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(UPDATED) North Carolina Authorities Work to Recover Two Children Buried by Dirt

children-buried

UPDATE:

Authorities are investigating the collapse of a deep pit that buried two young cousins at a home construction site in North Carolina.

The bodies of 6-year-old Chloe Jade Arwood and 7-year-old James Levi Caldwell were pulled Monday from a 24-foot-deep pit in the town of Stanley, outside of Charlotte.

Crews had been searching for the children since Sunday afternoon, when the girl’s father Jordan Arwood called 911 to report the collapse. Officials were on the scene within minutes but couldn’t get to the children.

Lincoln County Sheriff David Carpenter says investigators are following up on reports from neighbors that the father was digging the two-story-deep pit for some type of protective bunker.

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(AP) — Authorities are still searching for the bodies of two children who were trapped when dirt fell on them while playing in a hole at a home construction site near Charlotte.

Lincoln County Emergency Management officials say a father of one of the children called 911 Sunday afternoon. The Charlotte Observer reported that Jordan Caldwell told operators he saw the dirt collapse on the 6-year-old girl and 7-year-old boy.

Officials say crews were on the scene within minutes but couldn’t get to the children, who were trapped about 20 feet below a new home that was under construction.

Neighbors told the newspaper a man building the home had been digging with a backhoe earlier in the day.

Authorities said late Sunday they didn’t expect to find the children alive.

13-Year Old Nebraska Girl Critically Injured in ATV Accident

branced-oak-lakeA 13-year-old Nebraska girl was critically hurt this weekend when her hair got caught in the engine of the ATV she was driving.

Lancaster County Sheriff’s Sgt. Derek Horalek says Emma Kringle was hurt Saturday afternoon in the accident near Branched Oak Lake, which is near Malcolm.

She remained in critical condition Sunday in a Lincoln hospital.

Authorities say Kringle was driving the three-wheeled ATV when her ponytail became entangled in the engine’s moving parts. That caused her to crash.

Omaha Doctor Charged with First-Degree Sexual Assault

Dr. Nosrat Massih
Dr. Nosrat Massih

An Omaha doctor has been charged with first-degree sexual assault and witness tampering after a woman says the 83-year-old man forcibly performed oral sex on her.

The 26-year-old woman told police Nosrat Massih invited her to his Omaha condo to look it over, then removed her clothes and forced himself on her. She told police Massih had been drinking.

Massih was charged Wednesday and posted 10 percent of a $20,000 bail to be released from jail. Online court records do not show that Massih has a lawyer. Massih could not be reached Saturday for comment.

His preliminary hearing on the charges has been set for April 29 in Douglas County Court.

Omaha Police Investigate Fatal Shooting of 23-Year-Old

omaha-policePolice are investigating a fatal shooting at an apartment complex in central Omaha.

Omaha police were called to the apartments near 83rd Street and Underwood Avenue on Saturday afternoon.

The officers found a Jer’ray Moore lying in front of the building with a gunshot wound.

The 23-year-old Moore died later at Alegent-Creighton Medical Center.

‘Purpose Driven Life’ Author’s Son Commits Suicide

Matthew Warren
Matthew Warren

The Southern California church headed by popular evangelical Pastor Rick Warren says his 27-year-old son has committed suicide.

Warren’s Saddleback Valley Community Church in Lake Forest, Calif., says in a statement Saturday that Matthew Warren had struggled with mental illness and deep depression.

Warren is the author of “The Purpose Driven Life.” In 2008, his church sponsored a presidential forum with Barack Obama and Republican John McCain. Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney had been invited to a similar forum last fall, but Warren canceled it, saying the campaign had become too uncivil.

Saddleback’s website says that about 20,000 people attend weekend services at the church near Los Angeles.

Man Falls 60 Feet to His Death During Colorado Rock Climb

rock-climbing-accident(AP) — Authorities say a 62-year-old man was killed after falling 60 feet in a rock climbing accident in Colorado.

Karlyn Tilley, a spokeswoman for the Golden Fire Department, said the man was climbing with his two adult children while using technical gear at a popular cliff about 20 miles west of Denver. She says he fell at about 1 p.m. Saturday.

About a dozen climbers who were nearby helped with the rescue and brought the man off the mountain within an hour of the fall.

Tilley says the man was unresponsive and not breathing when paramedics arrived.

Lincoln Man Charged with Bugging His Mother’s Phone

Richard Stamler
Richard Stamler

Police have arrested a 59-year-old Lincoln man, saying they suspect him of bugging his 90-year-old mother’s phone.

Richard Stamler was arrested Thursday night on suspicion of unlawful interception of communications.

Police spokeswoman, Officer Katie Flood, says the man’s sister called police on March 28 to report that she had found a recording device connected to her mother’s phone line and recognized her brother’s voice recorded on the device.

Police say a letter written by the man to his sister demands documentation of his mother’s savings and threatens the sister with legal repercussions if she stands between him and his mother.

Misconduct Charge Filed Against G.I. Mayor Jay Vavricek

Grand Island Mayor Jay Vavricek
Grand Island Mayor Jay Vavricek

A misconduct charge has been filed against Grand Island Mayor Jay Vavricek, who was recently arrested on suspicion of drunken driving in nearby Howard County.

Councilman Mike Paulick filed the charge Friday with City Attorney Bob Sivick.

The misconduct charge cites Vavricek’s drunken driving arrest on March 2. He pleaded no contest to reckless driving and was fined $500.

Paulick says he brought the charge at the urging of constituents.

The misconduct charge will be forwarded to the full Grand Island City Council for a vote Tuesday. If approved by the council, a hearing to unseat the mayor is expected April 19.

Vavricek could not be reached for comment on Saturday.

Vavricek is also the owner of Hometown Family Radio, which operates three radio stations in North Platte.

Lincoln Man Charged in Stabbing of Family Member Gets Probation

Todd Zellers
Todd Zellers

A Lincoln man charged in the stabbing of a family member over an argument about music has been given probation.

A judge sentenced 47-year-old Todd Zellers Friday in Lancaster County. The sentence includes 60 days in jail at the end of two years of probation, unless it is waived. Zellers also has been fined $500.

Police say Zellers stabbed the man in the crotch with a butcher knife last August. They had been arguing about music in Zellers’ apartment.

Zellers pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of third-degree assault.

Court documents say Zellers’ family member was taken to a local hospital and doctors used multiple staples to close the wound.

Illinois Mom Gets 50 Years for Leaving Her Newborn to Freeze to Death

Katie Stockton
Katie Stockton

A northern Illinois woman has been sentenced to 50 years in prison for leaving her newborn daughter to freeze to death in 2004.

Winnebago County Judge John Truitt on Friday handed down the sentence to 32-year-old Katie Stockton. The infant became known as Baby Crystal around the Rock River Valley after her frozen remains were found.

Truitt allowed testimony about skeletal remains of two other infants found years later in the trunk of Stockton’s car.

That testimony wouldn’t have been allowed at trial. Stockton in February pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the infant’s death.

Stockton hid her pregnancy and gave birth to the baby in secret in December 2004, then stuffed her into a shopping bag and left her along a roadway.

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