UPDATE: Missing Macon Girl Found Safe

A missing four-year-old has been found, safe, and her father has been arrested on a felony charge of parental kidnapping. Law enforcement officials say Joshua Lambert failed to return his daughter to her Macon home on Monday. Lambert was taken into custody in Columbia around 10:00 this morning. Macon County Sheriff Robert Dawson says parental kidnapping carries a $50,000 cash-only bond. The sheriff also says he attempted to issue an Amber Alert for the girl, but was told the case didn't qualify because there was no proof the she was in immediate danger.

Missing Macon Girl

Police across the region are looking for a girl they say was taken by her father, who does not have custody. They do not believe 4-year old Nevaeh Colton of Macon is in any danger, so an Amber Alert has not been issued for her. Macon police say she went to Columbia with her dad on Monday morning. He was supposed to return the little girl to her mother Monday night, but didn't.

There's now a warrant out for Joshua Lambert, charging him with parental kidnapping. Police say Lambert is a black male, 5 feet 11 inches tall, and weighs 160 pounds. Investigators believe he and Nevaeh may be headed to Louisiana or Texas. They were last seen in Columbia, in a tan 1993 Buick with Missouri license plates WF4-J7V.

Crash Saturday Hurts Kirksville Woman

Authorities say a Kirksville woman was hurt Saturday when she rear-ended another SUV north of Kirksville Saturday. The Missouri State Highway Patrol reports the a Ford Escape driven by 19-year-old Shelbey Winn of Kirksville rear-ended a Jeep Cherokee, driven by 19-year-old Lorenda Parsons, of Greentop about noon Saturday, three miles north of Kirksville on US 63. Both vehicles were headed toward Kirksville. Troopers say a vehicle that wasn't involved in the crash had stopped to run into a driveway, leading Parsons to slow down. They believe Winn did not see the vehicles slowing down in front of her. She was taken to Northeast Regional Medical Center with minor injuries. Parsons was not hurt.

Man Injured Mowing Schuyler County Roadside

Authorities in Schuyler County say a man mowing a roadside was critically injured when he somehow ended up under the brush hog. Michael Sparks was airlifted to University Hospital from Northeast Regional Medical Center. He was brought to Kirksville by ambulance following the incident yesterday morning on Fox Pen Road near Queen City. So far, authorities have not said what happened that would have caused Sparks to get down off the tractor and be underneath the brush hog in the first place.

Soybean Crop Running Ahead This Year

Soybean planing is progressing well across Missouri, but as you might expect, it's at a different point in different parts of the state:

For northeast Missouri, Doug Thomas, from Brashear reports that 25 percent of the soybeans acreage has been planted and nearly half of the soybean crop is expected to be in the ground by the weekend. Thomas is Missouri Soybean Association President. He blames the late planting on the need of many farmers to replant corn.

About 80 percent of the soybean crop has been planted in northwest Missouri, and it appears about half the crop is in the ground in mid-Missouri. Approximately 60 to 75 percent of the soybean crop has been planted in southeast Missouri, but farmers report very dry conditions there.

Still, the plantings are quite far along in comparison to most years...with 37-percent of the statewide crop in the ground, two and a half weeks ahead of normal. Thirteen percent of the crop has emerged, a point we're usually at around Memorial Day.

KHS Senior Awards Banquet Held

Congratulations to the Kirksville High School seniors honored at this year's senior awards banquet. The afternoon ceremony presented many awards to senior students who excelled in academics, community involvement and athletics during their high school career. All award recipients were honored by the faculty and presented certificates and medals for their accomplishments. Awards were presented by the faculty and esteemed members of the Kirksville community.

FindPhone App Leads Police to Stolen Stuff

Have you ever wondered if those "find your" phone apps really do what they say they do? Kirksville Police says that's what led them to a thief last week.

Police say a man came into the police station Friday to report his MacBook had been stolen. He'd gotten the "FindPhone" app for his iPhone, and had been able to register the MacBook in the app. According to the app, the laptop was somewhere near Fifth and Wilson Streets in Kirksville. Police went to the area, and were given permission to search two homes. In one of them, they found a large-screen TV that had been reported stolen last week. They arrested 21-year old Cody Allen Williams for possession of stolen property. It's not clear if the MacBook was also recovered, but Williams has been formally charged with second-degree burglary. He's held on a 25-thousand dollar cash-only bond.

Novinger Tornado Anniversary

Yesterday was the three year anniversary of the Novinger and north Kirksville tornadoes.

It was categorized as an EF1, with wind speeds of more than 100 mph as it touched down west of Novinger at about 5:45 p.m. May 13, 2009. Later, that same storm complex set down a second twister, which moved through northern Kirksville, claiming the lives of Adair County residents Gus Ochoa and Alisha Nicole Brune and damaging homes and businesses. The tornadoes were only part of a disastrous couple of years for Novinger. That includes severe flooding both the year before the tornado and the year after, a massive fire on Main Street on Sept. 11, 2010 that gutted out two buildings and the straight-line wind storm that ravaged the area last June.