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Remains of Florida girl who went missing 20 years ago found, sheriff says
Florida detectives investigating a 20-year-old cold case discovered what they believe are the remains of Autumn Lane McClure, a 16-year-old who went missing in 2004, authorities said.
Detectives were able to recover 99.9% of the remains during the Wednesday excavation of the burial site, said Volusia Sheriff Michael J. Chitwood at a news conference on Thursday. The sheriff’s office is expecting the official identification soon, and then hopes to find a cause of death for the teen, the sheriff said.
“There really never is a ‘cold case,'” Chitwood said. “The men and women that are assigned to our Major Case Unit and all of our investigative units, that’s what they understand.”
Sheriff’s office detectives had to secure search warrants, move out a newly built modular home and driveway and bring in heavy equipment to search for McClure, the sheriff said.
Volusia Sheriff’s Office detectives said they had been investigating McClure’s disappearance ever since she went missing in May 2004. The yearslong investigation included interviewing and re-interviewing friends and possible witnesses and collecting DNA from family members.
Volusia Sheriff’s Office
It all started with a phone call on May 10, 2004, when McClure’s grandmother called the sheriff’s office to report her missing. Detectives spoke to her then-boyfriend, who told them he had dropped McClure off at the Volusia Mall and didn’t hear from her again.
The grandmother again called the sheriff’s office several days later and told detectives, “Autumn has called me from a 312-area code” and said she received letters from McClure postmarked Melbourne, Florida, the sheriff said.
The case went quiet until a few months later, when the sheriff’s office got evidence McClure was staying at a house with two people — Brian Donley and Jessica Freeman — both of whom said they were co-workers of McClure’s at a Winn-Dixie supermarket. When detectives went to the couple’s home, they said McClure had stayed with them for a few days and then left, the sheriff said.
The case went cold until twelve years later when detectives again contacted the boyfriend, who admitted to investigators he had lied to them in his earlier interview. The boyfriend said he had actually dropped McClure off at the Seabreeze Bridge, not the mall, where she then got into a car with Freeman.
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
In 2018, detectives contacted Freeman, who was living in Nevada at the time, but she told detectives she had no idea what happened to McClure.
Then, in 2021, detectives received a tip from someone named Chris Miller, who said Freeman and Donley were involved in McClure’s disappearance. Donley died the following year on May 26, 2022, almost 18 years to the day investigators believe McClure was killed, the sheriff said.
That same year, Freeman got back in touch with the sheriff’s office and asked for immunity in exchange for her answering questions about McClure’s disappearance.
She told detectives McClure didn’t want to live with her grandmother, so Freeman and Donley let McClure live with them. McClure was also in a sexual relationship with the couple, Freeman said. Freeman claimed she saw Donley strangle McClure, but he threatened to hurt her if she said anything about the death.
The final break in the case came in 2023, when Freeman told detectives McClure was buried in the Ormond Beach area, leading to Wednesday’s discovery, the sheriff said.
NEW YORK — Former New York Gov. David Paterson and his stepson were attacked in New York City on Friday night, authorities said.
The incident occurred just before 9 p.m. on Second Avenue near East 96th Street on the Upper East Side, according to the New York City Police Department.
Police said officers were sent to the scene after an assault was reported. When officers arrived, police say they found a 20-year-old man suffering from facial injuries and a 70-year-old man who had head pain. Both victims were taken to a local hospital in stable condition.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the former governor said the two were attacked while “taking a walk around the block near their home by some individuals that had a previous interaction with his stepson.”
The spokesperson said that they were injured “but were able to fight off their attackers.”
Both were taken to Cornell Hospital “as a precaution,” he added.
Police said no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.
The 70-year-old Paterson, a Democrat, served as governor from 2008 to 2010, stepping into the post after the resignation of Eliot Spitzer following his prostitution scandal. He made history at the time as the state’s first-ever Black and legally blind governor.
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A 17-year-old boy was critically injured and a person is in custody after a gunman opened fire on a SEPTA bus in North Philadelphia Friday evening, police said.
At around 6:15 p.m., Philadelphia police were notified about a shooting on a SEPTA bus traveling on Allegheny Avenue near 3rd and 4th streets in North Philadelphia, Inspector D F Pace told CBS News Philadelphia.
There were an estimated 30 people on the bus at the time of the shooting, Pace said, but only the 17-year-old boy was believed to have been shot. Investigators said they believe it was a targeted attack on the teenager and that he was shot in the back of the bus at close range.
According to Pace, the SEPTA bus driver alerted a control center about the shooting, which then relayed the message to Philadelphia police, who responded to the scene shortly.
Officers arrived at the scene and found at least one spent shell casing and blood on the bus, but no shooting victim, Pace said. Investigators later discovered the 17-year-old had been taken to Temple University Hospital where he is said to be in critical condition, according to police.
CBS Philadelphia
Through their preliminary investigation, police learned those involved in the SEPTA shooting may have fled in a silver-colored Kia.
Authorities then found a car matching the description of the Kia speeding in the area and a pursuit began, Pace said. Police got help from a PPD helicopter as they followed the Kia, which ended up crashing at 5th and Greenwood streets in East Mount Airy. Pace said the Kia crashed into a parked car.
The driver of the crashed car ran away but police were still able to take them into custody, Pace said.
Investigators believe there was a second person involved in the shooting who ran from the car before it crashed. Police said they believe this person escaped near Allegheny Avenue and 4th Street, leaving a coat behind.
According to Pace, police also found a gun and a group of spent shell casings believed to be involved in the shooting in the same area.
“It’s very possible that there may have been a shooting inside the bus and also shots fired from outside of the bus toward the bus,” Pace said, “We’re still trying to piece all that together at this time.”
This is an active investigation and police are reviewing surveillance footage from the SEPTA bus.