Cumberland County, TN (WOKI) UPDATE: A woman missing from Cumberland County has been found dead.
Officials with The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation report 69-year-old Roxanne Gallagher was found dead Saturday afternoon in Lake Cumberland in Kentucky.
TBI had issued a Silver Alert for Gallagher earlier this month after she was last seen in late June on Dogwood Road.
ORIGINAL STORY: The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation issued a Silver Alert Friday afternoon for a missing Cumberland County woman.
TBI officials say 69-year-old Roxanne Gallagher was last seen in late June on Dogwood Road wearing a blue shirt and jeans. They say she has a medical condition that may impair her ability to return home without assistance.
Gallagher is described as being 5′2′ tall and 130 pounds with blue eyes and blonde hair.
Roxanne Gallagher, 69 (Courtesy: TBI)
TBI adds that Gallagher may be driving a maroon 2000 Buick LaSabre with TN license plate BGR-9782. Anyone with information is asked to call the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office at 931-484-6176 or TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND.
(Courtesy:TBI)TBI said 69-year-old Roxanne Gallagher was found dead Saturday afternoon in Lake Cumberland in Kentucky. (Courtesy: TBI)
Dandridge, TN (WOKI) The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is investigating a fatal shooting Saturday night in Dandridge.
Officials with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office say deputies responded just after 8:00 p.m. to a reported shooting in the 500 block of Daisy Way, finding two gunshot victims.
According to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, a woman was taken to the hospital for treatment, but a man, later identified as 47-year-old Johnathan Michael Williams was pronounced dead at the scene.
TBI said the investigation remains active and ongoing.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (Courtesy: TBI)
Knoxville, TN (WOKI) An investigation is underway following a fatal pedestrian-involved crash Saturday evening in Knoxville.
Knoxville Police Department officials say the crash happened around 8:50 at the intersection of Magnolia Avenue and Bertrand Street.
Police say a vehicle traveling west on Magnolia struck a 61-year-old woman who was attempting to cross the roadway; she was taken to UT Medical Center but later died as a result of injuries sustained in the crash.
KPD says the driver of the involved vehicle remained at the scene and that witnesses indicated the vehicle was driving through the intersection and had a green light at the time of the collision.
The investigation into the crash remains active and ongoing.
This is a developing story.
KPD added that the vehicle and driver involved stayed on the scene. (Courtesy: WVLT)
Morristown, TN (WOKI) A victim is identified and a suspect arrested swifly following a deadly hit-and-run accident Sunday morning in Morristown.
Officials with the Morristown Police Department say the incident happened just after midnight on West Andrew Johnson Highway.
Thirty-one year old Alisha Marie Caminiti, was attempting to cross the highway in the 2400 block near S. Austin Road when she was struck and killed by a vehicle heading westbound.
Police say the driver, 34-year-old John Crocillo, of Morristown, left the scene before officers could arrive but was arrested later on Sunday.
He was charged with leaving the scene of an accident involving death.
“MPD Chief Roger Overholt would like to thank the public for providing information about this incident as well as the officers and investigators who worked diligently to identify and charge the responsible individual,” MPD said.
Greeneville, TN (WOKI) A traffic stop in Greeneville Thursday night leads to the arrest of a man and a woman suspected in the death of a four-year-old child.
An officer with the Greeneville Police Department stopped a white Ford Expedition around 10:00 p.m. on West Andrew Johnson Highway, arresting Cody Williams and Miranda Crowe. Both reportedly had charges out of Hawkins County.
Officials with the Greeneville Police Department say Williams is facing felony charges for second-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, aggravated child neglect and tampering with evidence.
Crowe had warrants out for child neglect, aggravated assault and failure to report child abuse.
Both Crowe and Williams were taken to the Greene County Detention Center before being handed over to the Hawkins County Sheriff’s Office, according to Sheriff Ronnie Lawson.
Knoxville, TN (WOKI) The Knoxville Police Department is investigating a fatal, single-vehicle crash that happened Friday morning at Buffat Mill Road and Loves Creek.
KPD says the crash happened around 11:45 a.m. when a van traveling east on Buffat Mill Road went through the intersection at Loves Creek and crashed through a guardrail, ending up in the woods.
A woman driving the van was pronounced dead at the scene. Two adult passengers were transported to a nearby hospital for treatment of injuries believed to be non-life-threatening.
KPD says speed was a possible factor in the crash.
Deadly crash at Loves Creek (Courtesy: Knoxville Police Department)
Knoxville, TN (WOKI) The Knoxville Fire Department continues to investigate a large commercial fire happening overnight Thursday in North Knoxville.
Crews were called to the scene at the Fort Loudon Waste and Recycling facility on Hancock street around 10:30 for a fully-involved fire inside a large metal warehouse.
Fire investigators are still working to determine the cause of the blaze.
“We’ll take our time as we go in the building. Of course, our investigators will have to spend a considerable amount of time trying to figure out exactly how this fire started,” said Knoxville Fire Department Communications Officer Mark Wilbanks speaking with WOKI news partner, WVLT.
Wilbanks says the warehouse, the only one on the property, was “burned from one end of the building to the other.”
KFD reported the bulk of the fire was out by 12:30 Friday morning, and they were monitoring hot spots.
No injuries were reported.
The plant was also the site of a massive fire back in 2019, causing over 100 people living in the Oakwood-Lincoln Park neighborhood to be evacuated as that fire burned.
Anyone with information about Thursday’s fire can contact the department’s arson hotline anonymously at 865-637-1386.
Firefighters responded to a commercial fire at the Fort Loudon Waste and Recycling facility, the same location as a fire that forced evacuations back in 2019. (Courtesy: KFD)
Knoxville, TN (WOKI) An East Tennessee man, driving for the popular rideshare service Lyft, is convicted Friday of raping a passenger.
Officials with District Attorney General Charme Allen’s office say 44-year-old Christopher Wayne Stanifer picked the victim up from Drake’s, a restaurant on Morrell Road in Knoxville, around 2:00 a.m. in September of 2020.
In court records, the victim stated she was not sure how she ended up in the back seat of Stanifer’s car with Stanifer having sex with her and that she was too intoxicated to have given consent, prompting her to report the incident to the Knoxville Police Department.
“It is critical to understand that consent is the presence of a ‘yes’ and not just the absence of a ‘no,’ and the ‘yes’ must be made by someone who is not so impaired that they cannot fully understand what they are consenting to,” said District Attorney General Charme Allen.
Stanifer was convicted of rape and public indecency.
Christopher Wayne Stanifer, 44 (Courtesy: DA Charme Allen)
Moorseburg, TN (WOKI / WVLT) An investigation is underway after a plane believed to be piloted by an East Tennessee racing legend crashed Thursday morning in Hawkins County.
The crash happened around 8 :00 a.m. near Brooks Road in Moorseburg.
According to the Hawkins County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to the area, finding a plane that had crashed into a barn.
HCSO says unidentified remains found inside the plane are “believed to be [those] of Scott Bloomquist.”
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has confirmed Bloomquist was the only individual onboard the aircraft.
Bloomquist is a nationally-touring and award-winning dirt car driver whose racing headquarters are located in Moorseburg.
The nine-time national champion has had a 40-year career in dirt racing, most recently taking home the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series in 2016 and the Dream XXIV feature at Eldora Speedway in 2018.
He also competed in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and the ARCA Mendards Series.
World of Outlaws, a racing league in which Bloomquist was known to race, released a statement about his possible passing:
Scott Bloomquist’s legendary status not only grew out of his accomplishments on the track, but his innovations throughout the dirt Late Model industry.
He played a hey role with DIRTcar Racing and the World of Outlaws, helping to re-build the World of Outlaws Late Models so it could grow into what it’s become today. His influences also helped the evolution of racetracks and chassis over the years.
Bloomquist’s passion for the sport and innovative mind will be deeply missed by all. – Brian Carter, World Racing Group CEO
Officials with the sheriff’s office say the county’s forensics department will make the final identification.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are investigating the crash.
This is a developing story.
Bloomquist had a 40-year career in dirt racing, most recently winning the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series in 2016. (Courtesy: Eldora Speedway Press Release)
Sevier County, TN (WOKI) The Sevier County Sheriff’s Office is asking for help in finding a missing man.
SCSO officials say 50-year-old Eugene Frederick Blair was last seen in the Oldham Creek Road area of Sevier County.
According to SCSO, Blair walked off Thursday, August 15 around 11 a.m. with his brown shorthair dachshund dog and has not been seen or heard from by his family since then.
Blair is said to have undiagnosed dementia.
If you have any information that can help in the search for Blair, you are asked to contact Detective Alexander Smuk or the Sevier County Sheriff’s Office at 865-453-4668 or 865-774-3912.
Missing 50-year-old man Eugene Frederick Blair from Sevier County. (Courtesy: Sevier County. Sheriff’s Office)
