KAHOKA, Mo.- Following the work-related death of an employee, the City of Kahoka issued a statement Friday evening addressing the situation. The statement can be viewed in its entirety below:
Funeral services for Birck will be at 2 pm Monday at the St. Paul United Church of Christ in Kahoka, with visitation being held on Sunday from 1 to 4 pm at the Wilson & Triplett Funeral Home in Kahoka. Full obituary information is available here.
SCOTLAND COUNTY, Mo.- For the second time in a four-hour period, a local fire crew was dispatched to put out a vehicle fire in Scotland County.
Deputy Jason Moss stated that reports were received by the sheriff’s dispatch shortly after 6 pm Tuesday of an abandoned pickup on fire. The truck was on county road 755 north of Memphis. When first responders arrived, they were unable to locate anyone present at the scene. Fire department personnel quickly extinguished the flames then began a search of the area in an attempt to locate the driver.
Witnesses reported sighting a male walking in the area. Further investigation determined that the male was Chris Myers. It was further determined that the truck was registered in Myers’ name.
Myers had contacted the sheriff’s dispatch just prior to being contacted by Deputy Moss. He said that the fire began under the cab area of the truck and spread into the hood area. Myers further stated that he had been working on the truck earlier in the day. Officials believe the fire was caused by a mechanical issue.
The Scotland County Fire Department was assisted at the scene by the Scotland County Ambulance Service, Scotland County First Responders, Scotland County Sheriff’s Department and Lakeside Towing.
A pickup truck owned by Chris Myers of Memphis caught fire while being driven in northeastern Scotland County after being worked on earlier in the day.
(Photo courtesy of Deputy Jason Moss)
SCOTLAND COUNTY, Mo.- A Memphis man escaped injury Tuesday afternoon when his vehicle caught fire.
Scotland County Sheriff’s Deputy Jason Moss told KMEM News that the sheriff’s dispatch center received a call just after 2 pm from Paul Campbell. The report stated that he was driving his car on Scotland County Road 915 northwest of Memphis when the vehicle caught fire. The fire is believed to be mechanical in nature and started under the hood.
Two units and six firefighters with the Scotland County Fire Department responded to the call and quickly controlled the fire. A small area of natural cover was also burnt during the incident.
The fire department was assisted at the scene by the Scotland County Ambulance, Scotland County Sheriff’s Department and Lakeside Towing. Fortunately there were no injuries and all units had cleared the scene within 30 minutes.
An automobile owned and operated by Paul Campbell of Memphis caught fire as he was traveling down a county road on Tuesday afternoon.
(Photo courtesy Scotland County Deputy Jason Moss)
SCOTLAND COUNTY, Mo.- A Burlington man was injured in a tractor roll-over accident in Scotland County around 11 am Saturday morning.
Scotland County Sheriff Bryan Whitney reports that 54-year old Tracy Oliver Thompson was using a John Deere tractor to clear timber trails on a farm just off of country road 261 near the Edinburg Cemetery. The tractor began to slide down an embankment. It then proceeded to roll over 1 ½ times before coming to rest.
Thompson was transported to Northeast Regional Hospital in Kirksville by the Scotland County Ambulance service for treatment of moderate injuries. The Missouri State Highway Patrol and Scotland County First Responders also assisted at the scene.
Tracy Oliver Thompson, 54, of Burlington, was injured when this tractor rolled over while he was operating it.
(Photo courtesy Scotland County Sheriff Bryan Whitney)
CANTON, Mo.- A Canton man has been arrested by the Missouri State Highway Patrol on allegations of sexual misconduct that victimized his adopted daughter. 46-year old Zebadiah D. Smeltser was arrested around 10:30 pm on Thursday, August 29th. He is charged with 2nd Degree Statutory Rape and 2nd Degree Statutory Sodomy, both class D felonies, as well as 4th Degree Child Molestation and Incest, both class E felonies.
Court documents state that the victim, who is now 21-years old, recently filed a formal complaint against Smeltser, who adopted her when she was five years old. She alleges that Smeltser engaged in sexual contact with her over the past six years, beginning just before her 15th birthday and continuing until this July.
The victim told investigators that the abuse began when her mother gave her a prescription sleeping pill, which impaired her, and then placed her in bed with Smeltser, while she went somewhere else to sleep. Smeltser allegedly began touching the victim before performing oral sex. Due to the impairment, the victim initially believed she was hallucinating, but Smeltser later told her that it had in fact occurred.
This behavior continued regularly for years, with the victim stating that Smeltser groomed her to believe that the relationship was that of a girlfriend and boyfriend. She said that she did not want the relationship but was scared of destroying her family if she spoke up.
After the report was filed, investigators contacted Smeltser at his home. During this interview, he confirmed that the sexual contact had occurred, stating that there had been approximately 75 separate sexual encounters between the two.
Following the interview, Smeltser was taken into custody. He is currently being held in the Lewis County Jail without bond. He is scheduled to appear before Judge Corey Moon for a bond review hearing on Monday afternoon at 1 pm.
Zebadiah D. Smeltser, 46, of Canton, is accused of sexual misconduct victimizing his adopted daughter.
(Photo courtesy Lewis County Sheriff's Department)
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