Author: KMIZ

Alison Patton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Lawmakers are wrapping up final attempts to pass legislation this week as the legislative session ends Friday. While legislators have addressed many of Gov. Mike Kehoe’s legislative priorities, lawmakers are still working on some.

Senate Bill 971 would allow public school students to attend a school outside their home district starting in the 2028 school year. The bill is currently waiting on the Senate’s informal calendar for perfection on Monday.

Senate Bill 838, another legislative priority for the governor, would allow the maintenance of electric transmission facilities within highway rights-of-way. This bill is backed by Sen. Mike Cierpiot (R- Lee’s Summit). The bill would also update Missouri’s Renewable Energy Standard. It is on the informal calendar for a third reading in the Senate.

Senators have almost 60 House bills that are on the informal calendar for third reading. One of those is House Bill 3146, which would give the Secretary of State three tries to rewrite ballot language. This bill is closely modeled after Senate Bill 22, which a Missouri Supreme Court judge knocked down earlier this year.

The Senate also has over 30 of its own bills on the informal perfection calendar, and two bills on the formal calendar for perfection. That includes Senate Joint Resolution 97, which would put a 16-year term limit on representatives and senators between each chamber.

Lawmakers have already passed a few of the governor’s legislative priorities, like Senate Bill 863, which would add a governor-appointed appeals board to the Missouri State High School Activities Association. This bill is waiting for Kehoe’s signature.

That’s along with HJR 173 and 174, which would phase out the state’s income tax. Missouri voters will have the final say on whether it truly passes this fall when it appears on the ballot.

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Olivia Hayes

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Randolph County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest of a 17-year-old in connection with the disappearance of Kayla Huff early Saturday afternoon.

A news release said the arrest was made Friday with assistance from the Moberly Police Department.

16-year-old Huff has been missing since Wednesday and search efforts are ongoing. Volunteers and law enforcement are in the Rudolph Bennitt Conservation area on Saturday after searching throughout the day Friday. The conservation area is southeast of Higbee and covers more than 3,500 acres and stretches across parts of Randolph, Boone and Howard counties.

Randolph County Sheriff Andy Boggs said Friday’s search did not turn up any major evidence connected to the case, or narrow down Huff’s whereabouts.

Across Randolph County, flyers with Huff’s photo have been posted in store windows and along roadways as the community searches for answers. The poster describes Huff as 5 feet, 7 inches with long-braided hair. Flyers say she was last seen Wednesday walking in her Moberly neighborhood with a male.

A press release from the sheriff’s office said that male Huff was last seen with was a 17-year-old Columbia resident.

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Haley Swaino

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man is in custody after authorities said he led law enforcement on a dangerous multi-county pursuit along Interstate 70 Saturday morning, fired shots at officers during the chase, and crashed in Boone County before fleeing on foot.

Authorities identified the driver as 31-year-old Clayton R. Wulf from Ellisville, Missouri. He is currently being held on Montgomery County charges including, 1st Degree Assault on a law enforcement officer, Armed Criminal Action, Unlawful Use of a Weapon, Aggravated Fleeing, and Carless and Imprudent Driving.

According to the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, the incident began around 8:52 a.m. on Saturday, when Montgomery County Joint Communications received several reports of a black pickup truck driving recklessly westbound on I-70 in Montgomery County.

Callers told dispatchers the truck was speeding, swerving across multiple lanes, and forcing other drivers off the road, creating what authorities described as a serious danger to the public.

Around 8:56 a.m., a Montgomery County deputy located the vehicle near the 171.8 mile marker on westbound I-70 and observed several traffic violations matching witness reports. The deputy attempted a traffic stop and instructed the driver to exit the truck.

Investigators said Wulf refused to comply and sped away, leading deputies on a pursuit westbound on Interstate 70. A trooper with the Missouri State Highway Patrol later joined the chase.

During the pursuit near the 168 mile marker, authorities said Wulf leaned out of the driver’s side window with a handgun and fired about seven rounds toward pursuing officers.

No officers or civilians were hit.

Investigators say the pursuit continued into Callaway County, where the suspect allegedly drove recklessly by speeding more than 100 miles per hour, driving on the interstate shoulder, forcing motorists off the roadway, and brake-checking pursuing law enforcement vehicles in an apparent attempt to cause crashes.

Law enforcement officers attempted to deploy spike strips multiple times during the pursuit.

According to MCSO, during one deployment attempt, the suspect intentionally swerved toward a state trooper, forcing the trooper to move out of the way to avoid being hit. A second spike strip attempt in Boone County was also unsuccessful after the suspect allegedly swerved aggressively toward officers again.

The pursuit later entered Boone County, where investigators said the suspect exited I-70 near the 133 mile marker and drove north on outer roads.

Authorities said the suspect then drove through multiple roundabouts in the wrong direction, putting additional drivers at risk.

While driving through the roundabout near East St. Charles Road and Lake of the Woods Road, investigators say the suspect lost control, drove off the roadway, struck several large rocks in the center of the roundabout, and crashed north of the roadway.

After the crash, authorities say Wulf ran from the vehicle but was captured about 100 yards away without further incident.

A search of the truck allegedly uncovered several firearms and tactical equipment, including a loaded handgun, a 30-06 rifle, and an AR-style rifle.

Investigators also reported finding body armor resembling law enforcement protective gear, a large amount of ammunition, and what appeared to be a glass smoking device containing an unknown substance.

Authorities said Wulf was taken to University Hospital for medical evaluation following the crash before being transported to the Montgomery County Jail.

A heavy police presence was seen in east Columbia around 9:45 a.m. near the East Saint Charles Road/North Lake of the Woods Road roundabout.

Catherine Wallis and her 11-year-old daughter were on their way to a basketball tournament when they suddenly saw the pursuit unfold in front of them.

“I’ve never seen so many police officers chasing [somebody],” witness Catherine Wallis said. “One with a dog and they caught him very quickly. So it all happened very quick.”

An ABC 17 News reporter saw about a dozen law enforcement vehicles from the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Boone County Sheriff’s Office, Callaway County Sheriff’s Office and Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office. A few K-9 units were also on scene.

A black Chevrolet truck was seen with its airbags deployed near a large police presence in east Columbia on May 9, 2026.

A black Chevrolet truck was in the grass with its air bags deployed.

“A black truck came towards the roundabout, came flying through the roundabout, flew up in the air a pretty good height, landed and went up into somebody’s yard,” Wallis said.

She said the moment felt unreal.

“Afterwards she said, ‘I’ve only seen stuff like that on videos. I’ve never seen anything in real life,’” Wallis said about her daughter’s reaction. “And I said, ‘I’m 44 and I’ve never seen anything like that in real life.’”

A Boone Health ambulance arrived around 9:50 a.m., and a man was seen being put on a stretcher.

Despite the chaotic scene, Sgt. Green said no one was injured during the pursuit or arrest.

“But kudos to those police officers because they were fast, they were on top of it and they had it handled quickly,” Wallis said. “I mean, less than three minutes. It was fast.”

The scene was clear at around 11 a.m.

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Marie Moyer

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Mid-Missouri residents are invited to drop off any unused electronics and devices on Saturday at a drive-thru recycling event in Jefferson City.

Hosted by St. Louis-based electronics processing group TechRemove, the event accepts computer equipment and home electronics.

Other items accepted include:

Printers, scanners and fax machines

Computer servers and towers

Mice and keyboards

VCR and DVD players

Remote controls

Cameras

Phone systems

Retail POS Systems

Cables and wires

“If it has a cord, bring it, and we’ll take care of the rest,” TechRemove CEO Kaloeb Salter said in a press release.

There are additional processing fees for CRT, LCD and plasma screen TVs and monitors. The group also does not accept items such as batteries, ink cartridges and CDs.

TechRemove’s website reports that the group processes over 10 million pounds of eWaste annually.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, eWaste is often processed and stripped of valuable materials like gold, copper and iron. Parts from old electronics can also be reused to make new products.

Emew Clean Technologies found that around 62 million tons of eWaste were produced in 2022. Only around 22% of the waste was recycled, which was valued at around $19 billion.

Saturday’s event runs from 9 a.m. to noon at Jefferson City Hall on East McCarty Street.

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Mitchell Kaminski

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

University of Missouri students celebrated “Stop Day” on Friday, but many said an increased police presence changed the atmosphere of the annual tradition.

Reading Day, colloquially known as Stop Day, is intended to give students a day off from classes before finals week begins; though it has also become associated with large gatherings and parties around Columbia’s East Campus neighborhood.

For the second straight year, the Columbia Police Department and the University of Missouri Police Department increased enforcement tied to Columbia’s nuisance ordinance.

Earlier this week, officers distributed flyers warning residents about nuisance party violations, while the department also posted reminders on social media about enforcement related to underage drinking, trespassing, open containers and peace disturbances.

CPD told ABC 17 News that officers were also focused on keeping pedestrians from blocking streets so that traffic, especially emergency first responders, could travel through East Campus safely.

Many students said they noticed a larger law enforcement presence throughout the day.

“Today I would say it hasn’t been horrible. I mean, you walk past a couple [of officers], and they’re just trying to let everybody have a good time,” MU junior Cashville Kavanaugh said. “I feel like this year a little bit more, it is trying to just keep everybody safe. But we did just see some parties get broken up.”

Others believed the enforcement efforts went too far.

“Last year was the worst police presence I saw. The year before… this is still worse than that,” MU senior Matthew McKeen said. “And I get it. There are medical emergencies, there are people drinking alcohol in inappropriate manners far beyond their limits, and I think there’s risk associated with that and there are concerns with what initially were ambulances. But I mean, as you can see, the streets are completely clear. There’s no hindrance to traffic at all at this point. It really does feel like they are just trying to break up parties.”

McKeen also argued the increased police activity hurt one of the few events that brings students from different groups together.

“I feel like this is a direct attack on the students by [UM System President] Mun Choi,” McKeen said. “I feel like he’s trying to break up the one time of year where people from all sides, all over the university, as opposed to, usually, people are kind of in their cliques, fraternity, sorority, their clubs, their majors. This is the one time of year where everybody’s kind of in the same spot. It kind of feels like they’re attacking that unity that we have as a campus.”

Several students said they expected the additional enforcement after officers distributed flyers throughout East Campus earlier in the week.

“The last couple of years, you know, they’ve been harping down on it,” senior Charles Winkelbauer said. “They went round earlier this week and left some fliers on our door. So we knew it was kind of expected. It’s just a real shame, you know, I mean, kids look forward to this all year, all semester, and the cops have to shut it down. It’s just kind of unfortunate.”

Winklebauer said officers also broke up a gathering at his house.

“We usually have a huge party here every single year, and it’s just in the backyard so it’s like nothing, not a huge deal,” Winklebauer said. “But they came and shut it down real quickly. And there’s only about 25-to-50 people here when years pass, there’s been multiple hundreds. So it’s kind of a shame.”

Senior James Murray said the increased enforcement appears to have changed how students approach Stop Day celebrations.

“It used to be like 11a.m./noon. It would be jumping over here,” Murray said. “This house, specifically 1500 University, used to be the big party house. Just with the police presence this year, last year, it really didn’t get a crowd on each campus till I would say 2 [o’clock] or 3.”

Murray also described officers and city officials going door-to-door earlier in the week.

“Earlier this week they were passing out fliers, two police officers and then a City of Columbia Representative went house to house on his campus, passing out fliers advising people not to have nuisance parties,” Murray said. “’Keep it under 10 people. Only residents of the house can be actually in the yard.’”

Other students said they saw parties shut down during the day.

“We did see one [party] get broken up pretty bad like there’s like a couple of probably a hundred or so people getting pulled out of a house because they’re just kicking them out,” Logan Flint said. “They’re like, ‘That’s no good. No go.’ It kind of sucks.”

“We have a Start Day and Stop Day that just only happens twice a year,” MU junior Adam Davis said. “We’ve got to be able to just let the college kids enjoy it.”

Still, not every student opposed the increased police presence.

“They’re trying to keep it safe,” junior Aidan Winlker said. “Crime has been on a high recently, especially in the downtown area, so it’s valid they are trying to keep it safe, try to keep it contained.”

Senior Sophia Nittenger said she believes police resources could be better spent elsewhere in Columbia.

“I respect the police here in Columbia and what they do is they do a lot of great things here in Columbia,” Nittenger said. “I think that underage drinking is something that should be enforced. There are a lot of other problems here in Columbia, such as the homeless population that need a lot of help and rehabilitation here. I know a lot of women deal with cat calling and such on the streets of Columbia, which is really uncomfortable. There are a lot of other problems I think the police should be focusing on.”

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Euphenie Andre

RANDOLPH COUNTY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Law enforcement officers and volunteers spent Friday searching for a missing Randolph County teenager in a massive conservation area southeast of Higbee.

The Randolph County Sheriff’s Office said Kayla Huff, 16, has been missing since Wednesday. Investigators focused Friday’s search efforts on the Rudolf Bennitt Conservation Area, where dozens of volunteers joined deputies in hopes of finding clues connected to her disappearance.

Randolph County Sheriff Andy Boggs told ABC 17 News that despite searching throughout the day, crews did not find Huff or any major evidence connected to the case.

Across Randolph County, flyers with Huff’s photo have been posted in store windows and along roadways as the community searches for answers. The poster describes Huff as 5 feet, 7 inches with long-braided hair. Flyers say she was last seen Wednesday walking in her Moberly neighborhood with a male.

Boggs later wrote in a press release that Huff was last seen with a 17-year-old Columbia resident.

“Reports from the community and family indicated Kayla was in the Rudolph Bennitt Conservation Area, in southern Randolph County and northern Howard County,” Boggs wrote in the release. “A multi-jurisdictional search was held on today’s date. Law enforcement officers from the area, with the help of volunteers, scoured the area, with nothing located.”

Volunteers Natalee Kirkendoll, Julie Plaster and Jennifer Mixon spent nearly eight hours searching the area for Huff. Kirkendoll said when volunteers arrived Friday morning, law enforcement provided only limited details about the investigation as crews prepared to begin the search.

According to volunteers, about 50 people joined the effort early in the morning, with others arriving throughout the day as they became available.

“We got the call last night off of Facebook, and they needed equine volunteer searches,” Kirkendoll said. “So we all congregated at the lake this morning at 8 (a.m.) and waited for direction from the sheriff and the conservation office.”

The conservation area covers more than 3,500 acres and stretches across parts of Randolph, Boone and Howard counties.

Boggs could not comment on the circumstance of Huff’s disappearance. Boggs said another search effort will likely be organized once investigators gather more information in the case. Authorities are also asking for additional volunteers to assist in the search.

“The Randolph County Sheriff’s Office, Moberly Police Department, Missouri State Highway Patrol Division of Drug and Crime Control and many other agencies are currently investigating Kayla’s disappearance,” Boggs’ Friday evening press release says. “To maintain the integrity of this investigation and provide respect and privacy to Kayla’s loved ones, no further information will be released at this time.”

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Alison Patton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The man accused of shooting two of his family members, leading a police chase and shooting at law enforcement before shooting himself on Thursday finished a 120-day shock incarceration program with the Department of Corrections about a week before the shooting.

According to the Boone County Sheriff’s Office, 32-year-old Steven Swanson allegedly shot two people at a home in northern Boone County on Thursday afternoon. A 35-year-old man was pronounced dead and a 65-year-old woman had serious injuries in the 5100 block of North Douglas Drive.

Swanson then fled the scene, leading a police chase on Highway 63. Law enforcement eventually stopped Swanson’s Ford Bronco, and Swanson fired a shot at a Missouri State Highway Patrol car before he shot and killed himself, law enforcement says. The medical examiner will determine Swanson’s cause of death.

Previous reporting shows Swanson was accused of stabbing his brother in the leg in October 2025. He pleaded guilty in that case on Dec. 22 to third-degree assault. He was ordered to serve five years of probation and completed a shock program of 120 days with the Department of Corrections.

He also pleaded guilty to second-degree domestic assault in December. 

He was released April 30 and was ordered to serve five years of probation and on the condition that he attend alcohol treatment through the Department of Probation and Parole. He had a suspended sentence of seven years.

Boone County Prosecutor Roger Johnson couldn’t provide a specific comment on why Swanson received that sentence, but he was able to explain the program.

“With the 120-day shock program, if they successfully complete that and essentially don’t have violations while they’re in the Department of Corrections, they can, at the end of that time, come out and be on probation for the remainder of their sentence,” Johnson said.

He said there are a lot of reasons why a person could be given this sentence, but it’s hard to narrow down one reason without looking at the case details.

“It’s very fact specific, and it depends on the particulars of the case,” Johnson said. “It’s just a sentence that is available within the full possible universe of sentences that are available as a disposition in a criminal case.”

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Randolph County Prosecutor Stephanie Luntsford on Friday confirmed the name of the woman accused of stealing a Randolph County Sheriff’s Office patrol vehicle on Thursday.

Alayna Mason, 20, of Moberly, was arrested on suspicion of stealing a motor vehicle, stealing a gun and escaping from custody. Luntsford said charges were not filed on Friday because the courts are closed for former President Harry Truman’s birthday.   

Several law enforcement agencies were seen Thursday near Lee and Morley streets after someone allegedly stole a patrol vehicle.

The Moberly Police Department wrote in a Thursday social media post that the suspect was in custody before the theft.  

Mason is currently being held at the Randolph County Jail without bond, according to jail records.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

No people were injured, but a cat died in a Friday morning Columbia house fire, according to a press release from the Columbia Fire Department.

The release says firefighters were called just before 8 a.m. to the 400 block of McBaine Avenue.  

Firefighters saw black smoke and fire coming from the home, the release says. Flames were contained to the room the fire started in and it was “under control within approximately six minutes of arrival,” the release says.

The fire was ruled accidental “due to combustible materials left too close to a heat source,” the release says.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Jefferson City High School’s graduation ceremony on Friday will be moved indoors because of inclement weather, according to an email from a district spokesman.

The email says seniors have been given six tickets each in case the ceremony was going to be moved to Fleming Fieldhouse. Doors open at 6 p.m.

Students who have not received their tickets ca pick them up at the main office, the email says.

The school will also livestream the ceremony on its YouTube page.

Capital City High School held its graduation ceremony on Thursday night.

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