Category: kmiz-local-news

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Cooper County prosecutor filed a motion on Thursday to give consent for the case of a “cult-like” Amish leader to be moved to Montgomery County.  

Sam Shetler, 42, of Boonville, is charged with three counts of trafficking for the purpose of slavery/forced labor, a count of first-degree sodomy, first-degree sex abuse, four counts of kidnapping and one count of first-degree involuntary manslaughter.

He is being held at the Cooper County Jail without bond. Shetler’s attorney filed a motion on May 26 to move the case. The defense requested the case be moved to either Montgomery, Monroe or Shelby counties. A judge has not yet ruled on the motion.

Shetler – who had been described in court documents as a “cult-like” leader of an Amish community –is accused of forcing teenagers to work at the Mercy and Truth-Amish and Mennonite Retreat without pay and rubbing oils on young females to “heal” them, court documents in previous reporting indicate.

Following his March arrest, more victims came forward and accused Shetler of posing as a doctor that gave a “lavender breathing treatment” to a baby who suffered from multiple viruses in 2025, including COVID-19, court documents in previous reporting say. The baby died on March 6, 2025.

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Melissa Houston

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A shooting took place at the Interstate 70/Highway 63 Connector and Conley Road on Sunday, and the Columbia Police Department is still looking for the shooter.

CPD is still looking to identify the suspect involved and is asking anyone with information to contact them for a reward.

A CPD spokesperson declined to provide more details about the case, citing the ongoing investigation.

At 11:47 a.m., CPD responded to a shots-fired call near Breaktime. A 26-year-old victim with a gunshot wound was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to a press release sent by CPD.

Boone County Prosecuting Attorney Roger Johnson declined to provide more details about the case because no suspects have been named.

ABC 17 spoke with a Breaktime employee, who said they were advised not to speak about the matter because it is still an active investigation.

This is one of many reported crimes that have happened on Conley Road this year, according to the CPD’s public crime map.

Near the connector and the 900 block of Conley Road, 21 various crimes have been reported, not including Sunday’s shooting, since January 1, 2026.

Less than a mile away, in front of the Conley Road Walmart, roughly 64 various crimes have been reported in that same time period.

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Erika McGuire

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A major addition to Columbia Public Schools will officially be welcomed Monday afternoon with a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Eagle Bluffs Elementary School.

The district’s newest elementary school is located on 5400 S. Sinclair Road next to John Warner Elementary School.

The new two-story, $36 million facility spans 76,5000 square feet was approved by voters in two bond issue elections — one in 2018 to purchase land as part of the planning for John Warner Middle School and one in 2022 to construct the school.

CPS broke ground on the project in 2024, and the school was completed on schedule for its planned fall 2026 opening.

The new facility can accommodate up to 740 students and approximately 140 staff members. During a tour of the school in December 2025, district officials told ABC 17 News they expected Eagle Bluffs Elementary to open with about 400 students and roughly 70 staff members, allowing room for future enrollment growth.

The school offers six color-coded learning pods, each with its own unique theme and color scheme. The names for the pods are Field, Lake, Cave, City, Prairie and Woodlands to go along with the Eagle Bluffs Conservation area located on the Missouri River south of Columbia.

CPS Superintendent Jeff Kelin said the learning pods allow students to collaborate with their work.

“Project work and a lot of movement and experimental type learning so we want our classrooms to be able to support that learning environment whether physical structures and the resources within those classrooms,” Kelin said.

“Classrooms are going to work together, everybody’s doors are open they can use the common spaces together it’s like you’re in a college almost and you have the dorm and everyone living next to each other,” Columbia Board of Education President John Lyman said.

Safety was a top priority in the school’s design, according to CPS officials. Eagle Bluffs Elementary features a secure vestibule with bullet-resistant glass at the main entrance to help control access to the building.

District officials said the school is also equipped with classroom safety features, including window shades that can be quickly deployed during a security emergency. If someone were to get past the secure vestibule, the shades allow students and staff to move to designated areas inside classrooms where they cannot be seen through the windows.

The school will also have the Raptor System that CPS has throughout all district buildings, that requires all guests to check in with a photo ID.

The school’s gymnasium can serve as a storm shelter.

The first day of school for CPS is Aug. 25.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

President Donald Trump announced on his social media on Monday that he is approving a $24.5 million disaster declaration for the June 4-18 storms that hit Missouri.

Gov. Mike Kehoe requested a disaster declaration on July 9 for public assistance for 34 counties, including: Adair, Andrew, Callaway, Camden, Cape Girardeau, Dade, Daviess, Gasconade, Gentry, Grundy, Harrison, Hickory, Holt, Jasper, Knox, Lewis, Linn, Macon, Marion, Mercer, Miller, Moniteau, Morgan, Newton, Nodaway, Osage, Polk, Putnam, Scott, Shelby, Sullivan, Vernon, Webster and Worth.

The July 9 press release estimated more than $32.3 million in emergency response costs and damage to public infrastructure.

Kehoe confirmed on his social media that the funding was for the June 4-18 request.

Kehoe still has outstanding requests, including one he made on Friday for storms that affected Missouri from July 9-11.

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Lucas Geisler

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A former Cooper County Jail guard received a two-year probation term for her role in an inmate’s death in 2023.

Rachel Atherton pleaded guilty to second-degree involuntary manslaughter on Monday. Prosecutors reduced her chare on Friday to the lesser felony. Jazzlyn Johnson, spokesperson for special prosecutors out of Jackson County, said Atherton received a two-year suspended imposition of sentence.

Atherton pleaded guilty to the same crime a jury found another jail guard, Robyn Pfeiffer, guilty of in February. Both were accused of neglecting the health concerns of Brooke Bailey before she died while in custody.

Brent Haden, an attorney for Atherton, declined to comment on Monday.

Johnson said Atherton’s guilty plea to a felony makes her ineligible for a Missouri peace officer’s license.

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Demetra Alarcon

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Leaders from Boone Health and Boone County Fire Protection District said Monday that a new ambulance station in south Columbia could cut down response times by several minutes.

Boone Health held a dedication ceremony and open house for Ambulance Station No. 12, located on Route K near South Bethel Church Road, on Monday morning.

This new station has been operating for a month.

During the ceremony, Brady Dubois, president and CEO of Boone Health, said that this new station puts EMS teams minutes away from emergency responses and that the extra time is critical.

“Response times are critical. Every second matters. And where EMS teams are able to start from. It can mean the difference between life and death,” Dubois said.

Dubois added that response times are estimated to be cut down by 4 to 5 minutes with the new station.

Although there are no current plans for another station, officials acknowledge that continued growth in the area could shift those needs.

According to Josh Peak, chief of Boone Health Emergency Medical Services, Boone County responds to about 12,000 calls a year.

Peak said that before the facility, response times were around 10-11 minutes. With the new station, the goal for every response is less than 8 minutes.

The station also houses an ATV, allowing EMS crews to reach remote areas that ambulances cannot get to.

“It’s critical. So we get calls. It doesn’t matter if you call us from in your house or from inside Rock Bridge Park somewhere,” said Peak.

The new EMS station was made possible through a partnership between Boone Health and the Boone County Fire Protection District, resulting in faster response times to emergencies in south Columbia.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Mill and overlay pavement maintenance through Columbia began Monday and is expected to be completed by Friday, Aug. 14, according to a Monday press release from the city.

Crews will mill away the top layer of asphalt and pave a new surface to improve the roadways, the release says. It will occur after crews finish work on Old Highway 63 on Monday afternoon. Crews will work from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. each day.

 Affected streets include:

Woodrow Street

McAlester Street

South Bearfield Road

Danforth Drive

Wilkes Boulevard

South Ann Street

Dalcross Drive

Westbrook Way

Frontgate Drive

Dunbar Drive

Vistaview Terrace

Granite Springs Drive

Blue Hollow Drive

West Vawter School Road

Glen Eagle Drive

Tip Tree Court

Surrey Court

Westview Terrace

Galloway Court

“No parking” signs will be post on the affected streets 24 hours before.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Cyclosporiasis cases in Missouri have nearly doubled in the past week, according to information from the state’s Communicable Disease report that was reported on Sunday.

Total cases of the diarrhea-inducing disease have hit 1,095 as of Sunday, which increased from 595 from last week’s total.

As of Monday afternoon, 90 cases of cyclosporiasis have been reported in Boone County, according to Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services spokesman Austin Krohn. There were 79 cases in the county reported last week and 53 the week before.

The FDA announced on July 17 that it is investigating iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico that was recalled by Taylor Farms.

ABC News reported on Monday that the first deaths of the national outbreak have been reported in Michigan. There have been 11,234 cases reported in Michigan, ABC News reported from Michigan’s Health Department.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has issued stormwater discharge permits to the City of Columbia and Boone County, the department said Monday — a move that will allow the local governments to avoid state sanctions.

DNR has been reviewing the city and county permits to discharge stormwater into the environment for months, with state officials bringing up concerns about homeless camps near Hinkson Creek multiple times,

“Prior to receiving the co-permittees’ permit application, the department fielded approximately 30 citizen concerns regarding potential pollutants entering waters of the state from illegal dumping at large encampment sites in the Columbia MS4 service area,” DNR stated in a news release Monday.

State and federal authorities require the permit, known as MS4, to release stormwater into streams. Without a permit, the city could face high fines for dumping that stormwater.

After the county modified its ordinance on March 30, the city did so on July 2, barring the dumping of waste from encampments into bodies of water. DNR required those changes before it would issue the permit, which took effect Saturday.

“Waste created by local encampments has had a direct and significant environmental impact on Columbia area waterways,” said Kurt Schaefer, director of the Department of Natural Resources. “We believed it was important for the co-permittees to add specific language to their ordinances that, if enforced, would effectively address those issues and allow the department to hold them accountable.”

No data has been publicly released detailing the pollution homeless camps cause in Columbia streams.

Some Columbia City Council members shared concerns when the ordinance was voted on that it unfairly targets homeless people.

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