Latest news with #MohaveCountySheriff'sOffice
USA Today
3 days ago
- USA Today
A nurse was last heard from in 1986. Now, her remains have been identified.
Remains found at Lake Mead in Arizona have been identified as a California nurse last heard from 39 years ago. The remains were identified as Carol Ann Riley, who was 42 when she disappeared in April 1986. She was reported missing out of San Diego County, California, and the unidentified remains were found just over a year later, according to officials in Mohave County, Arizona. Here's how the most recent development in Riley's case came about after a 39-year search. Missing woman had a date with man linked to multiple disappearances Riley was a nurse who worked at the Scripps Clinic in San Diego, the Mohave County Sheriff's Office said in a news release. Around that time, she was dating a man she knew as Robert Howard Smith. She was supposed to go on a dinner date with him in April 1986 and told friends she was going to end the relationship. Investigators interviewed Smith, who said Riley canceled their date, the sheriff's office said. Two days later, Smith left town and 'dropped out of sight,' investigators said. Detectives investigating Smith later found out his real name was Robert Dean Weeks, and he had a history of going by fake names. He was also linked to multiple disappearances, including: None of their bodies have been found. According to the Mohave County Sheriff's office, television show 'Unsolved Mysteries' aired an episode involving Weeks in April 1987. Around the same time, a warrant had been issued for his arrest due to fraud and embezzlement charges from his business. Viewers called in tips, and Weeks was located and arrested in Tucson, Arizona, the sheriff's office said. He was convicted for the murder of his wife, as well as Jabour. He was sentenced to life in prison in Nevada, where he died on Sept. 20, 1996. How was Carol Ann Riley identified? On May 16, 1987, just over a year after Riley was last heard from, a person near Bonelli Landing at Lake Mead found a human skull on the ground. Investigators searched the area and found more remains buried in a shallow grave, wrapped in a yellow blanket, the Mohave County Sheriff's Office said. Based on the remains, investigators believed the woman was between 20 and 40 years old, stood between 5-foot-3 and 5-foot-7, weighed about 105 to 120 pounds, and had light brown hair. While investigators were unable to identify the remains, a forensic odontologist completed a dental report and entered it into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUS). In 2011, investigators in Austin, Texas, reached out to Mohave County detectives and said they believed Jane Doe was a missing person from their jurisdiction, but the dental records weren't a match. Mohave County then sent skeletal remains to the University of North Texas, where a DNA profile was obtained and entered into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), the FBI's national DNA database. About 13 years later, investigators with Mohave County wanted to use the DNA extract to conduct a forensic genetic genealogy investigation, but the sample was too degraded. Giving Jane Doe a name In February 2025, Mohave County investigators sent portions of the victim's clothing and the blanket she was wrapped in to an Arizona Department of Public Safety lab to get a DNA sample that could be used for forensic genetic genealogy tracing. This attempt was also unsuccessful, the sheriff's office said. Investigators also learned her skeletal remains were cremated in 2016, and her ashes were scattered in an unknown location. This month, the California Department of Justice's Missing and Unidentified Persons Unit confirmed that a forensic odontologist and staff compared dental records for Jane Doe and Riley, who was reported missing over 300 miles away in San Diego County. The dental records were a match, the sheriff's office said. Before he died in 1996, Robert Dean Weeks (known to the victim as Robert Howard Smith) was never charged in connection with her murder. He wasn't charged in connection with the murder of Shaw, his missing business partner, either. Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Email her at sdmartin@
India Today
4 days ago
- India Today
Hyderabad-born engineer, another Indian-origin man drown in Colorado River
Two 32-year-old men of Telugu origin, including an engineer, drowned near Topock Gorge in the Colorado River after anchoring their rented pontoon boat and entering the water to cool off, according to US authorities. Neither wore life jackets. The men were underwater for about 20 minutes before divers recovered their drowning victims were identified by the Mohave County Sheriff's Office as Anoop Gankidi of Tempe town and Venkata Mukkaala of Milpitas city, California, a news portal, who was originally from Hyderabad, went to the US several years ago to earn a master's degree in computer engineering at California State University, said his friend Ravideja Vallepalli, according to the nationality of the other individual could not be confirmed; however, reports suggest he was of Telugu was working as a computer engineer in the Phoenix area, according to his friend quoted in the men were part of a group of five people who entered the water to cool off on Sunday, after they anchored the rented boat along the riverbank, reported, citing the Mohave County Sheriff's people slipped underwater and began to struggle, the sheriff's office was quoted as saying in the report. One of them was able to get back to the shallow area. However, Gankidi and Mukkaala did not resurface, the sheriff's office one on board wore a life jacket, Anita Mortensen, spokesperson for the Mohave County Sheriff's Office, person on a different boat had flagged down another vessel and reported that two men had gone underwater and had not resurfaced near a beach area in the Topock from the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department were first to arrive and deployed a diver, who recovered one of the victims, California-based news website Victor Valley News Group measures were performed on both individuals, who were taken to the Colorado River Medical Centre in nearby Needles, California, where they were pronounced dead, according to the sheriff's to officials, the men were underwater for around 20 minutes before divers arrived and found them at a depth of about 12 WAS FOND OF HIKING AND OUTDOOR ADVENTURESGankidi enjoyed spending time hiking and engaging in other outdoor activities, according to his friend Vallepalli."He was definitely a very friendly guy. He was always into travelling and making fun, and he was a very family-oriented person," quoted Vallepalli as further investigation into the drowning incident is still EndsMust Watch
The Hindu
6 days ago
- The Hindu
Two Indian-origin men drown in Colorado river
A late Sunday evening outing on August 3, 2025 in a waterbody turned fatal for two of the five picnickers in the scenic Topock Gorge of the Colorado river. 'The victims have been identified as Anoop Gankidi, 32 of Tempe, Arizona, and Venkata Mukkaala, 32 of Milpitas, California,' according to a statement released by Mohave County Sheriff's Office. The Indian-origin men had hired a rental pontoon which was parked on the edge of the river at the time of the incident. 'All five occupants of the boat had entered the water to cool off when three of them slipped underwater and began to struggle. One of the occupants was able to get back to the shallow area, however Gankidi and Mukkaala did not resurface,' says the statement by the Sheriff's office. San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department which was first to arrive at the scene deployed a diver. The SBCSD diver was able to locate and retrieve one of the missing men and tried life-saving measures before transporting the person to water safety centre. Both the men were transported to the Colorado River Medical Center in Needles but were pronounced deceased. Investigators said that the two victims had been underwater for approximately 20 minutes when divers arrived on scene and were located in approximately 12 feet of water. The men were not under influence, said the sheriff's office.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Yahoo
Friends, family of shooting victim speak out after murder charge dropped against Arizona man
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — An Arizona man's murder charge was dropped after prosecutors claimed he acted in self-defense. However, several people, including the victim's business partner, disagree with the decision. Christopher Jetton, 52, was killed on May 19 in a rural area of Arizona, about 75 miles southeast of Las Vegas. 57-year-old man arrested in deadly shooting at remote Arizona property Jetton worked in Las Vegas, and across the state installing high-speed internet at state parks, and his death has devastated those closest to him. 'All of a sudden he's released. Self-defense, no charges. And we're just astonished because he walked in and just shot him,' Danny Bax, Jettons' friend, said. Bax worked with Jetton for the last seven years and developed a brotherhood as they crisscrossed Nevada from state park to state park installing Wi-Fi. 'Just days before he was killed, we just completed a 2,000-mile trip to nine of the Nevada State Parks to do upgrades. And one removal, so literally he just came back,' Bax said. The Mohave County Sheriff's Office stated in a press release that on May 19, Richard Stephen Hansen, 57, allegedly shot and killed Jetton inside a trailer. Both men lived on the same property in White Hills, Arizona, but in separate trailers. Bax said Jetton's wife was Hansen's ex-wife. The men began arguing after an unknown person drove onto the property, according to Mohave County deputies. Jetton allegedly punched Hanson. The argument reportedly escalated, Hansen went into his trailer with Jetton following him, grabbed a gun, and shot Jetton in the chest, according to MCSO. Bax said the death has devastated Jetton's wife Christina. 'She's broken. She is so broken, and so am I. So, I've lost my wife, I've now lost my best friend, and part of my business,' Bax said. In an email, the Mohave County Attorney's Office told 8 News Now it is no longer pursuing charges against Hansen because it doesn't have a 'reasonable likelihood of conviction' based on the evidence. The agency said it could re-open the case if prosecutors receive new or additional evidence. Bax started a GoFundMe page to help Jetton's wife during this time of need. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Memorial Day weekend chaos: Boats burn, crash and sink on Colorado River, Lake Havasu
Two boats sank and numerous others were involved in crashes and fires on the Colorado River and Lake Havasu in northwestern Arizona through the Memorial Day weekend, according to the Mohave County Sheriff's Office. A dozen deputies patrolled up and down the lower Colorado River, on the water at Lake Havasu and through Topock and Davis Camp in Bullhead City, according to a Facebook post from the Sheriff's Office. Deputies dealt with more than 260 boaters, handing out 30 citations, the post said. They also investigated nine boat crashes that included injuries, five without injuries, assisted 29 boaters, performed six water rescues and responded to nine medical emergencies, the Sheriff's Office reported. On Lake Havasu, two separate boat fires happened on back-to-back days, along with two boat sinkings. On May 23, a boat caught fire at the Crazy Horse Marina. The boat operator suffered burns to his face and arms but was able to jump from the vessel, the Sheriff's Office confirmed. The fully engulfed boat was extinguished by patrol boats. On May 24, a boat launched at Havasu Riviera before bursting into flames. The operator was able to jump into the water without injuries, and a fire boat from the San Bernardino County Fire Department arrived on the scene and extinguished the blaze, the Facebook post detailed. The boat sank to the bottom of the lake, closing the launch ramp and delaying others, the Sheriff's Office confirmed. A vehicle and trailer were reported to have gone underwater the same day at Lake Havasu State Park, prompting deputies to send divers out, but no one was found inside the vehicle, the Sheriff's Office said. A boat crashed the same day on the Colorado River near the sandbar, with multiple people injured, the Sheriff's Office said. The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department was investigating the incident. On May 25, deputies responded to reports of a boat sinking in the north basin of the lake near Crazy Horse Campground. It sank after striking a large wave, causing water to come onboard, but eight people were able to safely escape, according to the Sheriff's Office. The boat operator was cited for having children under the age of 13 on the boat without a life jacket, the Sheriff's Office confirmed. Reach reporter Rey Covarrubias Jr. at rcovarrubias@ Follow him on X, Threads and Bluesky @ReyCJrAZ. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Boat crashes, fires dominate Memorial Day weekend on Arizona waterways
