Two-Month-Old Missing Out of Blount County Found Safe, TBI Says

Two-Month-Old Missing Out of Blount County Found Safe, TBI Says

August 20, 2024

Blount County, TN (WOKI) UPDATE: A Blount County infant at the center of a TBI Endangered Child Alert has been found.

Officials with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation say two-month-old Chremson Blair was located Tuesday morning and is safe.

The baby was reported missing Monday, having last been seen on August 9.

In their alert, TBI officials had said he may be with a non-custodial family member.

ORIGINAL STORY: The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has issued an Endangered Child Alert for an infant from Blount County.

TBI says two-month-old Chremson Blair was last seen on August 9; he was reported missing on Monday, August 19.

Officials say Blair may be with a non-custodial family member.

Blair is described as being 22 inches tall and 15 pounds with red hair and blue eyes. He was last seen wearing a blue and white “onesie.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Blount County Sheriff’s Office at 865-983-3620 or TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND.

(Courtesy: TBI)
Victim Identified, Woman Charged after Deadly Hit-and-Run Crash on North Broadway in Knoxville

Victim Identified, Woman Charged after Deadly Hit-and-Run Crash on North Broadway in Knoxville

August 20, 2024

Knoxville, TN (WOKI) Knoxville Police have charged a woman in connection to a fatal hit-and-run crash Monday night on North Broadway.

KPD says officers were called to the crash near Buchanan Avenue just before 9:00 p.m. for a woman who had been hit by a car that left the scene.

Police say 75-year-old Ollie Jenkins of Knoxville was taken to UT Medical Center where she was pronounced dead.

Witnesses provided police with a description of the involved vehicle and a license plate number.

Officers found 45-year-old Heather Johns still inside the vehicle in the 700 block of Chickamauga Avenue.

She is charged with vehicular homicide by intoxication, among other charges.

The incident marks the latest of several hit and runs in East Tennessee, with two more happening in the Knoxville or Knox County area.

Witnesses told police what the car looked like and gave them a license plate number. (Frankly Media)
Tennessee Unveils New License, ID Card Designs with Improved Security Features

Tennessee Unveils New License, ID Card Designs with Improved Security Features

August 20, 2024

Nashville, TN (WOKI / WVLT) Tennessee has unveiled new designs for drivers licenses and ID cards.

The new design features Tennessee’s state capitol and flag. It also has waves and patterns printed in very fine lines which cannot be scanned or easily reproduced (see photo below).

Officials said the new credentials are made with a sturdy polycarbonate composition. They include elaborate overlapping of data and graphics and laser-engraved elements that will show if the document has been altered or is fraudulent.

Additionally, the back of the card contains a machine-readable barcode with applicable classes, endorsements, and restrictions. A mini ghost image repeated from the photograph is encoded as an element for automated validation to help reduce identity theft.

State officials say this does not mean you have to go out and get the drivers license right now.

“The current one that [you] have is valid until the expiration date. If [you] do come in to get a renewal, or a replacement or a duplicate, then [you] will get the new license” said Tennessee Department of Homeland Security Spokesperson Marlo Mason speaking with WOKI news partner WVLT.

In addition to a new design for licenses and IDs, new self-service kiosks are being rolled out to reduce wait times at Driver Service Centers.

“We are excited about the added flexibility and convenience the new self-service kiosks will provide for Tennesseans,” said TDOSHS Commissioner Jeff Long. “Citizens can complete many Driver Services transactions at one of these new kiosks, which will help reduce wait times at Driver Services Centers.”

Click here for more information.

In addition to new a new design for licenses and IDs, new self-service kiosks are being rolled out to reduce wait times at Driver Service Centers. (Courtesy: TDOSHS)

Rare Super Blue Moon to Arrive This Week

Rare Super Blue Moon to Arrive This Week

August 20, 2024

(WOKI) There is a rare super blue moon set to grace the skies this week.

NASA defines the term supermoon “as either a new or full moon that happens when the moon is within 90% of perigee, its closest approach to Earth.”

The moon will be closest to Earth for this orbit Wednesday morning at 11:55. According to NASA, the moon will appear full for three days, from Tuesday to Friday morning.

“About 25% of all full moons are supermoons, but only 3% of full moons are blue moons,” according to NASA.

The last time two full supermoons graced the sky in the same month was in 2018. It won’t happen again until 2037.

Super Blue Moon (Courtesy: WVLT)

Knoxville Police, Crime Stoppers Seeking Information to Solve Metal Theft Cases

August 20, 2024

Knoxville, TN (WOKI) The Knoxville Police Department and East Tennessee Valley Crime Stoppers are working to apprehend those responsible for metal thefts in Knoxville.

The first is a bronze statue of two children reading stolen from Tank Strickland Park on Asheville Highway. Officials with East Tennessee Valley Crime Stoppers say it could be sold almost anywhere, even on Facebook Marketplace.

Knox County officials say a monument was stolen from a Knoxville park (Courtesy: Knox County)

“They could have it taken to be melted down, taken to some flea market or something out there,” said Stacy Payne with East Tennessee Valley Crime Stoppers. “It could even show up on Marketplace. Keep an eye out. If you see something like that, it should stick out to you.”

Police are also looking looking for a suspect in another metal theft; a man was seen on camera robbing a Kingston Pike pawn shop, taking thousands of dollars in gold and silver.

(Courtesy: KPD)

“You’re looking at seven to eight thousand dollars worth of coin. He’s got it out there somewhere. Someone knows some information,” Payne said.

(Courtesy: KPD)

If you have any information on these thefts, you are asked to call Crime Stoppers. You can also report tips here.

Jury Returns Verdict in Oak Ridge Death Penalty Case

Jury Returns Verdict in Oak Ridge Death Penalty Case

August 20, 2024

Anderson County, TN (WOKI) An Oak Ridge man was found guilty Monday, August 19 of several counts in a grisly Anderson County rape and murder case.

Sean Finnegan faced several charges, including first-degree murder, rape and abuse of a corpse.

The charges stem from a 2020 investigation, during which police said Finnegan and his girlfriend, Rebecca Dishman, held 36-year-old Jennifer Paxton inside their home, torturing and raping her for days before finally killing her.

The jury reconvenes Tuesday morning at 10:00 a.m. for the sentencing phase of the trial; Finnegan could face the death penalty.

Sean Finnegan, 56 (Courtesy: Anderson County Sheriff’s Office)
Knox County Forensic Center Identifies Remains in Decades-Old Cold Case

Knox County Forensic Center Identifies Remains in Decades-Old Cold Case

August 19, 2024

Knoxville, TN (WOKI) Human remains found two decades ago in Knoxville have finally been identified.

The Knox County Regional Forensic Center identifying the remains Monday morning as Brian A. Sanderson.

Sanderson was found in 2003 near I-275 at the Woodlawn entrance ramp.

Knoxville Police responded and a team from UT assisted in the recovery at the time.

In 2008, investigators submitted a DNA sample to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, or NamUs, which is a national database for missing or unidentified persons.

The Forensic Center took the body in 2017, determining the remains were those of a white man around five feet tall between 40 and 60 years old.

In 2022, KCRFC got in touch with Othram, a company that tests DNA to help in cold cases.

“We work diligently every day to try to identify every decedent and connect them with their next of kin, regardless of how long they’ve been here,” said Chris Thomas, the center’s chief administrative officer. “We want the families to have closure.”

Othram matched the remains to Sanderson.

The case goes back to November of 2003, when the Knoxville Police Department began investigating after someone noticed a body on I-275 at the Woodlawn entrance ramp. (Brian Sanderson, circa 1967. Photo credit: Knox Co. Regional Forensic Center)
TBI: Missing Cumberland County Woman Found Dead in Lake Cumberland

TBI: Missing Cumberland County Woman Found Dead in Lake Cumberland

August 19, 2024

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)
TBI Investigating Fatal Dandridge Shooting, Victim Identified

TBI Investigating Fatal Dandridge Shooting, Victim Identified

August 19, 2024

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)
Pedestrian Dies after Being Struck by Car on Magnolia Avenue, Knoxville Police Say

Pedestrian Dies after Being Struck by Car on Magnolia Avenue, Knoxville Police Say

August 19, 2024

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)

Podcasts

What's happening