Month: September 2025

By Marielle Mohs

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    Minnesota (WCCO) — A Lakeville South High School senior did the unthinkable last month when she took her horses to a world riding competition in Kentucky.

“You and your horse have that connection and once it clicks, it’s just an indescribable bond,” Chloe Meche said.

That bond is on display every time Meche, 17, drives her horse Murphy at Westwood Farm in Plato, Minnesota. She has a gift to be able to communicate with her horse without speaking the same language.

“The horses will always be there for you. They don’t judge you,” Meche said.

She has the same bond with her saddle horse, Zara.

Meche took the two horses all the way down to Louisville, Kentucky, where she proved their special bonds in front of the judges at the World’s Championship Horse Show.

“They see that stage, they see the arena open up and they perk up and they know when it’s go time,” she said.

Meche took home two world championships.

“I was shocked when they called my number,” she said. “I immediately started bawling.”

Westwood Farm manager and trainer Jay Wood hadn’t seen his horses compete like this since 2005, when Zara’s parents took home the blue ribbon.

“I petted her on the neck and I said, ‘Be like your mom and dad,’ and Chloe did it,” Wood said.

While the horses are taking home prizes, they’re also helping the people riding them win in life.

“I have tourette’s syndrome and it really helps me focus in,” Meche said. “Riding taught me confidence. It’s taught me to be myself. Once I get on a horse, any worry at all just completely disappears.”

Meche is thankful for all the help she’s had along the way. Equestrian riding is a team sport and there are so many people who helped in her success, from the veterinarians who take care of the horses to the stable staff and her parents.

Meche’s next competition with Murphy and Zara is in October.

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By Rachael Perry

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    PORT ST. LUCIE, FL (WPBF) — A video capturing what might seem like a harmless prank is raising concerns, specifically because of what the person is wearing.

The video was posted to a local community Facebook page and shows what appears to be a teen, dressed in all black and wearing a mask, running up to a home, ringing the doorbell, and running away. People who live in the area say they feel the teen is lucky they weren’t hurt.

WPBF 25 News spoke with MSgt. Dominick Mesiti with the Port St. Lucie Police Department on how recent cases nationwide have ended in tragedy.

“It was 11 o’clock or later at night. You have somebody wearing black with a black balaclava covering their entire face, and all you can see is their eyes. I mean, that in and of itself, if a law enforcement officer witnessed somebody running from a residence, wearing that kind of outfit, we’re going to, at a minimum, detain them, and they may be facing a loitering and prowling charge,” Mesiti said.

He said, thankfully, they haven’t had any of these types of pranks end in a fatality, but said children and teens need to be aware of how dangerous it can be.

“Parents need to take that initiative, discuss these incidents with their children, you know, let them know that there is a danger associated with stepping onto somebody else’s private property unannounced, uninvited, because you don’t know whose home that is. You don’t know who’s behind that door,” Mesiti said.

Earlier this year, an 11-year-old boy was shot and killed in Texas while playing a game of “ding dong ditch” at a house down the street from their homes. According to Houston police, a person inside the house came out and shot the boy.

A few years earlier, in 2020, three 16-year-olds were killed when a man rammed his car into their vehicle in retaliation for pulling a “ding dong ditch” prank on him.

The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office arrested a 13-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy for kicking a resident’s door one night.

“That’s a good way to end up dead, especially in Florida,” Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood told sister station WESH.

Following the recent prank in Port St. Lucie, Mesiti acknowledged castle doctrine in the state of Florida and the stand-your-ground law; however, he said that doesn’t mean someone can use lethal force when a person just rings their doorbell or knocks on their door.

“There has to be some sort of well-founded fear and some sort of threat that’s occurring to be able to use force to prevent that threat,” he said.

Mesiti said that it can change if someone attempts to enter the home.

“We have seen nationally, not in Port St. Lucie, but the TikTok trends where it’s not just ding-dong ditching, they’re actually attempting to kick the door in and open it. Now, that changes things completely because you’re now forcibly entering a home. So in the state of Florida, that would be an occupied burglary or an occupied trespass, and a homeowner may be legally allowed to use necessary force to prevent the entry of that individual,” he said.

Officials across the country have raised concerns about the door-knock challenge, and Mesiti said it’s crucial that children and teens understand the consequences and dangers.

“I think a lot of children these days, they don’t really think their actions through, they see somebody do it online, and then they’ll want to mimic that. So just because it’s done online doesn’t mean it’s smart, doesn’t mean it’s safe, and it could end up very poorly for them,” he said.

WPBF 25 News spoke with people who live in the neighborhood where this most recent prank happened. One neighbor said she’d be terrified to see a masked person outside her home at 11 p.m., and her husband agreed, both saying they’re surprised the teen wasn’t harmed.

The homeowner who captured the video said seeing someone dressed in all black with their face covered was alarming at first until he realized it was likely a teen playing a prank.

As for what people should do if they have something similar happen at their home, Mesiti said it’s always a good idea to contact the police and notify them of suspicious behavior.

“Call 911, let us identify these people, let us ensure what it is, if it’s a simple prank, nine out of ten times, we’ll just return the juvenile to the parent, notify the parent, and hope that the parent takes the appropriate action,” he said.

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By Jake Shindel, Blair Young, David Collins

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    BALTIMORE (WBAL) — A 16-year-old girl who was in the custody of the Maryland Department of Human Services was found dead in a Baltimore hotel Monday.

According to police, the girl was found at the Residence Inn by Marriott in the 800 block of North Wolfe Street, and there were no signs of foul play or trauma on the girl’s body.

Her remains were taken to the medical examiner’s office to determine a cause of death, but results, including toxicology, might not be available for months.

On Thursday, police identified the 16-year-old girl as Kanaiyah Ward and are listing her death as questionable.

Maryland’s DHS confirmed the girl was in its custody and is investigating this incident. Lilly Price, a spokesperson for the department, released the following statement:

“The Maryland Department of Human Services (DHS) joins the community in grieving this heartbreaking tragedy. The well-being of Maryland’s children is our top priority, and we will not rest until every child in our state is safe, thriving in a permanent home, and surrounded by loving family.

“The Department is investigating this incident. If we find that our standards for care were not met, we will hold our contractors accountable. We are committed to transparency and being as open as possible while maintaining the confidentiality of children and their families, as protected by law.” Ward’s death comes after a scathing legislative audit that revealed the state may have allowed guardianship and foster homes where sex offenders lived.

The audit also found there were no procedures in place to ensure criminal background checks were done on vendors providing one-on-one services to foster care children in hotels.

“We will be having hearings about these issues in order to really uncover exactly what happened, and to fix it — not just to throw blame, not to point fingers as to something being wrong, but to fix it,” said Maryland Sen. President Bill Ferguson, D-District 46.

A DHS official told 11 News the state facilitated her living at the hotel.

“My God, we failed,” said House Minority Leader Jason Buckel, R-District 1B. “We failed that young girl killed in a hotel room in Baltimore City. We are not providing appropriate supervision. We are not providing appropriate care.”

Police said Ward had at least one family member who has been notified of her death.

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By Greg Fox

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    BREVARD COUNTY, FL (WESH) — One man has been charged, and three others have warrants for their arrests in a ring of gator poachers, according to documents obtained by WESH 2 News from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

They operated out of Hatbill Park in Mims, just north and west of Titusville, which has extremely remote access to the St. Johns River and connected lakes.

FWC investigators say the group would troll the river system and grab, mostly small gators, to harvest them for the meat and hides. Capturing alligators without proper authorization is a third-degree felony.

This week, FWC officers arrested Jacob Latreille of Edgewater and charged him with 13 counts of illegally capturing and killing gators.

Warrants have been drawn for the arrests of Luke David Michael Landry and two others, Wyatt Scott Lowe, and Robert Gage Martin. All three of them are from Mims and the Titusville area.

According to investigators, at least 14 alligators were taken by the four in April and May.

FWC says a tipster launched the investigation after seeing videos and images posted on Snapchat, including one that shows Landry pointing a handgun at a juvenile alligator.

He previously pleaded no contest to carrying a concealed firearm and was sentenced to 18 months’ probation.

The incident report also mentions a “deer that was poached, along with the alligators,” allegedly by Martin.

The report also says much of the evidence was collected at Landry’s home in Mims.

The FWC says illegally taking and handling wildlife is a serious violation of Florida law and poses risks to both wildlife and public safety.

If you have any information that can help wildlife officers as they continue to investigate this case, you’re urged to contact FWC.

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By WABC News Staff

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    WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, Manhattan (WABC) — The NYPD is looking for a man wanted in connection to a home invasion and robbery of a 99-year-old man in Washington Heights.

It happened on Monday at West 187th Street and Audubon Avenue, police said.

A 99-year-old man was standing at an entrance gate for a residential building when he was approached by the suspect.

Police said the suspect grabbed the gate, struggled with the victim and pushed his way into the building when he placed a firearm on the victim’s throat and ordered the victim to take him to an office where he removed $20,000.

The suspect fled on foot.

EMS responded and took the victim to New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center with two broken fingers and a laceration on the hand, police said.

“He’s a warrior, he’s super tough. He instilled that in me,” his grandson said.

The suspect is described as a male last seen wearing a black ski mask, black gloves, a gray sweatshirt, black sweatpants and white sneakers.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org

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By Shelby Lofton

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    SALT LAKE CITY (KSL, KSL TV) — Nearly 4,000 EMS workers in northern Utah now have access to follow-up reports on patients they were first to treat.

Most of the time, when EMS workers drop a patient off at the hospital, that’s the last time they see or hear of them, and it leaves a lot of them wondering what happened to that person.

CommonSpirit hospitals started using a new tool, helping medical providers communicate with each other.

“We interject ourselves in people and families’ worst times, and we do it over and over in a day. In a 48-hour shift, we may have 10 or 20 calls,” said Unified Fire Training Specialist Dan Biorge.

EMTs and paramedics are typically the first people to help in an emergency.

“You’ve put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into making sure this patient’s not only going to make it, but they’re going to recover and do well. And so it holds us accountable … where you’re seeing everything we’re doing, you’re seeing the patient’s outcome, and you’re seeing that, you know, you can trust us to have the best outcome for your patients,” said CommonSpirit Salt Lake EMS Coordinator Kyle Stewart.

But once they drop them off?

“Our providers are always left wondering what happened to that patient that I provided care on,” said UFA EMS Division Chief Rob Ayres.

Biorge said he still thinks about a patient he treated in the 1990s.

“He’d been feeling unwell for about a week … I took him to the hospital. I started an IV. Get all the vitals. They were stable. (He) just wasn’t feeling well. Low-grade fever. And then I called the next day … And he passed away … It was sepsis,” Biorge said.

He’s always wanted to know why.

To get more information on patients, EMS workers have to call nurses or doctors and often wait a long time to hear anything.

“It could take weeks to months to get feedback on it, to the point that sometimes we get feedback and we’d be like, ‘I don’t. I got to remember which patient this was,’” Stewart said.

To fix that, CommonSpirit hospitals started using a tool that allows EMS and ER workers to share data. It’s an online program called ESO Health Data Exchange, and it helps emergency rooms prepare for patients.

“They can see all of our EKGs, if we take pictures on the scene, and they can see our reports almost (in) real time,” Biorge said. “And so I can see how our patient is trending before they even arrive at their facility.”

Doctors share diagnoses, testing and their notes with EMS workers, which helps medical teams spot signs and symptoms.

“(We can say) ‘this is the diagnosis that I made in the field. And it perfectly aligned with what the doctor thought. The treatments that I performed in the field perfectly aligned with what the doctor needed done prior to them arriving at the hospital so that we could get them, you know, one or two steps ahead in treatment before they got to the hospital,’” Stewart explained.

They use it as feedback to improve patient care.

“If we’re continually missing something, then they can reevaluate their education and make it so that we’re not missing those things anymore,” Stewart said.

These first responders remember the difficult case.

“You never kind of get to close some of those chapters, and it’s always just kind of in the back of your mind,” Stewart said.

They’re hopeful that studying each other’s notes and treatment will lead to better outcomes for people needing their help.

“We’re pretty good at beating ourselves up. You know, when a patient trends downward on the way to the hospital and we can’t stabilize them or something, but just knowing that we are and what’s happening and ‘maybe I could do something next time’ just gives us motivation to keep improving and always learning,” Biorge said.

The only people who have access to these reports are the individuals who administered care to a patient. EMS providers can only see reports pertaining to that singular incident. They cannot see a patient’s entire medical history.

Contributing: Michelle Lee

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