Olivia Hayes
MORGAN CO., MO (KMIZ)
The Missouri State Highway Patrol says a man is dead after drowning in Possum Hollow Cove, in Morgan County.
The MSHP drowning report says the man’s kayak overturned onto him. The kayaker never resurfaced and was later recovered by the Mid County Dive Team and identified as a 50-year-old man from Florissant.
This is MSHP Troop F’s first drowning for the month of July and the third of the year for 2025.
Olivia Hayes
CAMDEN COUNTY, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Missouri State Highway Patrol says a man is dead after drowning in the Niangua River at the Lake of the Ozarks.
The MSHP Drowning Report says that the victim, a 46 year old man from Deepwater, MO went under and never resurfaced as he was attempting to pull other swimmers to shore.
The man was recovered and pronounced dead. MSHP reports do not list the names of the victims.
This is MSHP Troop F’s second drowning for the month of July and fourth for the year of 2025.
Nia Hinson
HOLTS SUMMIT, Mo. (KMIZ)
A man was taken into custody Saturday night after allegedly stealing loaded firearms and running away from law enforcement near Holts Summit.
According to a social media post from the Callaway County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were searching for a burglary suspect near State Road AA and County Road 4008 around 6:30 p.m. Saturday. The suspect allegedly stole loaded firearms and ran away into a wooded area, the post says.
The sheriff’s office said the person they were looking for is Joseph Hughes, who had active felony warrants for weapon offenses.
The sheriff’s office later said Hughes was taken into custody without incident at 6:46 p.m. He allegedly made threats to himself and law enforcement.
Deputies had asked people in the area to lock the doors to their vehicles and homes and report any suspicious behavior.
The Callaway County Sheriff’s Office Special Response Team, sheriff’s office drones, and the Missouri State Highway Patrol all assisted in the search.
Nia Hinson
CAMDEN COUNTY, Mo. (KMIZ)
A burglary suspect from Independence Day weekend was arrested after a more than two-week long search.
According to a press release from the Camden County Sheriff’s Office, Matthew A. Taylor, 39 was arrested Friday after evading law enforcement since Independence Day weekend. The sheriff’s office had asked for the public’s help in finding Taylor for questioning in connection with a burglary investigation on July 3.
On Friday, deputies arrested Taylor in the 38,000 block of Fairview Road in eastern Laclede County.
Taylor is being held on charges oF first-degree burglary, unlawful possession of a firearm, first-degree assault or attempt and armed criminal action.
He was in the Camden County Jail Saturday without bond.
Olivia Hayes
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
The B.R.A.K.E.S. Program, a free teen driver training program, trained nearly 200 new teen drivers in Jefferson City over the weekend with sessions at the Missouri EVOC Training Center.
B.R.A.K.E.S. stands for “Be Responsible and Keep Everyone Safe.” The program was founded in 2008 by Top Fuel Drag Racing Champion Doug Herbert, following a tragic car crash death of his two sons.
Using vehicles provided by Kia Motors, B.R.A.K.E.S. works with teens through extensive behind-the-wheel instruction. Students are taught by professional instructors, including current and former members of law enforcement, professional racers and stunt drivers. B.R.A.K.E.S. says more than 150,000 teens and parents have been trained over the past 17 years.
Exercises focus on the five leading causes of crashes for new drivers: distracted driving awareness, panic braking, crash avoidance, off-road recovery along with car control and skid recovery. Instructors also go over safely sharing the road with big rigs, as well as proper behavior during a traffic stop.
Anna Durrington tells ABC 17 News she drove from Buffalo, Missouri with her son to attend the course.
“When they’re stopping all of a sudden and keeping control of the vehicle, I want him to gain those skills,” Durrington said. “I feel like if he could have it from another instructor, he would do better because he just thinks mom’s nagging at him.”
Through their participation, B.R.A.K.E.S. graduates are 64 percent less likely to be involved in a crash within their first three years of driving, according to an independent study conducted by the University of North Carolina Charlotte. In 2024, B.R.A.K.E.S. trained 16,894 teens and parents.
Paul Gash tells ABC 17 that even though he enrolled his son in the course to learn new skills, he ended up with a new skill of his own to take away.
“I learned something new today about setting or mirrors that I’m going to put into practice every day when I start driving,” Gash said.
The program heads to Michigan next.
Marie Moyer
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A 40-year-old Hermann man was seriously injured on Klott Road .08 miles east of First Creek Road in Gasconade County Friday night according to an MSHP crash report.
The crash happened around 9:20 p.m. when a 1998 Jeep Cherokee was driving East when it failed to make a turn on a curve and drove off the left side of the road, hitting a ditch and landing on its side.
The driver was not wearing a seatbelt and was partially thrown from the vehicle. The car had extensive damages and the man was transported by Hermann EMS to Mercy Hospital.
Matthew Sanders
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The opening ceremony of the Show-Me State Games was held Friday night at Mizzou Arena.
The games bring thousands of amateur athletes of varying ages from across the state to Columbia each year.
Ryan Shiner
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The United Way of Central Missouri is giving a $100,000 grant to The Salvation Army, according to a press release from the United Way.
The funds will be used for the expansion project for the Center of Hope Shelter in Jefferson City.
“This project is part of a larger $6.5 million capital campaign aimed at significantly increasing the shelter’s capacity and services,” the release says. “Planned upgrades include the addition of private family rooms with bathrooms, trauma-informed spaces for children, and a client-choice food pantry.”
Once renovations are complete, it is expected to support more than 100 families each month through its food pantry and wraparound services (including case management, job training, and support for expectant mothers).
The release says the center provided more than 10,000 nights of shelter to 154 people in 2023, and the expansion could offer help for 18,000 nights annually. Construction is set to begin later this year and be completed by the end of 2026, the release says. The money will be awarded during a meeting at noon Tuesday, the release says.
Ryan Shiner
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A man and two juveniles were accused of robbing someone at gunpoint on Thursday in the 500 block of Leroy Street in Boonville.
Trenton Schoen, 18, was charged on Friday with first-degree robbery, armed criminal action and illegally having a weapon. He is being held at the Cooper County Jail on a $200,000 bond. A court date has not been scheduled.
The probable cause statement says that the victim was invited over to another teenager’s home on Leroy Street after they sent a Snapchat message showing they made $400 from his paycheck. Once he arrived to the house, Schoen and two juveniles allegedly pulled out gun and told him to empty his pockets, which included taking the money, a vape and his cellphone, the statement says.
The three eventually gave back the phone and vape, but kept the money, the statement says. The victim left the house after the three threatened to kill him, court documents say. All three people were detained during a traffic stop and police found loaded guns in the vehicle, the statement says. One of the juveniles allegedly admitted to having guns used in the robbery in his bedroom, the statement says.
Schoen allegedly denied pointing a gun at the victim or taking his money, the statement says.
Ryan Shiner
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A Jefferson City man who was accused of sexually assaulting a child pleaded guilty to a felony earlier this week.
Bryan Klempke pleaded guilty on Monday to second-degree sexual abuse and was sentenced to five years of parole. He was originally charged with first-degree sexual abuse and incest.
Court documents in previous reporting say that police were called on Feb. 28, 2024, for a report of two incidents regarding Klempke, one being sexual abuse and the other was an allegation of domestic abuse.
Court documents stated the child victim told Christina Garza they were sexually assaulted on Jan. 1, 2024, but was then threatened by Garza.
Garza was previously a reserve officer for the Jefferson City Police Department. She pleaded guilty in August 2024 to misdemeanor failing to report child abuse and was fined $2,000. She was originally charged with first-degree endangering the welfare of a child and failure of a mandated reporter to report child abuse.
Previous reporting indicates the Callaway County Children’s Division reported to investigators that it received a tip on Feb. 24, 2024, who alleged Garza told them about the abuse. Garza allegedly told that person that they didn’t report the assault because she owed him $30,000, court documents say.
