Author: KMIZ

Olivia Hayes

Editor’s note: This story has been edited to reflect the proper location.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Jefferson City woman was seriously hurt in a crash on a Cole County waterway Saturday night.

The 43-year-old woman was a passenger in the Jet Ski being driver by a 23-year-old Jefferson City man. According to a Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report, the jet ski struck a shallow spot in the Osage River arm upstream from the St. Thomas Ferry access around 6:15 p.m.

The woman was ejected and the driver rode off from the scene, the report says. The driver was not hurt and it’s unclear if they were arrested.

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Olivia Hayes

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Kansas man drowned in the Lake of the Ozarks Saturday night.

According to a Missouri State Highway Patrol drowning report, the 62-year-old man entered the water around 4:40 p.m. from a dock and came back up initially. He then went back under the water and never resurfaced.

The report said his body was recovered through a dive operation by the Mid-County Dive Team.

The man was pronounced dead at 8:03 p.m. by the Morgan County Medical Examiner.

MSHP does not name their victims in reports.

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Alison Patton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The National Weather Service issued an Extreme Heat Warning for portions of Mid-Missouri early Sunday morning lasting until 9 p.m. Monday.

The ABC 17 Stormtrack Weather Team has issued a stretch of Weather Alert Days through Tuesday for heat and is tracking temperatures in the upper 90s with feel-like temperatures around 110 degrees.

Columbia has three cooling centers open across the city on Sunday, with more opening during the week.

Sunday:

Columbia Public Library, 100 W. Broadway: 1-5 p.m.

Salvation Army Harbor House, 602 N. Ann St.: 6 a.m. to 4 p.m., and 7-10 p.m.

Activity and Recreation Center, 1701 W. Ash St.: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Weekday cooling centers:

City Hall, 701 E. Broadway: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services, 1005 W. Worley St.: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Salvation Army, 1108 W. Ash St.: 9 a.m. to noon and 1–4 p.m.

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Marie Moyer

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 43-year-old Jefferson woman was seriously injured in a jetski crash on the Osage River Saturday evening.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported the woman was a passenger in a 2021 Kawasaki STX 160 being driven by a 23-year-old Jefferson City man. At around 6:15 p.m., the man was driving west from the St. Thomas Ferry Access when he hit a shallow area of the river, causing the woman to be thrown off the jetski.

The man then drove away from the scene with minor damage to the jetski.

The woman was taken to University Hospital and was wearing a life jacket.

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Marie Moyer

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 51-year-old man from Citrus Heights, Ca. was seriously injured Saturday morning in a car crash.

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the man was a passenger in a 2025 Volvo VNL driven by a 54-year-old Citrus Heights man. At around 11:55 a.m., the driver was going west on I-70 east of US Route 54 when he drove off the road and hit a jersey barrier and a median barrier, then flipped.

The 51-year-old was reportedly not wearing a seatbelt and was taken to University Hospital. The Volvo had extensive damage.

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Sutton Parker

COLUMBIA Mo. KMIZ

45 Missouri Task Force One crewmembers returned home from San Antonio Saturday afternoon after assisting in search and rescue operations following extreme flooding in the region.

The team originally deployed to Texas roughly seven days ago in response to severe flash flooding caused by heavy rains in the state’s southern region. Following operations in Zapata County near the southeastern Texas-Mexico border, the unit repositioned to San Antonio to prepare for potential deployment during Tropical Storm Bertha.

Earlier this month, the team assisted in southern Missouri during its four-day deployment in Reynolds and Iron counties to respond to and help with the historic flooding.

Task Force 1 arrived back at Boone County Fire Protection District Headquarters around 3:00 p.m. this afternoon.

Lieutenant Ryan Benedict with the department said the main priority of the task force was to meet up with local agencies and stage for awaiting missions.

Benedict said that the team was out the door headed to Texas 4 hours after they got the activation call.

“So whenever the activation order comes in, we’ve got to be wheels on the road within four hours. That’s a commitment that we made to the folks that call us,” he said.

“It was for us to provide relief for them. Our priorities were to maintain mission readiness. We were there to answer 911 calls along the river basin along the Rio Grande,” Benedict said. “Should anything arise. We had teams monitoring the conditions and the water levels.”

Benedict added that teams also worked to monitor water levels along the river, and even with the quick turnaround, they were always ready and prepared.

“So we’re always ready to respond; our thinking on our way down there is what do we need to do to be available in case that call comes in,” Benedict said. “When we got to the staging area, when we were relocated to sort of out of county, and then even we were relocated back to staging in the anticipation of the tropical storm coming in.”

Benedict said that teams also assisted with reconnaissance on the Rio Grande.

“The idea was to recon that area, familiarization with the area because the water levels were coming up dramatically,” Benedict said.

He added that the team did not make any rescues during the deployment.

Task Force 1 medical manager Jared Norman said the team’s morale held strong during the back-to-back deployments.

“So that obviously is pretty challenging, but overall, I think everybody’s morale is fantastic; there were always smiles on people’s faces,” Norman said. “You know, I think a lot of people on the team are the type who want to be out there doing things and helping.”

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Melissa Houston

Editor’s note: A line in reference to a song that was performed at the event has been corrected.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Daniel Boone Regional Library hosted “Rainbow Story Time” on Saturday after receiving threats of potential funding loss from Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins.

The event happened in the Children’s Program Room, and Mitzi St. John with the library said there were an estimated 150 attendees. The Program Room itself was full, and attendees were standing outside the room to participate.

Outside of the library, participants had chalk inviting people to draw encouraging messages on the pavement.

During the event, two speakers read through Rainbowasaurus, Big Wig, as well as sing-along songs like Old MacDonald and a parody of Chappell Roan’s ‘Pink Pony Club.’ The event ended with attendees getting rainbow scarves and bubbles as they left.

This happens shortly after Attorney General Catherine Hanaway and Hoskins sent a letter to the to library.

Hanaway stated in her letter that local residents contacted her office to ensure this event is “conducted in a manner consistent with Missouri law.”

Hoskins’ letter to the library stated, “Please be advised if this inappropriate endeavor for children takes place, I will do everything in my power to block every dollar of state and federal funding I can from future events at the Daniel Boone Library System.”

There were 3 protesters at the event holding signs that stated “Nothing but a sex fetish cult,” and “TQ+ = pedophilia.”

ABC 17 spoke with one protester who, for privacy reasons, gave only their first name.

This protester said the community itself (referring to the LGBTQ+) is pushing a narrative towards children.

He stated, “They’re pushing a narrative on the children, thinking they can, be, change their sex and everything; that’s child abuse.”

Brandon Steele, a first-time attendee at the library’s story time event, said he came to support his community.

“Seeing the letter from the attorney general was a little upsetting. So I just wanted to make sure that there were people here spreading positive energy,” Steele said.

Steele said he was disappointed by the “intimidating letter” that was sent by state officials to the library.

“I don’t know why anyone would actually think that this library was going to show sexually explicit material to children. I just can’t fathom where that claim actually comes from,” Steele said. “For them to spend time and resources to send an intimidating letter to a public resource that exists only to serve the community, it’s and it’s upsetting.

Steele said he saw the social media traction the event was getting and wanted to be a calm figure amongst the chaos.

“I came here expecting there to be like a big crowd of people maybe causing problems,” Steele said. “And it was completely unnecessary. There was like one guy.”

Hoskins’ and Hananway’s office was contacted for a statement about their next steps since the event did take place, but no response has been made.

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Haley Swaino

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man was taken to a hospital with a life-threatening injury after a shooting in northeast Columbia on Friday evening.

According to a social media post from the Columbia Police Department, officers were called to the 2800 block of Mulberry Road around 4 p.m. for shots fired.

At the scene, CPD found a man with a life-threatening gunshot wound. He was taken to a local hospital by ambulance. The post says a juvenile was also at the scene but was not hurt.

There were “no outstanding suspects” as of Friday night and no threat to the public, according to the post. The investigation is ongoing.

ABC 17 News has reached out to CPD for more information.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The parents of a man who was killed in a 2023 crash in Columbia have sued multiple parties for wrongful death.

Walker Davis, 18, was killed in the crash Aug. 5, 2023, crash at Kelly’s Ridge Apartments. Elizabeth Lopez, 26, pleaded guilty on March 23, 2026, to three counts of leaving the scene of an accident.

She originally faced a manslaughter charge, but was given five years of probation after serving in a 120-day jail program. Court filings show Lopez is expected to complete the program on July 31. She is currently being held at Women’s Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Vandalia.

Davis’ parents, Brad and Mary Davis, filed a lawsuit Friday in Boone County against Lopez, the company that owns the apartment and the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission. All defendants are accused of wrongful death.  

The petition accuses the apartment company of not having any traffic control signage and claims the MHTC did not design the driveway in a way that could hold traffic control signage. It also calls the entryway from West Broadway “dangerous.”

After the crash, court documents in previous reporting say Lopez reentered the Kelly’s Ridge apartments parking lot and fled the scene. Court documents allege she went back to her apartment and told her boyfriend about the crash. While officers investigated the scene and towed her vehicle from outside the apartment, Lopez allegedly did not make herself known to the police until the morning.

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Ellyse Edwards

COLUMBIA, Mo (KMIZ)

Columbia Animal Control is temporarily pausing most stray dog pickups after it and the Central Missouri Humane Society reached capacity, prompting officials to reserve kennel space for emergencies.

Animal Control says its contract with the Humane Society provides 25 primary cages. Those kennels have filled with stray dog pickups, animals being held for court proceedings and legally required quarantines.

“We made the decision to go ahead and pause stray dog pickup so that we could hold those five cages for emergency situations,” Animal Control supervisor Kevin Meyers said.

While the temporary pause is in place, officials say aggressive dogs and other public safety concerns will continue to receive priority.

People who find friendly stray dogs are encouraged to first try reuniting them with their owners by filing a lost pet report with Animal Control and posting in the Columbia, Missouri Lost and Found Pets Facebook group.

CMHS says it’s also running out of space because of an increase in dogs entering the shelter, along with animals connected to cruelty investigations, neglect cases and legally required quarantines.

“So there’s just a great need in the community for our services,” CMHS Executive Director Michelle Casey said. “We are about at capacity. We are running out of kennel space.”

The shelter is asking community members to help by fostering or adopting pets. Casey said even short-term fostering can make a significant difference.

“Even just getting a pet out of here for a weekend or a few days makes such a big difference for us because it opens up space in the shelter, but also allows us to learn a lot more about that animal when they’re in a home setting,” Casey said.

Animal Control says it expects the pause to be temporary and hopes normal stray dog intake can resume as more animals are adopted or placed in foster homes.

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