A boy who vanished from a rural Iowa trailer park days before his 11th birthday is still missing more than a week later, as state and federal investigators continue to look into what happened to him. Detectives are considering several possibilities in the disappearance of Xavior Harrelson, including that he was abducted, that he suffered an accident or that he ran away. Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation assistant director Mitch Mortvedt says that with every moment that goes by, the case gets more suspicious and more concerning. He says the case has been a heart-wrenching one for investigators, including many who participated in the nearby 2018 search for University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts, who was later found dead.
Iowa’s Democrat auditor and possible candidate for governor has accused Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds of violating a state law that prohibits statewide elected officials from using public funds for self promotion. Auditor Rob Sand argued yesterday that Reynolds broke the law by appearing in public service announcements promoting coronavirus public safety measures. Sand says the campaign launched last November violated the law because it featured Reynolds, who used federal coronavirus relief funding for the ads. Sand says a state ethics board should review the expenditure. Reynolds denies she violated the law, saying it clearly provides an exception for when a disaster emergency is proclaimed by the governor…as was the case here.
A northeast Iowa woman convicted of killing her husband a decade ago has been sentenced to life in prison. 52-year-old Revette Sauser of Ryan was sentenced this week in Delaware County District Court after a Clayton County jury found her guilty last month of first-degree murder in the 2011 shooting death of 59-year-old Terry Sauser in their home. In 2012, Revette Sauser entered a plea of guilty to reduced charges of kidnapping, voluntary manslaughter and going armed with intent in a deal with prosecutors, and was sentenced to 40 years in prison. She had served nine of those years when the Iowa Supreme Court sided with her on appeal and ordered a new trial.
Inmate Michelle Brashear, who had escaped from Mercy Hospital while under a police hold Monday night, was captured and returned to the Linn County Correctional Center shortly before 3 o’clock early yesterday morning. Brashear was taken to the hospital on Monday around 8:15 p.m. and was reported to have fled just a little more than an hour later. A search for Brashear was conducted but authorities were unable to find her until yesterday. Brashear is incarcerated at the Linn County Correctional Center on charges of Theft in the 2nd Degree and Providing False Identification Information.
The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed that it received a report of an attempted abduction at a Kum & Go in Tiffin on Tuesday evening. Officials said it happened at about 6 p.m. when a man grabbed a female by the wrist and asked if she wanted to go home with him. She pulled away from the suspect and went into the store. It was reported that a bystander then interacted with the suspect before he left. Officials described the suspect as a white male, mid to late 40′s, with black hair, a goatee, and scabs on his face. They also said he was reported to have been driving a white van with tinted windows. The incident remains under investigation.
A bicyclist has died after being struck by a speeding motorist in Davenport–the third fatal accident involving a bicyclist in the Quad Cities region in the past month. The accident happened yesterday when a red SUV struck the bicyclist at Kimberly Road and Davenport Avenue. Police say the SUV then left the scene. A 13-year-old boy was fatally struck by a police cruiser in Moline on May 4. The officer driving the police vehicle is on leave while the investigation continues. Earlier that same day, a 60-year-old man was struck and killed by an SUV in rural Rock Island County, Illinois.
Only two years after historic flooding along the Missouri River ravaged parts of Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri, officials are now dealing with what’s shaping up to be one of river’s driest years. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said yesterday that the forecast from last month has not changed–significantly less water is expected to flow into the river this year because conditions remain so dry and snowpack was below normal levels. Officials say only about 69% of the normal amount of water is expected to flow into the Missouri River this year, which would be the 22nd driest year in the upper basin since 1898.
