Category: kmiz-local-news

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Phelps County coroner announced in a Monday social media post that a car that was left running in a garage on June 19 led to the deaths of five people.

Four men and a woman were found dead that day in a home in the 11000 block of Village Circle in Rolla, the post says.

“Autopsies and toxicology’s have been completed and we are waiting on those results. We know there has been a lot of rumors out about this tragic event, we can say yes there was a car left running in the garage, which was the source of the carbon monoxide, yes, there is 4 males and one female all adults, these are the facts, all other information that has been put out is simply not true,” Monday’s social media post says.

Another person was critically injured, someone in the other side of the duplex had moderate injuries and a deputy was exposed to carbon monoxide, according to previous reporting.

Monday’s post says three of the victims were Honduran nationals, one was a Mexican national and another was a Guatemalan national. Four of the victims’ bodies are being transported to their original country and the coroner’s office wrote it is “working diligently to make sure the final victim’s disposition, and destination is achieved appropriately and expediently as possible.”

Click here to follow the original article.

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 69-year-old Columbia man died from injuries he suffered in a crash on Saturday afternoon, the Columbia Police Department announced in a Monday social media post.

The post says Elbert Allen was driving east on Interstate 70 at 1:30 p.m. Saturday when he crashed his vehicle into a guardrail near the 123-mile marker, which is just west of the Stadium Boulevard exit.

Allen was brought to an area hospital in critical condition, but later died from his injuries, police wrote.

Click here to follow the original article.

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A former University of Missouri student who was accused of strangling a victim at a residence hall last year has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Maxwell Warren, 19, of Overland Park, Kansas, pleaded guilty on Friday to two counts of second-degree domestic assault and one count of fourth-degree domestic assault. He is currently being held at the Boone County Jail.

He was originally charged with first-degree burglary, second-degree domestic assault, first-degree domestic assault and misdemeanor fourth-degree assault.

He pleaded guilty to strangling the victim in their dorm room in September after they had blocked him on Snapchat. He had also allegedly assaulted the victim in October 2025. A witness also reported seeing Warren assaulting a woman near the parking garage on Virginia Avenue.

Warren was subsequently banned from campus after he was charged in November.

Warren had prior criminal charges in Kansas as a juvenile, which included making a criminal threat and violating an order of protection.  

Click here to follow the original article.

Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Deputies in eastern Missouri arrested a man Sunday in connection with the 2019 discovery of human remains on the banks of the Gasconade River.

The Gasconade County Sheriff’s Office posted on Facebook that Jefferson County, Missouri, deputies arrested Daniel W. Russell of High Ridge, Missouri, on Sunday on suspicion of first-degree murder, abandoning a corpse and evidence tampering.

The remains were found in a plastic barrel lodged next to a boat ramp at the river access in Gasconade, a few months after Michael A. Graham of Georgia was reported missing. Investigators later confirmed the remains were those of Graham.

“After taking office and recognizing that the investigation had become stagnant, I directed members of the Sheriff’s Office to conduct a comprehensive review of the cold case,” Sheriff Scott Eiler wrote in the Facebook post. “Through renewed investigative efforts and continued collaboration, investigators were able to develop additional evidence.”

The post doesn’t elaborate on the nature of the new evidence.

Russell was being held Monday at the Franklin County Detention Center without bond, the post states.

Information about Russell’s charges was not yet available in online court records Monday afternoon.

Click here to follow the original article.

Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

An Audrain County man was charged over the weekend with seven felonies, including first-degree assault, after three people were injured with a knife in a bar fight.

Robert H. LeCoque, 37, of Benton City, is accused of stabbing three people early Sunday after climbing onto a stage where a band was performing in a bar, according to a probable cause statement. The statement doesn’t identify the bar, but a Mexico Department of Public Safety news release stated the bar was in the 100 block of South Jefferson Street.

Police Chief Brice Mesko declined to disclose the name of the business. The owners have been cooperating with the investigation, Mesko said.

LeCoque was charged with three counts apiece of first-degree assault and armed criminal action and a single count of unlawful use of a weapon. His first court appearance was scheduled for Tuesday morning.

One victim suffered two stab wounds to the chest and two to other areas of the body, the statement says. The victim suffered internal bleeding and needed emergency surgery.

The two other victims had knife wounds to their hands and legs. All of the victims told police that LeCoque started a fight with them, according to the statement.

Multiple witnesses corroborated the victims’ story, the statement says. Officers later found the knife behind a dumpster outside the bar, and surveillance video showed the stabbing, according to the statement.

LeCoque reportedly contacted the Audrain County Justice Center and reported he had been in a fight at the bar and accidentally stabbed his friend. Police found him about a mile from the bar.

LeCoque allegedly told police that he swung the knife in self-defense.

He remained in the Audrain County Jail without bond on Monday.

Click here to follow the original article.

Jazsmin Halliburton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

EDITOR’S NOTE: The story has been updated to reflect the passenger was a woman and has been pronounced dead.

A woman from Laquey died and a man suffered injuries in a motorcycle crash in Camden County on Sunday night.

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, a 48-year-old woman and a 50-year-old man were heading eastbound on Route A near Rainwater Drive on a 2010 Harley-Davidson Ultra Glide just before 10 p.m. Sunday.

Online records state the crash happened when a deer traveled in front of the motorcycle, causing both riders to be thrown.

The 48-year-old passenger suffered serious injuries and was flown to University Hospital, and was pronounced dead. The 50-year-old driver had moderate injuries and was taken to Lake Regional Hospital by Mercy Ambulance.

Neither was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash, according to online crash reports.

Click here to follow the original article.

Jazsmin Halliburton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Ulman man suffered serious injuries in an ATV crash in Miller County Sunday night.

According to online crash reports, a 28-year-old man was heading northbound on Route C north of Bentown Ridge Road on a 2004 Yamaha Warrior just after 8 p.m. Sunday.

The report states that the ATV drove off the left side of the road and overturned.

The man was transported to Lake Regional Hospital by Miller County EMS. He was not wearing a helmet, according to the report.

Click here to follow the original article.

Jazsmin Halliburton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Columbia man accused of killing a woman and hiding her body in a trash bin that was found in a creek pleaded not guilty Monday.

Andrew Acton pleaded guilty during his arraignment before Judge Stephanie Morrell. Last week, a Boone County grand jury indicted Acton, who is accused of killing his romantic partner and disposing of her body in a trash bin that was found in a creek in May, moving the case to circuit court.

Andrew Acton is accused of strangling or smothering the 47-year-old woman sometime between Oct. 1, 2025, and May 10, 2026. The grand jury indictment gave the victim’s initials as C.A.C., and describes the cause of death as “neck impression.”

Acton was indicted on the same charges that were filed against him earlier in the investigation — second-degree murder, abandoning a corpse and evidence tampering.

A fisherman initially recovered the trash can at the Providence boat access, who reported seeing a human leg wrapped in a blanket inside. Authorities have not publicly released other details about the case, including a motive.

Acton was arrested after investigators matched the truck he was driving with one spotted on surveillance video hauling the trash bin near Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area.

Click here to follow the original article.

Haley Swaino

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

No one was reported to be hurt after an early morning dock fire at the Lake of the Ozarks on Sunday.

According to Marine Trooper Dylan Green with the Missouri State Highway Patrol, a fire broke out shortly after midnight at Dry Branch Cove. The cove is near the 4.5 mile marker of the lake’s main channel.

The Rocky Mount Fire Protection District said the blaze occurred on Ontario Road, in a social media post. The fire district said four watercraft were burning and all were total losses. The fire chief later confirmed to ABC 17 News that two boats and two jet skis were involved.

The Rocky Mount Fire Protection District responds to a dock fire at the Lake of the Ozarks’ Dry Branch Cove on Jun. 28, 2026. [Courtesy: Dylan Green]

Green said in a text message that the Lake Ozark Fire Protection District was also responding to the fire.

The cause was under investigation as of Sunday morning. RMFPD said a preliminary investigation revealed the believed cause to be a previous recreational fire that was not properly extinguished and reignited.

RMFPD Fire Chief Jonathan Trail said it appeared that a fire pit on the dock had embers that reignited when the wind blew in.

“It’s believed that it [the wind] rekindled the fire, pushed some embers out, likely onto the boat covers that were on the vessel on the dock,” Trail said.

He said there were people inside the home who were able to call emergency services once they realized the dock was ablaze.

“There were people present at the time of the fire, and I think that’s the biggest takeaway, is there were people inside the residence; they weren’t out on the dock,” Trail said. “But they were still awake, they were alert, and they discovered the fire and reported it as quickly as they could.”

Trail said it’s important to make sure that embers from a recreational fire are cool before leaving it.

“We need to make sure that not only is the fire out, but it’s cool. If the smoldering embers are allowed to continue to be hot, there’s always potential for re-ignition of unburned materials,” he said.

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources is cleaning up fuel in the water that spilled from both jet skis and one boat. Trail said the DNR will put out a device to soak up the petroleum, and the department will remove it once the sheen has disappeared from the water.

As for the watercraft, Trail said it’s likely a local recovery company will pull them out of the water and dispose of them.

Check back for updates.

Click here to follow the original article.

Alison Patton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The new Columbia Downtown Safety Ambassadors Program will soon publish a monthly incident report starting in mid-July that details incidents, along with statistics.

The District Executive Director Nickie Davis said the reports will be “extensive.”

The program has only been officially active for about a week and a half. The ambassadors have already de-escalated one situation, according to Davis.

“They helped de-escalate a bit of a larger fight that was happening down on Eighth or Seventh Street,” Davis said. “Our main goal is to keep those situations from becoming something that they would actually have to call the police for.”

The ambassadors are not law enforcement and can’t arrest anyone, but are there to prevent dangerous situations from happening.

Davis said that during training, before the official launch, an ambassador called 911 for an unresponsive person. The person was revived after EMS administered NARCAN and then taken to the hospital.

“They [the ambassador] got a reward for it already and just good work on their part for noticing and continuing to check on this person,” Davis said.

While patrolling, Davis said many people are happy to see the ambassadors, and some ask questions about city ordinances.

Five ambassadors walk in different zones around downtown Columbia from 4:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. There’s also a full-time outreach coordinator.

Click here to follow the original article.