LINCOLN, Neb. – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is seeking information regarding the theft of ladder-style trees stands and lifelines in Lancaster County.

Two Gorilla tree stands and five Hunter Safety System Lifelines were stolen on or about Jan. 20 from private land outside of Lincoln on Northwest 48th Street. The land is used for Nebraska Game and Parks’ Youth Mentored Hunt Program.

Mentors in the program discovered the missing items following the recent close of the deer season. The tree stands are tagged with State of Nebraska and Nebraska Game and Parks markings.

Anyone with information about this theft and potential trespass case can call Nebraska Wildlife Crimestoppers at 1-800-742-7627. Callers can remain anonymous and might be eligible for a cash reward.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — State conservation officials say they have confirmed the presence of the first female mountain lion in Missouri since 1994.

The Missouri Department of Conservation announced Friday that saliva left on a dead elk in Shannon County confirmed a female cat was in the area.

Conservation biologist Laura Conlee says the partially eaten elk was found in February 2016, and evidence confirms the mountain lion killed it.

DNA from the saliva indicated the cat originated from Wyoming, South Dakota and Nebraska.

All previous mountain lions confirmed in Missouri have been males.

Conlee says there is no evidence that Missouri has a breeding mountain lion population.

CARTER LAKE, Iowa (AP) — Western Iowa officials say a Nebraska man was arrested twice in as many days for trying to break into his ex-girlfriend’s home.

58-year-old Joseph Pendley, of Bellevue, Nebraska, was arrested Jan. 17 after Carter Lake police were called about someone trying to break into the home through a window. Officers say they found Pendley hiding in the home’s garage. He was arrested and released after posting $300.

The next day, police were again called to the home when a man reported Pendley had tried to force his way in. Police say they found Pendley hiding in the garage next door and that he had a baseball bat.

He remained jailed Saturday. His attorney did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A 61-year-old Omaha man convicted of killing another man has been sentenced to life in prison.

James Cotton was sentenced Thursday after giving a rambling statement in which he criticized the judge and accused police of violating his rights.

Prosecutors say Cotton shot and killed 24-year-old Trevor Bare during an argument outside Bare’s apartment in 2015.

Cotton’s attorney was criticized during the trial for temporarily hiring a witness in the case. Cotton told the judge at the time that he wanted to continue with the trial, despite what could be seen as ethical violations by his attorney.

His attorney, Travis Penn, said he had researched ethics rules and didn’t see that he wouldn’t be allowed to have a business agreement with a witness.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Iowa man who was working for an Omaha street crew when he was hit by a car earlier this week has died.

Officials say 48-year-old Salvatore Fidone III, of Council Bluffs, Iowa, died Friday at Nebraska Medical Center from injuries he suffered when he was hit by a car Monday in southwest Omaha.

Police say Fidone was standing on the driver’s side of a city truck as he and others prepared to fill potholes when a car driven by a 53-year-old Omaha man drifted from a northbound lane and struck him.

No charges in the case have been filed, and the crash remains under police investigation.

JANSEN, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a driver died after his car ran off a highway and into an embankment in southeast Nebraska’s Jefferson County.

The crash was reported a little before 10:30 p.m. Thursday. Beatrice radio station KWBE (https://bit.ly/2jwP0eC) reports that Sheriff Nelson Sorensen says the car was westbound on U.S. Highway 136 when it crashed about two miles southwest of Jansen, ejecting the driver.

The driver was pronounced at the scene. Sorensen identified him as 49-year-old Kent Pfingsten, of Fairbury. Investigators suspect alcohol consumption played a role in the crash.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say the owner of a dog whose carcass was found inside a cage in Lincoln has pleaded no contest and been convicted.

22-year-old Leslie Byron could get probation or up to two years in prison when she’s sentenced in April for animal neglect or abandonment resulting in death.

The kennel and dog carcass were spotted March 1. Byron told investigators that she had trouble finding a place to live that would allow dogs, so she left the Labrador retriever, Diamond, in the kennel in some woods and would visit and feed her.

Byron says she got busy and didn’t visit Diamond for about three weeks and then discovered the dog had died.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A mistrial has been declared in the trial of a man accused of killing his uncle’s girlfriend in Omaha.

The ruling came Thursday in the trial of Kevin Mariscal, who’s charged with first-degree murder in the July 2010 slaying of 50-year-old Barbara Gonzales. Investigators have said Mariscal was upset with Gonzales, blaming her for his car being towed.

Judge Thomas Otepka made the mistrial ruling after it was learned that an Omaha police detective hadn’t turned over several phone records to the defense.

A new trial date hasn’t been set. Mariscal already is serving prison time for an unrelated kidnapping conviction in Sarpy County.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A judge says a Nebraska woman must pay back $260,000 she took from her former employer in Iowa.

Beth Beutler, of Waterloo, Nebraska, was sentenced Tuesday after pleading guilty to charges of theft and ongoing criminal activity. Several other counts were dropped in exchange for her pleas. She was given a suspended prison sentence of 25 years, a jail sentence of 60 days and five years of probation.

Police say Beutler used a checking machine to withdraw thousands of dollars. The machine lets truck drivers access funds from across the country by giving clerks at truck stops an authorization code to pay for fuel, services or get cash.

Police say Beutler got the authorization codes while working at McMullen Brothers Trucking in Carter Lake.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Iowa woman charged with first-degree murder for what police say was the killing of a romantic rival has pleaded not guilty.

A judge on Thursday also granted 41-year-old Shanna Golyar’s request for a bench trial, set to begin May 10.

Golyar, Persia, Iowa, is charged in the 2012 disappearance-turned-homicide case of 37-year-old Cari Farver. Golyar was arrested in December of 2016 in connection to Farver’s disappearance, who was last seen in Omaha.

Police say Golyar posed as Farver online and by phone for years after Farver’s disappearance, and also posed as other people confessing to having murdered Farver. A sergeant testified Farver had been dating Golyar’s ex-boyfriend for some weeks when she disappeared.

Farver is presumed dead, although her body has not been found.