Month: December 2025

Nia Hinson

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Editor’s Note: A source error regarding the time firefighters responded has been corrected.

No one was injured after a home caught fire Wednesday on Trillium Lane, according to a press release from the Lake Ozark Fire Protection District.

The release says firefighters were called at 1:23 p.m. and arriving first-responders saw a home with “heavy fire” coming from the back of the building. The fire “rapidly advanced” because of strong winds, according the release. Wind gusts were around 30-35 miles per hour in the area at the time of the fire, according to the ABC 17 News Stormtrack Weather Team.

Deputy Chief George Creamer said the home is considered a total loss.

Additional fires were caused in the area and two more homes had minor damage, the release says.

The fire at the initial home started on the lower level, but the cause is under investigation, the release says. Both residents at that home were able to get out without being injured, according to the release.

An ABC 17 News reporter on scene saw at least two fire trucks in the area on scene around 5 p.m. and crews working to put out hotspots.

David Loyd said he and his wife live just across the lake in Rocky Mountain, but said the view of his home allows him to see directly toward across the main channel toward where the home caught fire. Loyd said he had just finished editing at home, when he looked outside of his living room and saw what he initially thought was smoke coming from a pile of leaves.

However, Loyd said he quickly realized he was looking at flames coming from the corner of the home, prompting him to yell to his wife to call 911. What happened next happened very quickly, he said.

“The smoke was really dense. The flames had to have been 60-foot high coming out of the side of the house,” Loyd said. “The smoke was just so thick it was hard to see if it was just contained to that piece of property or if it was really spreading.”

Loyd said within 10 minutes, the back corner of the home was engulfed in flames and said firefighters were on scene minutes later. Loyd said while he doesn’t directly know the family involved, hearing stories like this always hit close to home.

“Every once in a while you hear of somebody’s lake house or somebody’s home catching fire and it always kind of hits home because you know we’re all susceptible to accidents or something bad like this happening,” Loyd said. “It’s just really sad to see something like this happen to anybody. I was just hoping that everybody was safe and no body got hurt. You can always buy another house.”

A neighbor in the area told ABC 17 News the window of the home was damaged in the fire, but said the extent of the damage was minor. She said her roof also briefly caught fire but was able to be quickly put out.

Crews remained on scene until around 9 p.m.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

An elderly fisherman at the Lake of the Ozarks was found on Tuesday evening after a roughly hour-and-a-half search, according to a Wednesday social media post from the Gravois Fire Protection District.

The post says the Gravois Fire Protection District was called at 6:07 p.m. to the Gravois Arm of the Lake of the Ozarks to help the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

The man had called his family at 7:45 p.m. and was able to give them a location where he could be found and he required no medical attention, the post says.

“According to information gathered on scene, the fisherman experienced a mechanical failure when his primary motor would not start,” the post says. “He attempted to return using his trolling motor, but wind conditions pushed him across the arm, leading him to a dock on the opposite shoreline. Without a cell phone, he sought help from nearby homeowners, who provided shelter and assisted him in contacting his family.”

Three fire boats, an MSHP water patrol unit, MSHP helicopter, a thermal drone, one squad, three chief officers and one command unit were utilized at the scene, the post says.

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Jessica Hafner

The ABC 17 Stormtrack Weather Team has issued a Weather Alert Day for the potential of dangerously cold temperatures and subsequent wind chills between Saturday night and Sunday morning.

A fast moving Alberta clipper system will slide by just to our northeast on Saturday, bringing the potential for some light snow across far northeastern Missouri into Illinois and Indiana.

Some of these snow showers may clip areas from Kirksville to Mexico with light accumulation. There may also be enough moisture present under cloudy skies through early evening for some patchy freezing drizzle, although the window looks fairly short for impacts at this time.

As the clipper exits to the east, a strong arctic air mass will center over the upper Midwest over the weekend, with high pressure allowing skies to clear through Sunday morning. Even with a light breeze, air temperatures will be cold enough for wind chills to drop below zero. Morning low temperatures will range from about 3 to 10 degrees from north to south, with wind chills between -5 and -15 to start Sunday.

These forecasted wind chills have resulted in a Cold Weather Advisory being issued for some of Central Missouri this evening, lasting until noon Sunday.

Frostbite can occur after about 30 minutes of exposure in these conditions. Take care to keep pets indoors in a warm shelter, and make sure to let faucets drip on Saturday night with the cabinets open to avoid freezing pipes.

Sunday afternoon will be quite chilly despite sunshine, with highs in the upper teens.

As the winter season gets into full swing, make sure to have the free ABC 17 Stormtrack Weather App downloaded to your device to get the hourly forecast and latest alerts on closings and delays.

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Nia Hinson

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Missouri Senate President Pro Tem Cindy O’Laughlin (R-Shelbina) will partake in a town hall on Wednesday night about artificial intelligence within the state.

Zimmer Communications is hosting the event at its Columbia office. The event will consist of O’Laughlin and Tim Marczewski, who is the state’s director of AI and Innovation at the Missouri Office of Administration. The two will discuss whether Missouri is prepared, as well as how it will impact Missourians, according to a press release.

The meeting comes as President Donald Trump looks to block states from creating their own regulations for AI.

The discussion also comes as companies pour money into AI–which need data centers to operate– that led to heated conversations during a town hall in Montgomery County on Monday night. Several residents voiced concerns over increasing electric bills and environmental impacts, while those who support it say it can help bring jobs to the area.

The event will be held at 6 p.m. at Zimmer Communications on Lemone Industrial Boulevard.

Check back for updates.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Stover man has been accused of several child sex crimes in Morgan County.

Christopher Riggs was charged on Tuesday with one count of third-degree child molestation, one count of a sexual misconduct with a child younger than 15 years old and two counts of first-degree child molestation. A warrant was issued for his arrest and a $500,000 bond was set. He is not listed on the Morgan County Jail roster.

A woman, Carrie Riggs, is accused in court documents of protecting Christopher Riggs and she is charged with first-degree endangering the welfare of a child and tampering with a victim. A warrant was issued for her on Tuesday and a $500,000 bond was set. She was also not listed on the Morgan County Jail roster on Wednesday afternoon.

The probable cause statement says law enforcement was called on Sept. 15 about a prior sexual assault and the victim was interviewed later that month at Kids’ Harbor House.

The victim lived on the same property with Christopher Riggs and described multiple instances of sexual abuse and inappropriate touching, the statement says. Another interview was conducted in October and more instances of abuse were described.

One of the statements say the victim told Carrie Riggs about the abuse but she did not tell anyone in order to protect Christopher Riggs.

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