Latest news with #Villavicencio
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Climate
- Daily Mail
Man mysteriously goes missing while paragliding in huge gust of wind
Colombian authorities have launched a desperate search for a man who mysteriously vanished while paragliding amid a huge gust of wind. Luis Sanabria, 58, was last seen over Villavicencio, about 80 miles south east from the capital city of Bogotá, when he lost control in strong wind currents. His wife, Angie Moreno, told Semana newspaper that he was with a group of friends who managed to land safely after noticing that the conditions were not suitable for paragliding. 'It was the weather conditions, when he went out to fly, the weather was fine and suddenly a gust of wind took him away; his companions managed to get off,' Moreno said. 'We don't know what condition he's in, you can't imagine the anxiety one is living, it's been three nights without him.' Sanabria, who has been paragliding for 15 years, was carrying a GPS during the flight, but they have not been able to trace his location, likely because it lost power. Moreno believes the winds may have carried him towards Acacias, a town located 17 miles southwest of Villavicencio. The area is difficult to reach and the weather conditions have make it even more troublesome for search and rescue crews to find Sanabria. A unit of about 25 first responders from the fire department, civil defense and Red Cross have joined the search for Sanabria, a former police officer who works as a systems engineer for the Villavicencio Transportation Ministry. First responders used a drone to search the forested area in the town of Manzanares and the San Cristobal peak in Acacias. The Colombia Air Force deployed a Blackhawk helicopter to assist with the mission, Air Force captain, Andrés Rodríguez, said they studied the wind charts and other weather conditions which suggested that Moreno may have drifted towards Acacias. 'We carried out a search using the aircraft's electro-optical sensors and the aircraft's rescuers, although due to the complex weather conditions in the area, it was not possible to find him,' he said said. While the paragliding is considered a relatively safe extreme sport, many risks come with it, including injuries and fatalities. In February, a female paraglider was blown off course while swirling winds that caused her to slam into a building in the southern Brazil municipality of Santos. A quick-thinking tenant pulled the woman into his apartment and out of harms away. In January, 38-year-old Paulina Biskup, of Poland, died after she lost control of her parachute mid-flight and crashed Roldanillo, a town in southwestern Colombia. Investigators would learn that Biskup 'did not fasten the harness, and as a result, fell into the abyss.'
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Yahoo
Disability advocates facing eviction in Maplewood
The Brief A Ramsey County judge ordered the family to vacate the Maplewood property by April 15, 2025 but the tenants say they have nowhere to go. An attorney for the property owner defended the eviction, saying the owner is allowed to do what he wants with the property within the constraints of the law. State lawmakers are now looking to change the law to provide more protections for renters living with disabilities. MAPLEWOOD, Minn. (FOX 9) - Nikki Villavicencio and Darrell Paulsen moved into the two-bedroom Maplewood apartment more than six years ago with their daughter Alley. The state paid for more than $85,000 in modifications to make the home more accessible. The backstory Now, the family is being told they need to vacate and won't be able to take any of the assistive devices with them. Both Paulsen and Villavicencio are wheelchair users, and because she does not have use of her hands Villavicencio uses her feet to conduct most everyday tasks. Villavicencio is a Maplewood city council member. She and Paulsen are longtime disability advocates. What they're saying The property owner, Layers Investment Group of Savage, spoke to F0X 9 through attorney Timothy Baland. Baland said the property owner has every right to evict the tenants and that they gave them more than sufficient notice, claiming they sent their first order to vacate in August 2024. Court documents cite Paulsen's use of medical cannabis, a lack of cleanliness, and allegations that Paulsen was running an illegal business out of the unit as reasons for the eviction. In a statement, Baland said, "I don't think that being disabled or being in wheelchairs entitles the defendants to any special rights - the defendants have to follow the same laws that everyone else does." What's next Because the tenants did not vacate by the date mandated by court order, the property owner filed a Writ of Recovery which would allow the Ramsey County Sheriff to remove the defendants from the property. The family continues to look for alternative housing but say they have not found anything that could accommodate their needs. State lawmakers Rep. Peter Fischer and Sen. John Hoffman have vowed to work on state legislation that would further protect renters with disabilities. Fischer said he has introduced a bill that would allow tenants to take any assistive device with them when they leave a rental.
