AUBURN, Neb. (AP) – Family and friends of missing 19-year-old  Peru State College student Ty Thomas are renewing their efforts to find her body. Thomas, of Bellevue, was last seen in early December. Investigators had focused their efforts on a stretch of the Missouri River near a Peru boat dock, but flooding this summer suspended the search. Authorities suspect Joshua Keadle, a former Peru State student originally from Swansea, S.C., in Thomas’ disappearance. Police have accused him of providing false information and tampering with evidence in the case, but no charges have been filed against him in Thomas case. Keadle has been charged in two separate sexual assaults in Nebraska. Thomas’ family and friends will renew the search for Thomas this weekend.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – A Nebraska man who had been serving a life sentence for kidnapping a teenager who was later killed could be out of prison within a year. Thirty-six-year-old Jeremy Herman was convicted of kidnapping for his role in the 1992 murder of Jeremy Drake. Herman was 17 when he and another teen kidnapped Drake. Herman’s accomplice, Christopher Masters, was convicted of killing Drake. Herman pleaded guilty to kidnapping on the advice of his attorney, who didn’t know that the conviction carried a life sentence. A judge subsequently vacated Herman’s sentence because of the poor legal advice, and Herman was re-sentenced on Wednesday to 39-to-40 years. Herman’s new attorney, Tom Riley, says that because Herman has served 19 years, he’s eligible for parole in six months and mandatory release in a year.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Funeral services are scheduled for a Navy SEAL who grew up in Omaha and was killed during a combat patrol in Afghanistan. Twenty-six-year-old Petty Officer 1st Class Caleb Nelson died on Oct.1. The Department of Defense says his vehicle as hit by an explosive device in Zabul province. His funeral will be on Thursday at 10 a.m. at Christ Community Church in Omaha.
Nelson had been assigned to the Naval Special Warfare Group based in Norfolk, Va., since his graduation from SEAL training in 2006. Nelson is survived by his wife and two sons in Virginia, and his parents, who live in Omaha.

FREMONT, Neb. (AP) – A 27-year-old Fremont woman has been arrested, accused of stealing nearly $10,000 from her employer. Deputy Chief Jeff Elliott says Melissa Eddins faces a charge of felony theft. Elliott says a manager at Cash Spot reported that he’d learned during an audit that the money was missing and was taken over a period of more than six months. A phone listing for Eddins could not be found. Online court records don’t yet list the name of her lawyer.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Lincoln police are looking for a thief who’s stealing charity donation jars from businesses. Police believe three burglaries early Wednesday are related because the culprit took the jars and not the usual burglar’s fare of the cash register. The businesses – Skorohod Service station, a McDonald’s restaurant and a LensCrafters – were hit within three hours of each other. Police say the thief broke glass doors to get inside. In two of the thefts, only the charity jars were taken. Cigarettes were stolen along with the charity jar from the other business.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – An Omaha pastor and his wife have been sentenced to federal prison for conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. A news release from the office of U.S. Attorney Deborah Gilg says 50-year-old Gerald Williams was given three years in prison and three years of supervised release. His wife, Judith Williams, was given a year and a day in prison, plus supervised release after she leaves prison. Both had pleaded guilty. They must make restitution of more than $1.3 million for their mortgage fraud scheme. Williams was pastor of Crossroads Christian Center. Prosecutors say the Williamses had fraudulently obtained mortgages during 2005 and 2006 to buy 10 homes in the Deer Creek subdivision of Omaha. The homes eventually went into foreclosure.