Category: kmiz-local-news

Madison Stuerman

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A lawsuit filed by Cole County after a 2023 fuel leak has been settled out of court.

The lawsuit, filed in April, accused Neumayer Equipment Company of breach of contract and negligence.

It claimed Neumayer incorrectly installed a fuel system, which caused the leak on July 24, 2023. More than 1,000 gallons of fuel polluted the Moreau River and surrounding areas.

Online court records show the case was dismissed on June 23 with prejudice.

In a statement to ABC 17 News, the lawsuit was dismissed as part of the settlement terms between the county and the insurance company.

The settlement shared by the county states the two agreed Neumayer’s insurance company would pay $446,592.86 in exchange for further court action.

The release of claims document states that the settlement resolves the claims against the company. This includes any demands, cause of action, damages, attorney fees and other compensation related to the fuel leak.

Sean Counihan, of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources Environmental Services Program, told ABC 17 News in an email that no fuel was seen in the Moreau River, “only the small creek/tributary that traverses the Lincoln University farm property,” according to previous reporting.

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Mitchell Kaminski

SEDALIA, Mo. (KMIZ) 

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were operating in Sedalia this week, according to city officials.

Sedalia Mayor Traves Williams confirmed to ABC 17 News that ICE officers were in the area on Tuesday, but said he was not notified in advance of their arrival.

ICE officers were seen near 16th Street alongside vehicles from the Pettis County Sheriff’s Office. Multiple residents who wished to remain anonymous — out of fear of possible retaliation — also told ABC 17 News that officers were observed making arrests at multiple businesses in the area.

The Pettis County Sheriff’s Office is one of more than 90 law enforcement agencies in Missouri that has entered into an agreement with ICE. ICE offers three partnership models for local agencies: The Jail Enforcement Model, Task Force Model and Warrant Service Officer Program. Agencies may participate in more than one model.

Pettis County Sheriff’s Office initially joined the agency’s Jail Enforcement Model in August 2025. Under the Jail Enforcement Model agreement, trained jail personnel are authorized to identify inmates in local custody who may be subject to immigration removal proceedings.

However, on April 25, the Pettis Sheriff’s Office signed a Task Force Model agreement in April. Under the Task Force Model, participating officers may identify individuals they believe are not U.S. citizens during routine policing, share information with ICE, and, in some cases, carry out immigration-related arrests or serve administrative warrants, but only under ICE supervision.

ABC 17 News reached out to both ICE and the Pettis County Sheriff’s Office for comment.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 57-year-old Moberly woman was seriously injured in a crash that occurred Wednesday afternoon on Highway 32 in Polk County, a crash report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol says.

The report says the woman’s 2011 Cadillac SRX rear-ended a 2012 Cadillac SRX that was driven by a 48-year-old Moberly man. Neither driver wore a seatbelt, according to the report.

The woman was brought to Citizens Memorial Hospital in Bolivar by ambulance, according to the report.

Both Cadillacs had extensive damage. MSHP reports do not name those involved in crashes.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 56-year-old Columbia man was charged with a child sex crime on Wednesday in Boone County.

Daniel Follett, 56, was charged with child enticement. He is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond. A court date has not been scheduled.

The brief probable cause statement says Follett arrived at a Boone County location at 5 p.m. Tuesday to pay money to a minor for sex.

The criminal complaint says Follett reached out to a “decoy” on an escort website to set up the meeting.

The statement says he sent messages to a messages online to someone he believed to be a 16-year-old girl and discussed paying them money for sex. The statement also says he went to the door of a “predetermined location” to meet the youth.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The FBI  has confirmed in a press release that a man accused in a casino robbery earlier this year in Boonville has been arrested.

Hollis Vanleer Jr., 20, was arrested on Wednesday in Bloomington, Illinois. He is charged in the case with first-degree robbery, armed criminal action and first-degree assault. Authorities had been searching for him since the robbery took place on March 25.

Vanleer is being held at the McLean County Jail in Illinois. Jail staff stated he was arrested by Bloomington, Illinois, police.

Benjamin Charles, 21, is charged with first-degree robbery, armed criminal action and tampering with evidence. He is being held at the Cooper County Jail.

The pair, who were carrying guns when they entered the casino, allegedly took about $1.28 million from the main money drawer and that a patron had tackled one of the men, previous reporting from court documents shows. Vanleer hit the patron before the pair got away in a Ford Taurus, court documents in previous reporting say.

The Ford was later abandoned in Howard County.

Law enforcement found a receipt in the vehicle and were able to determine a card used in the purchase belonged to Charles, who was also determined to be an employee at the casino, the statement says.

The FBI issued a $5,000 reward last week for anyone who could give information that led to his arrest.

Check back for updates.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A former youth minister was charged on Wednesday in Cole County with sex crimes.

Robert Ferguson, 27, of Jefferson City, was charged with child enticement, nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual images and attempted sexual exploitation of a minor. He is being held at the Cole County Jail without bond. A court date has not been scheduled.

The probable cause statement says one of the victims was an adult. She allegedly started speaking with law enforcement in May after learning that Ferguson had sent images and videos of her nude to other people, court documents say.

The victim sent multiple screenshots of a phone and was worried that Ferguson may have also been speaking to minors, the statement says. Several of the phone numbers that Ferguson communicated with were determined to be people who were members of their church, the statement says.

Police wrote that additional screenshots allegedly showed that he tried posing as a teenager and refused to identify himself to a youth. He also allegedly tried to get that same youth to show him nude photographs.

Ferguson allegedly admitted to sending nude files of the woman and lying about his identity to the youth, the statement says.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 42-year-old man from Danville, Illinois, was found dead after a crash occurred at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday on Route J in Montgomery County at Loutre Valley Lane, a Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report says.

An MSHP spokesman wrote in an email the crash was reported the next day. The report says the rider was pronounced dead at the scene at 11:17 a.m. Wednesday.

The report says the man’s 1992 Harley Davison Sportster 883 was heading southbound when it went off the left side of the road and hit an embankment. The rider was ejected from the vehicle and hit a concrete culvert twice, the report says.

The report says the man did not wear a helmet. His body was brought to Schlanker Funeral Home in Montgomery City, according to the report.

MSHP reports do not name those involved in crashes.

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Sutton Parker

COLUMBIA MO. (KMIZ)

Columbia College officially auctioned off nine properties on Wednesday afternoon.

The Atterberry Auction & Realty Group was tasked with the auction and said that in total nine properties, 21 units, a vacant lot and a building near Columbia College and downtown were auctioned.

The auction opened on June 11, and potential buyers were able to submit bids through the realty group’s website. The bidding then closed on Wednesday afternoon.

In total, Columbia College made around $2 million from the sale.

Eight of the properties listed are located near the Lyons Street and North Eighth Street intersection.

Neeley Current has lived on Lyons Street for 20 years and said she has seen a lot of change on the street over time, and the sale is just another one.

“I have seen a lot of change over the period of time from single housing units shifting to apartment complexes, and I feel a lot of uncertainty that it will turn into one apartment complex, and it will be turned into large apartment buildings,” she said.

Current added she is concerned about private equity firms coming in and shifting her neighborhood from single-home housing to larger apartments.

“I hope they don’t just drastically shift our neighborhood from primmarley low income single housing to larger apartments,” she said.

As for what comes next, Atterberry Auction and Realty said that we will have to wait around 30 days for the properties to officially close. Due to the transactions still pending, they said they are not able to disclose who bought the properties or what they believe the properties might be used for.

They add the names of the buyers will be part of a public record as soon as the deal is finalized.

Looking at the numbers, the property that sold for the most was the former Columbia College Student Support Services building.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

No one is in custody yet after two shootings in Northeast Columbia Wednesday.

The Columbia Police Department taped off a parking lot at The Greens apartments, on Clark Lane, east of the Highway 63/Interstate 70 Connector. An ABC 17 News photographer saw at least 13 CPD patrol vehicles.

Police responded at 4 p.m. in the 51000 block of Clark Lane. One juvenile male was found shot multiple times and is in serious condition, according to Columbia Police Department spokesman Brian McNeill. Police later wrote in a social media post that the boy’s injuries were not life-threatening.

Police also received a call for shots fired at the 1300 block of Godas Drive, McNeill said.. A man was found on Keene Street with non-life-threatening injuries and was brought to an area hospital. CPD later wrote in a social media post that that man also had serious injuries.

Police have not confirmed if the scenes are connected. No suspects are in custody, but McNeill said there is no threat to the public.

A neighbor – who wished to not be identified out of fears of possible retaliation – told ABC 17 News they heard noises that sounded like fireworks at first, but then determined shots were fired after return fire was heard. The neighbor said the incident occurred between 3:30-4 p.m. and that a male had been hit.

A woman who said she lived in the same building as the Clark Lane victim, named Monique Rufus, said she saw a red car pull up to the teen boy and shoot 13 to 15 times at him. Rufus said the boy tried to return fire but his gun jammed.

 “He was literally right there and then boo, boo, boo, boo, boo, boo, boo it happened,” Rufus said. “I flew in between the cars and got up under there because I just was wondering when was it going to stop?”

Police were unable to confirm if the two scenes were connected in any way. They also did not confirm if the red car Rufus referenced was a vehicle of interest.

An updated Wednesday night from Columbia Police said both victims injuries did not end up being life-threatening.

The scene on Godas and The Greens were still active at 7 p.m. A yard on Godas was seen taped off by police.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Marshall man who was accused of shooting and injuring two Pettis County deputies last year was sentenced to more than 22 years in federal prison, according to a Wednesday press release from the Department of Justice.

James Joseph Elsea, 63, pleaded guilty in January to two counts of illegal gun and drug possession and illegally shooting a gun while committing a drug trafficking offense, the release says. He was sentenced to 265 months in prison followed by supervised release.

According to court documents in previous reporting, deputies served a “no-knock” warrant for a drug investigation on Friday, May 2, 2025 at a house in the 27000 block of Route BB. Court documents said that Elsea is “known to be armed.”

Two law enforcement members were shot and Elsea allegedly called 911 to say he shot someone, the release and previous reporting says. One deputy was hit above their knee and the other was shot near their calf. One SWAT member returned fire, court documents in previous reporting say.

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