has progressed at a pace dictated by a thorough and deliberate investigative process,” he said.

    Ashley Flynn was a middle school volleyball coach and substitute teacher, Tipp City Schools said on its Facebook page.

    “She was known for her beautiful smile, warmth, kindness, and the positive impact she had on so many—both in and out of the classroom and on the court,” the post said.

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  • Former Prince Andrew held on suspicion of misconduct due to Epstein ties

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    The former Prince Andrew was arrested and held for hours by British police on suspicion of misconduct in public office related to his links to Jeffrey Epstein. The arrest Thursday was an extraordinary move in a country where authorities once…

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    By DANICA KIRKA – Associated Press

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  • Shia LaBeouf used homophobic slurs while assaulting New Orleans bar patrons: Police

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    NEW ORLEANS — Actor Shia LaBeouf faces battery charges and is accused of repeatedly using homophobic slurs while hitting multiple people at a New Orleans bar during Mardi Gras, according to a police report.

    The New Orleans police report obtained by The Associated Press via a public records request states that LaBeouf, 39, “became irate and aggressive throughout the night” and struck multiple people with a closed fist at the Royal Street Inn & R Bar, near the historic French Quarter.

    Jeffrey Damnit, a well-known local entertainer who police identified as Jeffrey Klein in the incident report, said he was one of the people attacked by LaBeouf.

    “He hit me, he connected a few times with punches, he pushed me a few times,” Damnit said.

    LaBeouf “just got nuts” trying to start fights and telling the entertainer and others that he would beat them up, Damnit said. He added that LaBeouf had pushed him from behind at the bar earlier in the night, shouting homophobic slurs and threatening his life.

    Damnit was wearing eye makeup and lipstick and said he believes his appearance motivated LaBeouf’s attack.

    “That’s just somehow something that set him off, angered him and gave him a direction for his anger,” Damnit said. “This guy wants me to be dead because I wear makeup. It’s a screwed up thing.”

    A video shows a shirtless LaBeouf shoving one person to the ground and hitting another person in the face, “causing his nose to possibly dislocate,” according to the police report.

    Damnit and others subdued LaBeouf and tried to get him to leave the area, but he would not leave and became more aggressive, according to Damnit and the police report.

    Police arrived at the bar around 12:45 a.m. on the morning of the city’s famous Fat Tuesday revelry.

    Another video recorded by Damnit and shared with the AP shows LaBeouf looking at the camera and appearing to mouth a homophobic slur while police detained him. He continued to repeat the slur throughout the arrest, the police report stated.

    “These f–––––s put me in jail,” LaBeouf said, and then told police he’s Catholic, according to the report.

    “I didn’t shove nobody, I never touched nobody,” LaBeouf tells New Orleans police officers in the video recorded by Damnit.

    Representatives from LaBeouf did not immediately respond to request for comment. In the early morning hours of Feb. 18, LaBeouf wrote “Free me” on his X account.

    A New Orleans magistrate judge ordered LaBeouf to be released from custody on Tuesday without a bond requirement, according to Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Gary Scheets. LaBeouf faces two counts of simple battery.

    Videos later show LaBeouf dancing throughout the French Quarter and appears to show him waving his jail release papers.

    Damnit, a member of the Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, says he is worried that he will face ramifications in his professional career for pressing charges against LaBeouf.

    This isn’t the first time LaBeouf has faced legal troubles. He was sent to court-ordered rehabilitation after being arrested in New York in 2017 for public drunkenness and disorderly conduct, which was captured on livestream video.

    While on location in Georgia filming “The Peanut Butter Falcon,” later that year, he was arrested for public drunkenness and accused of disorderly conduct and obstruction and sentenced to probation.

    In 2020, he was charged with misdemeanor battery and petty theft in Los Angeles.

    That year, the English singer and actor FKA Twigs, whose legal name is Tahliah Barnett, also filed a lawsuit alleging LaBeouf was physically and emotionally abusive to her during their relationship, which they settled in July.

    Barnett said LaBeouf put her in a constant state of fear and humiliation, once slammed her into a car, tried to strangle her and knowingly gave her a sexually transmitted disease.

    LaBeouf apologized in a statement after the lawsuit was filed. He also denied the accusations in the lawsuit in a 2021 filing, saying any injuries done or damages incurred by Barnett were not his doing.

    The 39-year-old first gained acclaim as a child for his role on the Disney Channel series “Even Stevens,” and continued working steadily into adulthood. He is perhaps best known for his roles in 2007′s “Transformers” and in 2008′s “Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull.”

    LaBeouf shares a daughter, born in 2022, with actor Mia Goth.

    ___

    AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr and AP Writer Juan A. Lozano contributed to this report.

    ___

    Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

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  • Burn ban in effect in Osceola County

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    Osceola County officials have issued a burn ban Monday on all types of outside burning, including open fire pits, campfires and yard debris.According to a release, officials say this comes as dry conditions persist. “The burn ban is effective immediately and will be lifted as weather and vegetation conditions improve,” the release said.The ban will be enforced by Osceola County Code Enforcement, Law Enforcement and Emergency Services personnel. Osceola County Fire Rescue will continue to monitor conditions to determine when the burn ban will be lifted.  The burn ban comes one day after the city of St. Cloud issued a burn ban, and a nursery near Kissimmee was involved in a 3-alarm brush fire.

    OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. —

    Osceola County officials have issued a burn ban Monday on all types of outside burning, including open fire pits, campfires and yard debris.

    According to a release, officials say this comes as dry conditions persist.

    “The burn ban is effective immediately and will be lifted as weather and vegetation conditions improve,” the release said.

    The ban will be enforced by Osceola County Code Enforcement, Law Enforcement and Emergency Services personnel.

    Osceola County Fire Rescue will continue to monitor conditions to determine when the burn ban will be lifted. 

    The burn ban comes one day after the city of St. Cloud issued a burn ban, and a nursery near Kissimmee was involved in a 3-alarm brush fire.

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  • State police: Man hits cruiser in Salisbury, injures trooper

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    SALISBURY — A state trooper was seriously injured when his cruiser was struck by a vehicle on Interstate 95, state police said.

    Josue Levi Cuevas Santana of Lawrence was issued a criminal summons for negligent operation, speeding, using a mobile device while driving and failure to move over for an emergency vehicle after the crash Saturday in Salisbury, state police said.

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    By Jill Harmacinski | jharmacinski@eagletribune.com

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  • State police: Lawrence man hits cruiser, injures trooper

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    SALISBURY — A state trooper was seriously injured when his cruiser was struck by a vehicle driven by a Lawrence man, state police said.

    Josue Levi Cuevas Santana was issued a criminal summons for negligent operation, speeding, using a mobile device while driving and failure to move over for an emergency vehicle after the crash Saturday on Interstate 95 in Salisbury, state police said.

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    kAmu@==@H DE277 C6A@CE6C y:== w2C>24:?D<: @? %H:EE6C^) ot28=6%C:3y:== 2?5 %9C625D 2E ;:==J92C>2]k^Am

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    By Jill Harmacinski | jharmacinski@eagletribune.com

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  • 4 killed after plane crashes in Colorado mountains near Steamboat Springs

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    Four people, including three from the same family, were killed when a plane crashed in the northern Colorado mountains near Steamboat Springs early Friday, law enforcement officials said.

    An Epic Aircraft E1000 headed to Steamboat Springs crashed in a remote area on the south side of Emerald Mountain just after midnight Friday, Routt County Sheriff Doug Scherar and the National Transportation Safety Board confirmed.

    County officials are working to notify next of kin before releasing the names of those who died, but believe three of the people who died belonged to the same family, Routt County Coroner Mitch Locke said.

    In a statement, Scherar said the plane crashed as it was approaching the Bob Adams Airport in Steamboat Springs from the south. The crash site is near the top of Emerald Mountain in a remote area.

    The area near the crash site is marked with yellow tape, and access is restricted. Scherar asked the public to respect the closure.

    The circumstances around the crash are unknown and an NTSB investigator is headed to the scene and expected to arrive shortly, federal officials said Friday evening. The investigator will document the scene and examine the aircraft, which will then be moved to a secure facility to be evaluated further.

    Federal flight data shows the turboprop plane was owned by ALS Aviation LLC in Franklin, Tenn., and was purchased in 2024, while the company was formed on Dec. 7, 2021.

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  • Hundreds of agents search for Nancy Guthrie as her case spotlights other families left behind

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    As hundreds of federal and local agents scoured the Arizona desert and chased down potential leads in the nearly two weeks since Nancy Guthrie disappeared from her affluent neighborhood, families of other missing people are reminded how elusive answers can be.

    On the one hand, families who spoke to The Associated Press share in the deep pain that Nancy Guthrie’s children, including the well-known “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie, have expressed publicly.

    On the other, people like Tonya Miller — whose own mother disappeared under suspicious circumstances in Missouri in 2019 — say they feel frustrated as they watch seemingly endless resources flood into the search for Guthrie.

    “Families like ours that have just your normal missing people, they have to fight to get any help,” Miller, 44, said.

    Miller’s mother, Betty Miller, is one of the thousands of people who are listed as abducted each year, according to federal statistics. In most cases, families like Tonya Miller’s say it’s a full-time job advocating for a fair and thorough investigation.

    The country has been engrossed by the apparent kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie, after authorities said they believe she was taken against her will. People in her neighborhood have tied yellow ribbons to tree to express their support.

    Multiple news outlets have reported receiving ransom notes, and the Guthrie family has expressed a willingness to pay — although it’s not known whether ransom notes demanding money with deadlines that have already passed were authentic.

    In the meantime, several hundred detectives and agents are now assigned to Nancy Guthrie’s investigation, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department said.

    FBI spokesperson Connor Hagan declined to say how many of those agents were federal law enforcement, and how many were already assigned in Arizona. He also didn’t clarify how the federal agency prioritizes different missing persons cases.

    However, he said agents from the Critical Incident Response Group, technical experts and intelligence analysts are working to bring Guthrie home. There is also a 24-hour command post where dozens of agents parse through the 13,000 tips that have flooded in from the public, among other responsibilities, according to a post the agency made.

    The vast majority of people who are reported missing are believed to be runaways — not kidnapped or abducted.

    Throughout all of 2024, the latest year that National Crime Information Center published the data, over 530,000 missing person records were entered. By the end of the year, just over 90,000 cases remained unresolved on that list — some going back decades.

    Roughly 95% of the hundreds of thousands of cases filed in 2024 were believed to be runaways and only 1% were listed as abducted.

    Often, the abductor is a parent who doesn’t have legal guardianship over a child, the report said. It’s even more rare for someone to be abducted by a stranger.

    The FBI names five kidnapped or missing people, including Nancy Guthrie, from Arizona on its online database of 125 missing or kidnapped people. All five from Arizona are listed as Native American or otherwise disappeared from tribal communities, except for Guthrie.

    That racial trend holds true for the rest of the country, too.

    A disproportionate number of Black and Indigenous people were among the abducted in 2024, according to the National Crime Information Center report. Roughly a third of the 533,936 missing people listed as abducted in 2024 were Black, even though the U.S. Census reports only 13% of the U.S. population as Black. Similarly, almost 3% of the missing people listed as abducted were Indigenous, compared to the 1.4% of people who are Indigenous in the U.S. writ large.

    “Every person deserves to be safe, and when someone is missing, there should be an immediate, coordinated, and effective response,” Lucy Simpson, the chief executive officer for the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center said. “For many Native women, longstanding gaps in resources, coordination, and systemic support for Tribal Nations have made prevention and response more difficult.”

    Experts have said that sometimes the attention on high-profile cases can be a major obstacle to law enforcement operations. But Savannah Guthrie’s celebrity status has also garnered extensive resources from the federal and local government — including a $100,000 FBI reward for accurate information about her whereabouts or that could lead to an arrest and conviction of whoever took her.

    That’s in stark contrast, Miller said, to the dearth of help she’s received in Sullivan, Missouri, where she’s had to use her own time and money to search for her mom, who was last seen in her apartment in the roughly 7,000 person town. A box of Betty Miller’s prescribed fentanyl patches were missing from the apartment and her prescription eye glasses were left on an armchair, Tonya Miller said. There was a massive scratch on her mom’s front door that wasn’t there before.

    The Sullivan Police Department didn’t respond to an emailed request for comment Friday.

    Despite those suspicious circumstances, local police didn’t treat her mother’s apartment like a crime scene, Tonya Miller said. She had to beg them to take fingerprints and often had to prod them to follow up on tips filed by the public. In the weeks that followed, Tonya Miller organized search parties, printed out fliers and held fundraisers to scrape together a $20,000 reward for her mother.

    Tonya Miller said it has become harder as the years go by to know how to help find her mom. She’s written letters to elected officials at all levels of government, including President Donald Trump.

    “I feel so helpless,” Miller said, “because you just don’t know what to do anymore.”

    ___

    Riddle is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

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  • Judge dismisses charges against 3 officers accused of mistreating paralyzed prisoner

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    A Connecticut judge on Friday dismissed criminal charges against three current and former New Haven police officers who were accused of mistreating prisoner Richard “Randy” Cox after he was paralyzed in the back of a police van in 2022.

    Judge David Zagaja dropped the cases against Oscar Diaz, Jocelyn Lavandier and Luis Rivera after granting them a probation program that allows charges to be erased from defendants’ records, saying their conduct was not malicious. Two other officers, Betsy Segui and Ronald Pressley, pleaded guilty last year to misdemeanor reckless endangerment and received no jail time.

    Cox, 40, was left paralyzed from the chest down on June 19, 2022, when the police van, which had no seat belts, braked hard to avoid an accident, sending him head-first into a metal partition while his hands were cuffed behind his back. He had been arrested on charges of threatening a woman with a gun, which were later dismissed.

    “I can’t move. I’m going to die like this. Please, please, please help me,” Cox said in the van minutes after being injured, according to police video. He later was found to have broken his neck.

    Diaz, who was driving the van, brought Cox to the police department, where officers mocked Cox and accused him of being drunk and faking his injuries, according to surveillance and body-worn camera footage. Officers dragged Cox out of the van and around the police station before placing him in a holding cell before paramedics brought him to a hospital.

    Before pulling him out of the van, Lavandier told Cox to move his leg and sit up, according to an internal affairs investigation report. Cox says “I can’t move” and Lavandier says “You’re not even trying.”

    New Haven State’s Attorney John P. Doyle Jr.’s office said prosecutors and Cox did not object to the charges being dismissed.

    Defense lawyers said that while the officers were sympathetic to what happened to Cox, they did not cause his injuries or make them worse. The three officers whose cases were dismissed were scheduled to go on trial next month.

    “We don’t think that there was sufficient evidence to prove her guilt or any wrongdoing,” said Lavandier’s attorney, Dan Ford. “This is a negotiated settlement that avoids the risk of having go through the emotional toll of a trial.”

    Rivera’s lawyer, Raymond Hassett, called the decision to charge the officers “unjust and misplaced.”

    “The actions of the Police Chief and City Mayor in targeting the officers were a misguided effort to deflect attention from the police department shortcomings in managing the department and ensuring proper protocols were in place and followed,” Hassett said in a statement.

    Attorneys for Cox and Diaz did not immediately return phone and email messages Friday. Cox’s lawyer, Louis Rubano, has said Cox and his family hoped the criminal cases would end quickly with plea bargains.

    New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker said city officials disagreed with the judge’s decision to dismiss the charges.

    “What happened to Randy was tragic and awful,” he said in a statement.

    The case drew outrage from civil rights advocates including the NAACP, along with comparisons to the Freddie Gray case in Baltimore. Cox is Black, while all five officers who were arrested are Black or Hispanic. Gray, who also was Black, died in 2015 after he suffered a spinal injury while handcuffed and shackled in a Baltimore police van.

    The case also led to reforms at the New Haven police department as well as a statewide seat belt requirement for prisoners.

    In 2023, the city of New Haven agreed to settle a lawsuit by Cox for $45 million.

    New Haven police fired Segui, Diaz, Lavandier and Rivera for violating police conduct policies, while Pressley retired and avoided an internal investigation. Diaz appealed his firing and got his job back. Segui lost the appeal of her firing, while appeals by Lavandier and Rivera remain pending.

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