Missouri State Highway Patrol

Springfield, MO - Captain Juan Villanueva, commanding officer of Troop D, announces boating safety certification courses are being offered to the public at the following locations: Saturday, April 13, 2013-- Cassville High School, 1501 North Main, Cassville, MO 65625; from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Maximum class size is 40. Saturday, April 20, 2013-- Missouri State Highway Patrol-Troop D Headquarters, 3131 East Kearney Street, Springfield, MO...

COLUMBIA, Mo. - Col. Ron Replogle, superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, congratulates the 32 employees honored at the Patrol's annual awards and The MASTERS banquet last Saturday at the Holiday Inn Executive Center.  Family, friends, and The MASTERS members gathered to honor the heroes of 2011. Here are the awards and descriptions: Memorial Award Trooper Frederick F. "Fred" Guthrie Jr., Troop A On August 1, 2011, Guthrie and his patrol dog Reed were assigned to the Missouri River flood duty.

HOUSTON, Mo. -- The Texas County prosecuting attorney charged a man from Winona for the murders of two men whose bodies were found near their burned home on Wednesday night.  Jonathan Foster, 24, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of armed criminal action, and two counts of shooting a firearm from a vehicle. The victims were James Winton, 37, and a 42-year-old man identified by the Houston Herald as Doug Dearman, whose name was not released on Friday because his relatives were not yet notified.   Their bodies were found outside a home that burned on Curran Road near the community of Clear Springs, a rural area between Houston and Mountain View.  Firefighters got a call about a fire at the home about 9:15 p.m. Wednesday.  Firefighters found the body of the 42-year-old man "a short distance from the house across a barbed wire fence," according to a news release from the Texas County Sheriff's Department.   Winton's body was found a short time later just outside the home.

LEBANON, Mo. - The Missouri State Highway Patrol announced the arrests of more than a dozen Laclede County residents as they wrapped up a two-year investigation into a narcotics ring Thursday. The Highway Patrol says state troopers, members of the Lake Area Narcotic Enforcement Group and Laclede County Sheriff's Department investigated 34 people in and around Laclede County and obtained warrants for them. The investigations centered on possession, distribution and sale of several drugs, including methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, marijuana and prescription medication.

LEBANON, Mo.-- A 25 year old Lebanon woman died Friday night as the result of a one vehicle accident.  Tosha Odien was killed when the 1998 Ford F150 pickup she was driving ran off the right side of the roadway and overturned. The accident happened on Highway MM seven miles east of Lebanon.  The Missouri State Highway Patrol says Odien was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected.  She was pronounced dead at the scene.

TANEY COUNTY, Mo. - A man who led officers from several law enforcement agencies on a chase south of Springfield Tuesday night has not been captured. The chase began at roughly 9 p.m. in Ozark County. The Missouri State Highway Patrol says the chase headed west into Taney County, then south on U.S. Highway 65 toward the Arkansas state line. Missouri officers called for help, but no authorities were available to continue the chase in Arkansas. Once the driver entered Arkansas, Missouri agencies stopped the chase.

WAYNESVILLE, Mo. -- On a winter's night in late January 2010, Rhonda West was run over and killed near her hometown of Waynesville.  She died on Missouri 17.   On Thursday, West's daughter, Renee West, sued the top brass in Waynesville's Police Department.  The lengthy document accuses them of a cover-up and hiding evidence from loved ones about the hit-and-run crash. The lawsuit claims Waynesville Police Officer Gary Don Brankel struck and killed Rhonda West as he purportedly raced to the scene of a burglary.  Brankal is called a 'prime suspect' in the allegations.  It also states Waynesville's dogcatcher knew what really happened.

SALEM, Mo. -- A woman died after a fiery crash on Saturday morning.  According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Joy King's car was westbound at a high rate of speed on Missouri 32.  A mile west of Salem, just before 10 a.m., her vehicle went off the road, hit a curb, and then hit a parked semi-trailer in a parking lot.  Her vehicle then caught fire.      King, 50, died at the scene.  The Missouri State Highway Patrol report says she was wearing her seatbelt.

TANEY COUNTY, Mo. - A Kansas man drowned in Lake Taneycomo Wednesday, the Missouri State Highway Patrol reports. Robert J. Rossman, 66, of Princeton, Kan., was fishing near mile marker 22 on Lake Taneycomo Wednesday afternoon when he stumbled and fell into the water. The Missouri State Highway Patrol in an incident report said Rossman's son and a bystander pulled him from the lake. Taney County Coroner Lewis Chapman pronounced Rossman dead at 1:10 p.m. Authorities have scheduled an autopsy.

Springfield, MO - Captain Juan Villanueva, commanding officer of Troop D, Springfield, announces the results of an enforcement saturation conducted on July 14, 2012, on and around the Niangua River, in Dallas and Laclede counties. Members of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, along with officers of the Missouri Department of Conservation, made the following enforcement contacts: 2--felony drug arrests 3--misdemeanor drug violations 8--minor in possession violations 1--supplying alcohol to a minor violation 1--all-terrain motor vehicle summons 1--misdemeanor warrant arrest 12--non-moving summonses "The Missouri State Highway Patrol continues to ensure that Missouri's waterways are safe and enjoyable to the public.

PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. - A Laquey woman died in a crash two miles south of Dixon Tuesday morning, the Missouri State Highway Patrol reported. Troopers say Alexandra N. Harris, 19, of Laquey, was killed as a 1986 Honda passenger car she was driving left Highway, struck a tree after going into a ditch and burst into flames. The car caught fire with Harris inside, troopers said. She was pronounced dead at 8:40 a.m., some 40 minutes after the crash occurred. No one else was involved in the crash, according to the patrol's crash report.

WAYNESVILLE, Mo. -- On a winter's night in late January 2010, Rhonda West was run over and killed near her hometown of Waynesville.  She died on Missouri 17.   On Thursday, West's daughter, Renee West, sued the top brass in Waynesville's Police Department.  The lengthy document accuses them of a cover-up and hiding evidence from loved ones about the hit-and-run crash. The lawsuit claims Waynesville Police Officer Gary Don Brankel struck and killed Rhonda West as he purportedly raced to the scene of a burglary.  Brankal is called a 'prime suspect' in the allegations.  It also states Waynesville's dogcatcher knew what really happened.

SALEM, Mo. -- A woman died after a fiery crash on Saturday morning.  According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Joy King's car was westbound at a high rate of speed on Missouri 32.  A mile west of Salem, just before 10 a.m., her vehicle went off the road, hit a curb, and then hit a parked semi-trailer in a parking lot.  Her vehicle then caught fire.      King, 50, died at the scene.  The Missouri State Highway Patrol report says she was wearing her seatbelt.

STRAFFORD, Mo. -- One person died and another is seriously hurt after a vehicle flipped several times near Strafford on Farm Road 132 near Missouri 125. Troopers say a westbound 2012 Kia Rio driven by Matthew Hogue, 20, of Springfield, crested at the top of a hill and lost control, flipping several times. The crash was about 1:30 a.m. Monday. Kendi Highland, 29, of Springfield, died at the scene.  Another passenger was taken by ambulance to a hospital in Springfield with serious injuries.  Hogue also was taken to a hospital; his injuries are described as minor.

SPRINGFIELD -- Several hundred motorcycle riders on Sunday hit the streets for the sixth annual Motorcycle Safety Awareness ride.      The 75-mile journey left from southwest Springfield to tour several surrounding towns including Republic, Strafford, and Nixa.      The month of May is Motorcycle Safety Month.     As the weather warms up, more motorcycle riders are on the streets; hey want to make sure that other drivers are aware of their presence. Motorcycles may look farther away than they really are because of their smaller size, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

CLIMAX SPRINGS, Mo. -- A Climax Springs School District bus carrying seven students to school slid off a road and came to rest on its side against a tree in northwest Camden County.   The accident happened Friday morning off Highway FF. "There was nothing reported when the busses rolled out, folks that came in and reported to work at 6 said their commute in was fine, people that left around 6:30 or so after our busses were already on road stated...

POLK COUNTY, Mo.  -- A single car crash near Pleasant Hope on Sunday evening injured one person and stopped traffic for about an hour. A Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper told Ky3 News that the car swerved off the side of the road, hit a ditch, went airborne, and struck several trees.      The driver was air-lifted to a hospital; he is listed in serious condition. Authorities said they do not believe he was wearing a seat-belt.     

WAYNESVILLE, Mo. -- A county-wide manhunt continues in Pulaski County on Friday for a fugitive.  The search began early Thursday evening and continued during the night.  Chad Lange, 38, is wanted for numerous felony charges, including auto theft and burglary. Law enforcement officials initially began searching for Lange after he was suspected of numerous car thefts and burglaries in the Dixon area over the past week.  The Dixon Police Department, the Pulaski County Sheriff's Department and other law enforcement agencies have been actively seeking Lange since warrants were issued for his arrest.

LEBANON, Mo. - The Missouri State Highway Patrol announced the arrests of more than a dozen Laclede County residents as they wrapped up a two-year investigation into a narcotics ring Thursday. The Highway Patrol says state troopers, members of the Lake Area Narcotic Enforcement Group and Laclede County Sheriff's Department investigated 34 people in and around Laclede County and obtained warrants for them. The investigations centered on possession, distribution and sale of several drugs, including methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, marijuana and prescription medication.

HOUSTON, Mo. -- The Texas County prosecuting attorney charged a man from Winona for the murders of two men whose bodies were found near their burned home on Wednesday night.  Jonathan Foster, 24, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of armed criminal action, and two counts of shooting a firearm from a vehicle. The victims were James Winton, 37, and a 42-year-old man identified by the Houston Herald as Doug Dearman, whose name was not released on Friday because his relatives were not yet notified.   Their bodies were found outside a home that burned on Curran Road near the community of Clear Springs, a rural area between Houston and Mountain View.  Firefighters got a call about a fire at the home about 9:15 p.m. Wednesday.  Firefighters found the body of the 42-year-old man "a short distance from the house across a barbed wire fence," according to a news release from the Texas County Sheriff's Department.   Winton's body was found a short time later just outside the home.