TILDEN, Neb. (AP) — The Madison County Sheriff’s office is working to identify a body found in a northeast Nebraska field.
Investigator Jon Downey said hunters in the area found the human remains east of Tilden shortly before noon on Sunday. He says the body appears to have been in the field for months.
The body has not been identified but is believed to be a male.
Forensic testing is under way and Downey says there is no reason to suspect foul play at this time.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Omaha school district is changing its hiring process for aspiring principals in an effort to build a more robust group of candidates who can tackle a school’s top job.
Instead of a candidate applying directly for the job he or she wants, they will apply to a principal pool. Candidates will then be interviewed and vetted before being considered for a principal position at a specific school.
A committee of district principals, teachers and administrators has drawn up specific job requirements and skills that candidates should be able to demonstrate to prove they’re ready to lead a school.
Omaha Public Schools anticipates that about 10 principals will leave their jobs or retire at the end of this school year.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A woman who authorities say was bitten by a tiger while trespassing at the Omaha zoo has been arrested in another case and accused of trying to bite an officer.
A police report says Jacqueline Eide (eyed) tried to bite the officer as Eide was being booked into custody Saturday afternoon. Police say she was arrested on suspicion of disorderly conduct and having an open liquor container in a public place.
Jail records say the 33-year-old remained in custody Monday. Her attorney in the zoo case didn’t immediately return a call from The Associated Press.
In November Eide was treated for finger injuries after trying to pet the tiger. Her attorney has said Eide has made a deal with prosecutors and will make the plea at an April 4 hearing.
BEATRICE, Neb. (AP) — Volunteers are wanted to help count deer at the Homestead National Monument in southeast Nebraska.
The annual count will be held on Saturday, starting at 9:30 a.m. No experience is needed to help.
Some of the volunteers will walk about three-quarters of a mile through tallgrass prairie. Others will be stationed at points along the boundaries of the monument to count deer as they leave the area.
Officials encourage volunteers to wear long pants, a long-sleeved shirt, good walking shoes and an appropriate coat.
The monument sits four miles west of Beatrice, along Nebraska Highway 4.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a man has been hospitalized for smoke inhalation after an Omaha fire that displaced at least 15 people.
The fire was reported a little before 11:30 a.m. Sunday in the basement of a house in eastern Omaha. Fire officials say the house has been converted into three or four apartments that were homes to at least five adults and 10 children. The American Red Cross was called in to help the occupants.
Paramedics say the man’s injuries were not considered life-threatening.
The fire cause is being investigated.
SCHUYLER, Neb. (AP) — A 40-year-old Texas man has been killed by a train in the eastern Nebraska city of Schuyler.
The Colfax County Attorney’s Office says Zane Smith, of Pharr, Texas, died around 9 p.m. Saturday when he stepped onto the tracks at a crossing as the train approached. Smith was pronounced dead at the scene. He had been living in Schuyler.
An autopsy was scheduled.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Authorities in Puerto Rico say a tourist from Nebraska has been killed during a hit-and-run accident on one of the island’s main highways.
Police said Friday that 43-year-old Justin Zakrzewski was walking before dawn on Friday when he was struck and killed by a vehicle operated by an unidentified driver. Police closed the Baldorioty de Castro highway in the capital of San Juan for a few hours after the accident.
Police said they did not have the victim’s hometown. They said they are investigating whether he was staying at a hotel near where the hit-and-run accident occurred.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Douglas County’s top prosecutor say a lack of communication among government agencies allowed a 19-year-old man charged with motor vehicle homicide to flee justice.
A week after the Jan. 29 crash on an Omaha street, Eswin Mejia posted $5,000 bail to be freed. Authorities say he then skipped a urine test, and officials now can’t find him.
A review of the case by the Omaha World-Herald shows Mejia — a Honduras national — was found to be a low risk to flee despite having twice failed to appear in court for other offenses. Federal immigration authorities declined to detain Mejia.
Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine criticized the case’s handling, saying “there has to be a common-sense communication between the feds and the state.”
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A Waterloo, Nebraska woman has been charged in Iowa with stealing between $22,000 and $222,000.
44-year-old Beth Beutler (BITE-ler) was arrested Friday morning in western Iowa and charged with 38 counts of forgery. Authorities say she also faces charges of theft and ongoing criminal activity.
Police say Beutler used a checking machine to withdraw thousands of dollars. The machine allows truck drivers to access funds from across the country by giving a clerk at a truck stop an authorization code to pay for fuel, service or get cash.
Police say Beutler got the authorization codes from McMullen Brothers Trucking in Carter Lake, where her husband works, and used them at Pilot Travel Center in Council Bluffs.
DATELINE (AP) — A 21-year-old Lincoln man has been sentenced to nearly two years in jail for impersonating a police officer.
Al Williams Jr. was sentenced Friday after being found guilty in December of two counts of impersonating an officer, attempting to obstruct police and disturbing the peace — all misdemeanors. Online court records show he was sentenced to 21 months.
Authorities say Williams pulled over or tried to pull over several drivers last year. One victim included a woman he stopped, ordered out of her car and forced her to get on her knees while her 6-year-old child was in the car.
Police say he tried to avoid arrest and was hiding on an elderly couple’s porch when officers found him.
