Latest news with #St.
Daily Mirror
30-05-2025
- Daily Mirror
British woman vanishes on popular holiday island as desperate search launched
Mekealah Freemantle, 39, who is believed to come from the London area, disappeared after leaving a hotel in Jamaica - police have said they are 'worried about her safety' A British woman has gone missing after leaving her hotel on a Caribbean island with an urgent search underway and police "worried about her safety". Mekealah Freemantle, 39, disappeared while on a short holiday to Jamaica, with local police now appealing to the public for information. Reports from the Ocho Rios Police suggest Freemantle was last seen leaving a hotel in Ocho Rios, St Ann. Ms Freemantle is described as having a dark complexion, a slim build, and standing approximately 5 feet 8 inches tall. The last confirmed sighting of her was on Saturday, May 24, when she left her hotel. A local source said it is not known whether she went out to visit friends and family when she was last seen. A police source said: "All we know is that she was visiting the island and was staying in a hotel. We are trying to ascertain whether she has family on island or a boyfriend who she may have gone to visit. We are appealing to the public for help in locating her. "Most people who go missing are found after a short while. We are worried about her safety and are calling on anyone who know of her whereabouts to contact us. We are hoping that she will be found soon and safe." Freemantle is believed to come from the London area and has been described as bubbly, gregarious and affable, according to the local source. "We are hoping and praying that she is found safe, safe and in a fit condition. We are praying for that," they added. Jamaica Constabulary Force also appealed on social media with a message on Facebook stating: "Help us to locate Mekealah Freemantle. If you know her whereabouts, please call the St. Ann's Bay Police or the 119 Police Emergency number." It also shared a photo of Ms Freemantle and details about her disappearance stating: "Last seen leaving her hotel wearing a large black hat, green and yellow floral blouse, red dotted shorts and a pair of black shoes. She was also seen with a brown shopping bag. All efforts to contact her have proven futile. She is of dark complexion, of a slim build and about 172 centimetres (5 feet 8 inches) tall." Meanwhile, yesterday police found a body in the search for a missing teenage girl who fell into a reservoir from a dam in West Yorkshire. Emergency services were called to Baitings Dam near Ripponden, at 1.17pm on Wednesday and underwater searches continued throughout Thursday before a body was found on Thursday afternoon. West Yorkshire Police said a formal identification process is yet to take place, but it is believed to be the girl's body. Her family have been made aware. Detective Inspector Laura Hall, of Calderdale's Safeguarding Team, said: 'While formal identification is yet to take place, the girl's family have been informed and are being supported by specially-trained officers. 'My thoughts go out to her family and friends at this very sad time. Our enquiries are continuing into the death in order to establish exactly what happened yesterday, but we do not believe it to be suspicious.'
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Cops, service providers increasing presence on St. Paul's University Ave, Green Line
Law enforcement will have a more visible presence along St. Paul's University Avenue and the Green Line, and service providers will be guiding people to resources including addiction treatment and housing services, Metro Transit police announced Wednesday. A new initiative, Safe and Strong University Avenue, will bring together law enforcement, service providers and prosecutors. It's planned to last until at least the end of summer and may be extended. Metro Transit police, St. Paul police and the Ramsey County sheriff's office 'will conduct high visibility, coordinated enforcement operations on the Green Line corridor based on precise data … from our crime intelligence team,' said Joe Dotseth, interim Metro Transit police chief, at a Wednesday press conference near University and Snelling avenues. Metro Transit is 'developing dedicated police beats in this area, a proven approach that reduces crime and builds public trust through consistent officer presence,' including a Hamline-Midway beat, Dotseth added. They also have the Transit Response Unit, which is out on the system to deal with serious crime. The most serious crimes were up slightly on the Metro Transit system in the first quarter of this year, compared to last year, but down from two years ago. In the categories of robbery, assault, homicide, sex offense, theft from person, motor vehicle and burglary, there were 211 reports in the first quarter of this year (there were no homicides), compared with 200 in the same period last year and 291 in the first quarter of 2023, according to Metro Transit statistics. Safe and Strong University Avenue builds on Metro Transit's ongoing work to expand official presence on transit, which goes beyond police and includes community service officers and TRIP agents (Transit Rider Investment Program), Doseth said. 'This is not solely about enforcement,' he said. 'While serious criminal behavior will result in arrest, our collaborative approach prioritizes connecting people with services whenever possible.' Responders from St. Paul-Ramsey County Public Health are working alongside the Metro Transit's Homeless Action Team 'to bring a public health approach to concerns that arise on public transit,' said Gloria Reyes, deputy Ramsey County manager of the Safety and Justice Service Team. Public health responders provide Narcan, along with referrals for services. Ramsey County's mental health response teams are also supporting people 'in emotional distress, helping stabilize situations and guiding people to long term care,' Reyes said. 'People who are struggling, people who are causing a disturbance, … there's law enforcement there, but there's also an opportunity for us to get to the root causes of what's occurring on the Metro Green Line,' Reyes said. '… We are seeing a public health crisis, and we need to bring our public health crisis workers out into the field.' Ramsey County Attorney John Choi said they've been meeting with Metro Transit police, St. Paul's police and Office of Neighborhood Safety, along with the Ramsey County sheriff's office. 'The light rail system truly belongs to the people,' he said. 'And we've had some challenges over the past few years. We're starting to see some better outcomes, but we know that we need to do more.' Since August, the Ramsey County Attorney's Office has been asking law enforcement agencies that present cases for charging consideration to designate which ones happened in the University Avenue/Green Line corridor. There have been 111 cases in the corridor presented since August and the county attorney's office has charged more than 80 percent of them. 'What we are asking for is better investigation on those cases and more information so that we can take the appropriate steps in the court system,' Choi said. That's led to prosecutors asking judges to issue orders to stay away from transit or geographic areas in some instances, and also to efforts to 'address the underlying reasons of their justice involvement, which oftentimes is mental health related or addiction related,' he added. For violent offenses, Choi said his office still seeks prison time or the recommendation under state sentencing guidelines, but many of the cases that emerge from the area are misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor level. Metro Transit ridership has been increasing, though it still remains below pre-pandemic numbers. There were 47.6 million rides on the system last year, compared with 77.9 million in 2019, according to Metro Transit data. Bayport couple found dead in home; natural causes determined Group calls for Target to apologize, St. Paul PD to look at false reporting after 2 men accused of being armed Wildfire evacuation orders lifted in northern Minnesota What Minnesota laws and policies changed after George Floyd? Here are 9 topics '100 deadliest days' on roads kick off Memorial Day weekend In the first quarter of 2025, proactive calls for police service by Metro Transit officers increased 55% compared to the same quarter last year. 'We're aggressively targeting quality-of-life violations that diminish the riders' experience,' Doseth said, which could include smoking on the train or people acting in a disorderly way. 'Serious crimes on the system remain consistently low.' In a fall survey, more than 40% of respondents said the system felt safer than it did six months ago, in part due to increased presence, Metro Transit said.
Los Angeles Times
27-05-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Prep talk: Four players to watch for Southern Section Division 1 baseball semifinals
There's no holding back for Tuesday's Southern Section Division 1 baseball semifinals. The quarterfinals were full of drama and close games. Now comes the real fun: Ace vs. ace, top team vs. top team. It will be St. John Bosco hosting Corona on its new field and Santa Margarita hosting Crespi. Here's four players who could be difference makers: Jackson Eisenhauer, Crespi. He started the season without allowing any earned runs in 51 innings. He missed Crespi's 2023 Division 2 championship season because of an injury. He throws strikes, has a sweeping curveball and is cool under pressure. Brennan Bauer, Santa Margarita. He has the most pitching wins in school history, going 22-4. He's good whether starting or relieving and will be needed at some point in a game that figures to be close and nerve-wracking. Anthony Murphy, Corona. The junior center fielder and lead-off batter has come on strong, batting .426 with a team high 11 home runs on a team filled with pro prospects. The only time the 28-2 Panthers have lost were by shutouts, so you either deal with Murphy or go down to defeat. Corona has 16 shutout victories and will have Seth Hernandez (18-0 in two years) on the mound. Noah Everly, St. John Bosco. The junior is batting .361 with three home runs and 26 RBIs. He also can pitch. When he has a big day at the plate, the Trinity League champs are tough to beat and he'll need to do something against Hernandez and his 98 mph fastball. The winners advance to the championship game at Cal State Fullerton to be Friday or Saturday. This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
First Alert Weather: Humidity increases through the weekend, scattered afternoon storms return
The humidity is rising through the weekend, and the First Alert Weather Team said we'll have an isolated storm Saturday. Scattered afternoon storms are expected through the Memorial Day holiday and next week. Here's what to expect: Saturday will be the last day with lower humidity. Highs Saturday afternoon will reach the low to mid-90s. It'll stay in the 80s at the beaches thanks to the sea breeze. Only an ISOLATED storm Saturday afternoon for Clay/Putnam/Southern St. Johns Co. More humid for Sunday and through the holiday. Scattered afternoon storms on Sunday -- mainly west of 95 and Southeast Georgia. Scattered storms develop on Memorial Day and each afternoon through the week MEMORIAL DAY - Highs inland in the low 90s, mid-80s at the beaches [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] TODAY: Mostly Sunny. Isolated late afternoon storm for Clay/Putnam/Southern St Johns Co. HIGH: 93 TONIGHT: Mostly clear. Patchy fog inland and humidity on the rise. LOW: 68 SUN: Partly sunny. Scattered afternoon storms. HIGH: 92 MON: Partly to mostly cloudy. Scattered late day storms. 69/92 TUE: Mostly cloudy. Afternoon storms. 70/91 WED: Clouds around. Scattered afternoon storms. 71/91 THU: Partly cloudy. Isolated afternoon storms. 71/91 FRI: Mostly sunny. Isolated afternoon storms. 72/90 [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
St. Johns County school board unanimously picks new superintendent
The St. Johns County School District has a newly nominated superintendent: Dr. Brennan Asplen, the district's current deputy superintendent of operations. Asplen, who was unanimously selected by the school board, has been working that job since 2023. The school district said he's the only one of the four candidates considered for the superintendent job who has served as a district superintendent in the past. Asplen worked as superintendent for Sarasota County schools between 2020-2023 after a 14-year stint going from job to job in the St. Johns County School District. 'I'm so excited and I so much appreciate the board's confidence in me to move forward,' Asplen told Action News Jax in a phone call less than a half hour after learning he'd been picked. RELATED: St. Johns County School Board hires new superintendent | Who is Brennan Asplen? Action News Jax asked Asplen what his first priorities are when he starts as superintendent. In no particular order, he told us they are building more schools, hiring and retaining more employees, and school safety. Asplen, as deputy superintendent, has already overseen the building of the school district's new K-8 schools, two of which opened last year. Another opens this fall and the other two are set to open in the fall of 2026. Asplen is promising to put together more ways for parents, families and students to weigh in on the building of future schools. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] 'I'm really hoping that the community and parents and students and families and our employees will all be able to come together, collaborate,' Asplen said. Another challenge the school district is facing is finding more employees, especially teachers, to both come and stay for work in St. Johns County. Asplen tells Action News Jax around 5,200 employees have left the district in the last five years and about 4,200 of those hadn't even worked for five years. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] 'We need to really look at what is going on during those first five years and how we can support,' Asplen said. The district said the school board and Asplen will now begin meeting to go over his contract for the superintendent job, which will include the amount he's set to be paid. The contract will go for a final vote by the school board during one of their meetings within the next month, since Asplen is set to start the job by July 1. Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
