Category: kmiz-local-news

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A pair of self-identified “urban explorers” were arrested in Mexico, Missouri, after they went into the old hospital on Thursday afternoon, according to a press release from the Mexico Public Safety Department.

The release says 18-year-olds Jacob Hayse and Jerome Hawkes, both of Hartsburg, were arrested on suspicion of trespassing. Police were called around 3:17 p.m. to the hospital building in the 600 block of East Monroe Street after cameras allegedly showed two people going into the building, the release says.

“Urban explorers” typically film content for social media websites like YouTube and TikTok that revolves around exploring abandoned buildings and areas.

“Everyone is reminded that the property is posted for No Trespassing and there are cameras on site.  Any unauthorized use of the property can lead to criminal charges,” the release says. “Residents are further reminded that people arrested / charged with a crime are simply accused of that crime and are to be considered innocent until proven guilty.”

Previous arrests for trespassing and property damage have occurred at the property.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man who was arrested Wednesday after an hour-long standoff in Callaway County was charged with two felonies and a misdemeanor.

Antonio Watson, 37, was charged with resisting arrest, failing to register as a sex offender and misdemeanor drug possession. He is being held at the Callaway County Jail on a $30,000 bond. A hearing was held on Friday.

The probable cause statement says deputies were called to a residence near Millersburg in the 4400 block of Samantha Road for a failure-to-register warrant. A person described as a witness confirmed to law enforcement that Watson lived in the area, the statement says.

Authorities arrived at 2:20 p.m. and Watson briefly opened the door eight minutes later, the statement says. Deputies shot a beanbag at the residence and he barricaded himself, court documents say. Watson came out of the building about an hour later and a deputy used a foam baton round after Watson allegedly refused to get onto his knees, the statement says.

Watson allegedly admitted to living in the trailer for four days and allegedly told deputies he thought he had seven days to update the address, the statement says.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A bus shelter and trash container in Columbia has been removed after a request was made by Broadway Crossings, according to an email from a city public works spokesman.

The letter says the bus stop was located at 21 Conley Road, though the city spokesman clarified it was on Trimble Road.

The request to remove it was sent on Sept. 19 and it was removed the following week.

“The offending shelter and trash container have become significant nuisances, negatively impacting the use and safety of our Tenants and patrons. The presence of the bus stop has led to several issues, including excessive trash, excessive noise, harassment and even violence,” a letter from the Kroenke Group to Columbia Public Works says.

The bus shelter was located on private property, the letter says.

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Olivia Hayes

PARIS, Mo. (KMIZ)

A judge has ordered the prosecution to move forward against two women accused of harboring a man who got into a deadly shootout with law enforcement.

The state presented parts of its case against Patty and Lois Armour on Friday in a preliminary hearing in front of a Monroe County judge. Judge Talley Smith found probable cause to bind them over to circuit court for trial.

Both women have been held in the Randolph County Jail without bond since their arrests. Monroe County does not have a grand jury, so the preliminary hearing helped establish probable cause to move to a jury trial. The state presented some evidence, and witnesses testified.

Lois and Patty Armour are accused of hiding Charles Armour before he was killed in a shootout with law enforcement. The probable cause statements say that law enforcement went to the Armour residence in search of Charles after speaking with both women. The women allegedly claimed Charles Armour was not at the residence.

Lois Armous is Charles’ mother, and Patty is his wife.

Officers were given permission to search the home and found Charles Armour in a bathroom with a handgun, the statement says. He then allegedly fired at the responding officers and hit a Randolph County deputy. Charles Armour, 57, was killed by return fire and identified by law enforcement as a person of interest in a Ralls County homicide investigation.

Charles Armour is accused of killing Jonathan Floyd, 55, of Perry, Missouri.

Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Derek Powell testified during Lois Armour’s hearing and the prosecution showed body camera video of officers searching for Charles Armour and encountering him.

Powell, another MSHP trooper and Randolph County Sheriff’s Deputy Nathaniel West met at the Armour residence on Oct. 12 in search of Charles. West was the officer that encountered him in the bathroom, seconds later the shootout ensued.

Audio of a conversation between Powell and Patty Armour was also played during her hearing, in which Patty said that she knew Charles Armour was wanted for murder and was on the run.

The audio also provided some insight into a possible motive behind Floyd’s murder that Charles Armour is alleged to have been involved in. In the audio Patty is heard detailing a love triangle that Charles and Floyd were apart of. Patty said Charles was having an affair with Ashley Williams. However, Williams was having a separate affair with Floyd while with Charles Armour.

The defense argued that the state has not shown beyond a reasonable doubt that Lois or Patty Armour knew that Charles Armour was at the house. Ultimately, the judge sided with the state.

A Randolph County deputy hit by gunfire was flown to a hospital. The deputy — who has not been named — was welcomed home to Moberly after his hospital stay.

Lois and Patty Armour’s next hearing is set for 10 a.m. Thursday Jan. 8.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Mizzou men, coming off their first loss of the season, will renew their classic rivalry with the Kansas Jayhawks this weekend.

The No. 21 Jayhawks will host the Tigers for a noon tipoff on Sunday at Kansas City’s T-Mobile Center. Watch a news conference previewing the game in the media player.

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Gabrielle Teiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The 4-year-old boy who was rescued in Sturgeon early Friday morning is being treated for mild frostbite and hypothermia, according to family friend Faith Livingston.

The child is expected to recover after being outside in 15-degree weather for hours.

“It’s like a Christmas miracle that he’s OK,” Livingston said.

The child was found about a half-mile from where he was believed to have gone missing in need of medical attention, according to a press release from the Boone County Sheriff’s Office.

The child went missing around 11:13 p.m. near the 400th block of East Patton Street and was found around 3:45 a.m. near the 100th block of East Francis Street, according to the release.

Livingston said the boy was found in a stroller outside the Backyard Playschool Center. She said she checked around the daycare about an hour before a Columbia police officer found him.

“We even checked the dumpster of the daycare, and it just so happened he was in the stroller, and I never thought to look there,” Livingston said.

She said she cried when she heard the news.

“I was instantly in tears because that’s not what we thought the outcome could be,” Livingston said. “We didn’t think that he possibly could have been out here in the cold like that, barefoot and hardly any clothes.”

According to the release, more information is unavailable as law enforcement continues to investigate the case and can’t release details on why the child was outside.

The City of Sturgeon thanked the Boone County Sheriff’s Office and the Missouri State Highway Patrol in a Facebook post.

“Their professionalism, teamwork, and commitment to the safety and well-being of our community were truly commendable. We are profoundly thankful for their swift and coordinated response during this critical situation,” the post states.

Boone County firefighters also helped with the search, said Boone County Fire Protection District Assistant Chief Gale Blomenkamp.

Capt. Brian Leer with the Boone County Sheriff’s Office said the child was found after several hours.

Leer said a grid search was conducted throughout Sturgeon.

The press release also says a Missouri State Highway Patrol helicopter was used, and all railroad traffic in Sturgeon was paused.

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Jazsmin Halliburton

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Holiday festivities are set to take place in Columbia and Jefferson City Friday, which will cause temporary traffic impacts.

In Jefferson City, certain areas will be blocked off for the city’s Living Windows event on Friday night and the parade on Saturday.

The Living Windows in Jefferson City will be from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Starting at 4 p.m., High St. will be closed, according to a Facebook post from the Jefferson City Police Department. No parking will be allowed between Monroe St. and Jefferson St. starting at 3 p.m., according to signs in the area seen Friday morning.

There will be a tree lighting ceremony at the Governor’s Mansion at 6 p.m. Friday, followed by candlelight tours until 8 p.m. During the Candlelight Tours, visitors can walk through the festively decorated first floor of the Governor’s Mansion. The tours are free and open to the public. Visitors will enter through the Madison Street gate.

In Columbia, there will be a lighting ceremony at the Courthouse Plaza from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m Friday.

Columbia’s Living Windows will be from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at The District 11 on South 10th St. There will be live performances, open houses, shopping and holiday decor throughout The District.

For the parade in Jefferson City on Saturday, no parking will be allowed on High St. from Broadway to Adams St.

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Matthew Sanders

Plenty of Montgomery County residents are worried about Amazon and other companies building large data centers on tracts of undeveloped land.

Critics say data centers strain local electrical and water systems, and they packed the Montgomery County Commission room Thursday to tell elected officials and economic development leaders about it.

But Steve Etcher with the Greater Montgomery County Economic Development Council countered that the Amazon project will bring millions in tax revenue and supply construction jobs.

Do you think some Montgomery County residents are right to have concerns? Let us know by voting in the poll.

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Olivia Hayes

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The University of Missouri Faculty Council is still considering changes to the upcoming academic calendar.

The council is considering two proposals that would allow for scheduling flexibility with Veterans Day now considered a paid holiday for UM employees. The proposals would also give more room between the end of the fall semester and winter holidays.

It was revealed in October that MU’s fall semester next school year could lose its “Reading Day” — also known as “Stop Day” by students and alumni — to make up classroom hours lost from Veterans Day falling on a Wednesday. This year was the first year Veterans Day was a holiday for university workers.

The university is required to have 29 academic days scheduled for Tuesday/Thursday classes and 43 for Monday, Wednesday and Friday classes, according to previous reporting.

One proposal would allow for the last day of classes and final exam schedules to be set by each campus within the UM system. It also establishes a 15-week semester with one hour of faculty instruction per week, per credit hour.

If approved and implemented, this change would take effect in the fall 2026 semester.

Concerns amongst council members arose during Thursday’s meeting. Some asked for more clarifying language in the proposal around the time length of classes.

“An hour can’t be right because we have 150 minutes of instruction,” one council member said. “So you have 75/75 (minutes of class time) or 50/50/50 so that is an edit that absolutely needs to be made.”

Other council members also asked for more clarity around online courses.

The second proposal would set the school year to begin the third Monday of August beginning in the fall 2027 semester.

“That will help us have a slightly earlier semester and earlier end of the semester. So we don’t have grades being due right before Christmas,” Faculty Council Chair Carolyn Orbann said.

That proposal was initially suggested to take effect in 2026, but it was delayed by a year to avoid any impact to Winter 2026 graduation plans already in place.

The faculty council will vote on whether to approve either proposal at its Dec. 18 meeting, all faculty councils across all four UM campuses have to approve the same language. From there, the proposal will go to the desk of the chancellor and university’s president. Once signed off, it will then go to the Board of Curators to be voted on.

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Mitchell Kaminski

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

On Wednesday, the Columbia Fire Department was dispatched roughly 30 miles to Auxvasse after a mutual aid request for the department’s Hazardous Materials team. 

According to Matt Walton of the North Callaway Fire Protection District, a homeowner on the 2000 block of Route E had picked up an order from a retail store, but when they returned home, they found that the bags were melting. 

The Columbia Fire Department added that a wet substance melted material on a coat, caused skin irritation and left a countertop discolored after contact with cleaning products. Walton said the homeowner did not have any materials that would have contained the chemical, and it was believed to have come from another order placed in the same bin earlier or a bin next to their order. 

That material turned out to be sulfuric acid, prompting Callaway County to request assistance from CFD. Six members of the department, including a battalion chief and four certified HAZMAT technicians, responded to the scene and returned two hours later. 

CFD firefighters collected a sample from the car that had been carrying the grocery bags and identified the substance as a 25% sulfuric acid solution. Team members decontaminated the cargo mat and affected areas of the vehicle, while North Callaway disposed of the bags and coat.

“It wasn’t a full deployment of our HAZMAT team, but it was more of a short team. Firefighters that had knowledge, skills, and abilities, and we had the technology to go out and determine what the agent was,  make sure that it wasn’t anything that could have long-term impacts to the person that was contaminated with the agent,” CFD Chief Brian Schaffer said. “The investigation is being handled by the Callaway County authorities.” 

The incident highlighted one of the seven mutual-aid agreements the Columbia Fire Department has in the area, which includes Boonville, Moberly, Fulton, Jefferson City and Centralia fire departments, as well as Mexico Department of Public Safety and the Southern Boone County Fire Protection District. 

While no money is exchanged for the services, Schaffer said the signed agreements help create a playbook that outlines the incident command and rules each agency has to follow. However, the Columbia Fire Department can still bill other agencies for materials used in hazardous-material responses. 

The agreements are considered standard practice, an administrative measure that solidifies that departments can assist neighboring cities when needed and do not require yearly renewal.

“We keep it open so it eliminates the influence of bureaucracy and politics. It’s signed until one of the agencies wants to pull out and does the notification, it continues on into perpetuity, and that just prevents politics from entering,” Schaffer said. “Where we do see changes is in the operations plan in terms of what we call things and what resources we have. We are adding two boats to our fleet in the coming months. That’s going to be something we’ll communicate to our mutual aid partners.” 

While Columbia does not have a formal mutual-aid agreement with North Callaway County, a department spokesperson said it will provide assistance whenever possible, particularly for specialized incidents.

“We exist on an island. We’re in Mid-Missouri. We are the largest department, we have 100% career (firefighters), we have the resources to mitigate all risks, but anybody can have a bad day,” Schaffer told ABC 17 News. “So what we want to do is make sure that all of the ancillary communities or the communities that touch that we work with have that same level of response when they are having a bad day. A lot of the people that work and shop and participate in Columbia activities live in the suburbs and farther out, so it’s good practice.” 

Schaffer added CFD benefits from the agreements when they are “having a bad day,” giving the department an extra layer of protection. 

“We will call Jefferson City and Boonville, and Fulton to come in and help us,” Schaffer said. “It doesn’t happen very often, but that doesn’t mean it won’t.” 

The department also has a statewide mutual aid agreement that Schaffer says adds a third layer of protection, used for large scenes such as a train derailment. The statewide agreement is also useful if there is an incident that Columbia doesn’t think it can handle. The Columbia Fire Department believes that these types of small mutual aid agreements help prepare them for larger-scale emergencies they might encounter. 

“It just gets some of the challenges we may discover when we mobilize resources worked out so that everything works at 3 o’clock in the morning when you have a bad day,” Schaffer said. “We are a community fire department that recognizes the importance of being a part of Mid-Missouri. And that means taking the friendliness and the cooperation and the collaboration that we enjoy here as a greater mid-Missouri and put that in fire department speak. We talk about it, we do it, and that’s the way that we’re moving forward.”

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