Body in trailer ruled homicide
LADDONIA, Mo. - The death of a man whose body was found in a tractor-trailer in eastern Missouri has been ruled a homicide.
The Audrain County sheriff’s office said Monday that the determination was made during an autopsy Saturday. A sheriff’s office news release identified the victim as James William Boyd McNeely, 20, of Ohio, but did not provide his hometown.
Chester Harvey Jr., a 38-year-old trucker from Laddonia and son Chad Michael Harvey, 19, of Eolia, Mo., are charged with abandonment of a corpse. Chester Harvey also faces one count of kidnapping after a day-long hostage standoff Wednesday involving his wife and several children.
Court records state that Chester Harvey told a tipster that he killed a man he had picked up in California.
- THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Woman in flood
remains missing
POWE, Mo. - Searchers in southeast Missouri continue to look for a 39-year-old woman who was pulled underwater after her car slid into a ditch during a Christmas Eve storm.
The Southeast Missourian reported that Shirley Stratton of Bernie, Mo., was driving on Route U near Powe on Thursday morning when her car hydroplaned into a ditch. The Missouri State Highway Patrol said two men stopped to help, but Stratton was pulled under by the heavy current caused by more than 3 inches of rain that fell that day.
Trooper Richard Owens said the search has shifted upstream to where the ditch empties into the St. Francis River.
- THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tulsa hits record
for bank heists
TULSA - Police said 29 bank robberies have been committed this year, the most in Tulsa since the department began keeping records.
Sgt. Dave Walker, head of the robbery unit, said he doesn’t believe the economy played a role in the rise.
There were nine bank robberies in January alone, after which the Oklahoma Bankers Association organized a seminar. Walker said he thinks that helped curb the initial spike in robberies by making bank employees more aware of security measures.
He said 11 of the robberies remain under investigation and that police and FBI agents likely will eventually identify and capture the robbers with the aid of images from surveillance cameras.
- THE ASSOCIATED PRESSMan is shot, dies stealing truck
ST. LOUIS - A man died Sunday after being shot by the owner of a vehicle police said he was attempting to steal.
The shooting of 18-yearold Charles Kemp happened Sunday morning.
The 31-year-old owner ofthe pickup started the vehicle, then went back inside and left it running. Police said Kemp got in it and began to drive away.
The owner came out of the home and fired several shots. Kemp was taken to a hospital, where he died.
The truck’s owner was arrested because of outstanding warrants, and authorities have not yet determined whether he will face charges in Kemp’s death.
The name of the truck owner was not released.
- THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Man gets lungs for Christmas
JOPLIN, Mo. - Curtis Almeter was only half joking when he said he wanted a new pair of lungs for Christmas.
The 26-year-old Anderson native and recent Crowder College graduate was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis as a newborn. His health declined rapidly this year, and he was placed on the national transplant list in November.
“It’s ironic that I ended up getting the call [on Christmas Eve],” he said.
His transplant coordinator called at 4:30 a.m.
Thursday to tell him a compatible set of lungs had been found and would be taken to Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis from Kansas City.
A genetic disease, cystic fibrosis causes the airways to be clogged by thick mucus buildups. Repeated bouts of infection cause scar tissue to build up in the lungs.
All his life, Almeter has been on digestive enzymes, and he began receiving regular breathing treatments at age 12. With his lungs beginning to fail, doctors had him on oxygen. He has been in the hospital several times this year, more than once for a collapsed lung.
He and his mother, Karen, moved to St. Louis when he went active on the transplant list. They were told that a call notifying him that a suitable donor had been found could come the next day - or even a year later. In the end, his wait lasted a little more than a month.
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 12 on 12/29/2009