Today is
Sunday July 26, 2026
CHEROKEE COUNTY — Troopers responded to the scene of a helicopter that made a hard landing in a field near the intersection of CR-3703 and CR-3702. No injuries were reported.
CHEROKEE COUNTY — A Rusk woman has died following a wreck just north of the Rusk city limits. According to the Department of Public Safety report, Rachael Paralee Finley, 38, was driving north on Highway 69 around 6:30 Wednesday night when her vehicle veered off the roadway. She reportedly over-corrected and rolled her Toyota Sequoia several times. Finely was pronounced dead at the scene. The crash remains under investigation.
SMITH COUNTY — A Tyler man was arrested late Wednesday night for possession of child pornography. According to our news partner KETK, Matthew Kyle Landua, 25, was taken into custody by Smith County Sheriff’s deputies after 11 p.m Wednesday night. He was booked into the Smith County Jail with bond set at $750,000.
BEN WHEELER — An abandoned church in Ben Wheeler was destroyed after a late-night fire on Monday. According to our news partner KETK, the church was known as Bethlehem CME and was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived just after 10:30 p.m. There were no walls left standing and the building was nearly consumed. Witnesses said that the church had not been in use for some time. There were no utilities connected to the structure. There were no signs that the building was targeted because it was a church or due to its religious affiliation.
HARRISON COUNTY – After a 5-year-old boy died from injuries sustained during a suspected child abuse case in East Texas, the Harrison County District Attorney’s Office may upgrade charges to murder punishable by the death penalty or life in prison. According to our news partner KETK, when deputies arrived at the house of Danielle Faulkner and her boyfriend Larry Prudhomme, investigators were told the child fell off their porch causing him to have a seizure and trouble breathing. While treating the boy, EMS noticed he was extremely bruised all over his body and told deputies that they didn’t feel the amount of bruising was consistent with falling off the porch. Read the rest of this entry »
GILMER — Gilmer City Council voted to declare the East Texas town a Safe Haven for the Unborn on Tuesday, September 24. In a 4-1 vote, the city passed the ordinance, which bans abortions at all stages within city limits and prohibits abortion businesses from setting up shop within the town. Gilmer is now the sixth city in Texas to pass such an ordinance, following in the footsteps of Waskom in June and Omaha and Naples earlier this month. With a population of nearly 5,000, Gilmer became the largest Texas jurisdiction to take such a stand.
HENDERSON COUNTY — A vehicle theft report lands an East Texas man in jail. According to the Henderson County Sheriff, a deputy was responding to a report of of someone possibly stripping a stolen vehicle in the Payne Springs area Sunday. The deputy was able to confirm that the vehicle had been reported stolen earlier that day. Joshua Rhodes, of Gun Barrel City, was arrest for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. He was booked into the Henderson County Jail. The vehicle was released back to the owner.
LUFKIN — A Lufkin Police officer was assaulted while working security at movie theater late Saturday night. According to our news partner KETK, Det. Ron Stubblefield was taken by ambulance to a local hospital for a broken arm following the incident, which occurred around 11:35 p.m. at 109 Miles Way. Theater staff requested that Stubblefield ask a group of roughly 20 people to leave the movie Downton Abbey because they were recording the movie and being disruptive. When Stubblefield approached the group, the suspect – described as a younger black male, 5’9-5’10, thin build, wearing a white hoodie – aggressively bumped into the officer. A confrontation then ensued in which Stubblefield was assaulted and forced to the ground, breaking his arm near the elbow. Read the rest of this entry »
LONGVIEW — The Longview Fire Department Tuesday activated six members of the water rescue team to be deployed with the Texas Task Force. The deployment is in response to the tropical storms expected to make landfall in Texas this week. The six member team will travel to College Station for staging and from there they will respond where needed.
TYLER — A Tyler man has been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a child. According to our news partner KETK, Robert Robinson, 63, was booked into the Smith County Jail at 11:30 p.m. Monday night after an arrest warrant was signed by 114th District Judge Christi Kennedy. Robinson is being held on a $500,000 cash bond.
KILGORE — The city of Kilgore experienced a major power outage on Friday morning. According to the Kilgore police department facebook page, “a large critter” got into a switching station off of Longview street. Over 1,900 customers were without power, including Kilgore ISD who posted on social media that they had been impacted by the outage. Swepco had electricity restored before noon.
TYLER — A Tyler man has been apprehended following a brief chase with Tyler Police Thursday morning. According to our news partner KETK, it started around 7:00 when a woman called police to report that her ex-boyfriend, Joshua Allen Cowart, was following her. She wrecked her vehicle a short time after the call near Copeland and Loop 323. The man fled the scene in his vehicle and ended up in the Hobby Lobby parking lot on Loop 323. That’s where police found him armed with a knife. Cowart refused to comply with the officer’s instructions and was shot twice with a bean bag gun. The gun was ineffective and he run away again. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER — A teen from Tyler is fighting for her life in a Dallas hospital and doctors believe vaping may be the cause. It began two weeks ago when Whitney Livingston, 17, started to complain about an upper respiratory problem. Her doctor told her she had bronchitis and early stages pneumonia. But within 24 hours her lungs had filled with fluid and she had trouble breathing. She was admitted to the ICU and transferred to Children’s Health in Dallas. Her mother, Jennifer Audas, says her daughter had been vaping for just 18 months and she thought it was a safer alternative to smoking.
SMITH COUNTY — The mother of a toddler that drowned in Chapel Hill has been arrested. After an extensive investigation, investigators obtained an arrest warrant for Tiffany Snyder for injury to a child. On August 18, Smith County Deputies responded to a home on County Road 210 in the Chapel Hill area regarding a missing child. After an exhaustive search, the body of Madison Williams, 3, was located in a pond on the property. Snyder was arrested September 9 and booked into the Smith County Jail. Her bond was set at $200,000.
TYLER – TxDOT is planning to conduct the following construction and maintenance work throughout the district during the Week of Sept. 9, 2019. Schedules are subject to change due to weather conditions, equipment failure or other unforeseen issues. Slow down and pay attention when traveling through work zones. In Tyler, the contractor is preparing for a traffic shift for major construction to get underway soon on the FM 2493/Old Jacksonville Highway project between Gresham and Flint. Traffic will be moved to the east side of the roadway where detours have been installed on both ends of the project. Motorists can expect minimal impacts to traffic as trucks deliver construction materials. Go to https://www.txdot.gov/ for the complete rundown.
LONGVIEW — A woman known in East Texas as an unidentified person formerly called “Lavender Doe†officially has her name back after more than a decade. According to our news partner KETK, Dana Lynn Dodd was identified by DNA. This weekend, her family flew from Florida to visit her grave site and give it a new update. She now has a new headstone. The family wanted to thank East Texas, the DNA Doe Project and local law enforcement for helping them get closure. September 6th would have been Dodd’s 34th birthday. Read the rest of this entry »
RUSK COUNTY — A Rusk County Sheriff’s deputy is facing a DWI charge after being arrested in Henderson on Thursday. According to our news partner KETK, Deputy Jimmie Candie was off-duty when he was arrested for DWI Thursday. Candie was arraigned Friday and bonded out of jail a short time later. Deputy Candie was suspended pending the outcome of an internal investigation through Rusk County Sheriff’s Office. Candie resigned from the Sheriff’s Office hours later.
HENDERSON COUNTY — Two people were injured in a fire at a petroleum site Friday morning. According to our news partner KETK, Henderson County Sheriff Botie Hillhouse, said the fire was reported just after 8:00 off of FM 317, south of Chandler. A medical helicopter flew two people to Parkland hospital in Dallas. Identities and extent of the injuries are unknown. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma Highway Patrol says four people died in two head-on vehicle collisions in Oklahoma, including three in one crash. The OHP says Amanda Satoe of Anadarko; Joshua Westerman of Marshall, Texas; and Larry Fitzgerald of Lecanto, Florida, died Tuesday on U.S. 281 near Anadarko, about 45 miles southwest of Oklahoma City. Read the rest of this entry »
CANTON — A woman has died following a wreck on I-20 Monday evening. It happened just before 6:00 about two miles west of Canton in Van Zandt County. According to the Department of Public Safety, 29-year-old Elizabeth Leigh Lindsey, Canton, was traveling east on I-20 in the inside lane when her vehicle began to drift. She reportedly over corrected and hit a semi-truck. Her vehicle flipped several times, ejecting her. Lindsey was pronounced dead at a Tyler hospital. The driver of the truck was not injured. The crash remains under investigation.
VAN ZANDT COUNTY — A wreck involving an overturned semi-truck has closed one westbound lane of I-20 early this morning. According to our news partner KETK, the wrecked truck is near mile marker 535, near the city of Van. The left lane of westbound I-20 has reopened. Commuters can expect traffic delays.
LAKE TYLER — A drowning at Lake Tyler is under investigation. According to our news partner KETK, sources say 22-year-old Natalie Orr of Bullard has been identified as the woman who drowned Sunday evening after jumping from a boat in Party Cove, off FM 3341 and Eastside Road. Game Wardens found her body after 7:00 p.m. An autopsy has been ordered. Tyler Police are conducting the investigation.
EAST TEXAS — Angelina County Commissioner Bobby Cheshire of Pct. 4 has been arrested on a felony charge of continuous violence against a family member. According to our news partner KETK, Cheshire, 51, also has been charged with misdemeanor counts of assault/family violence and interfering with emergency request for assistance. He was arraigned in Justice of the Peace Pct. 1 Judge Billy Ball’s court and was booked into the Angelina County Jail on a bond of $10,000. Cheshire has since bonded out.
EAST TEXAS — Pittsburg police say their building was struck at least four times by gunfire Wednesday night. According to our news partner KETK, the shooting happened at around 10:45 Wednesday night. The building was occupied at the time. No injuries have been reported. Police are working to determine who the shooter is and how many people are involved in this crime. Anyone with information is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 903-843-3131 or the Pittsburg Police Department at 903-856-3330.
EAST TEXAS — A raid in Tyler Tuesday night uncovered a massive drug operation. It happened around 10:30 at an apartment complex on Old Omen Road. Officers seized a half-pound of meth, along with black tar heroin, suspected cocaine, crack and marijuana. Scales, baggies and other items commonly used to distribute the drugs were also confiscated at the scene. Four suspects were arrested. The investigation started in Henderson County following a large meth bust last week. Read the rest of this entry »
SMITH COUNTY — A Tyler man has been charged with promotion of child pornography after confessing to police that he distributed it through his Facebook account, according to an arrest warrant obtained by our news partner KETK. Andrew Armstrong, 27, was investigated for more than a year by the Tyler Police Department on different occasions where they received tips that he was distributing child porn. Armstrong uploaded multiple images of child pornography, according to Tyler police. One of them included a girl, aged 8-12. Read the rest of this entry »
EAST TEXAS — The founder of Pine Cove, Bill McKenzie, died Tuesday. According to our news partner KETK, McKenzie envisioned Pine Cove in 1963 while standing on his father’s land. The camp began with two 20-bed cabins on seven acres of land. Now the camp has 12 locations in Texas and South Carolina. “I didn’t have any special ability to start a camp—only my availability. I didn’t know any better than to believe God.†Bill McKenzie. Pine Cove has invited the public to attend the memorial service and visitation for McKenzie. The visitation will be at Stewart Family Funeral Home in south Tyler on Monday, September 2 from 4-6 p.m. The service will be held in the chapel at Green Acres Baptist Church on Tuesday, September 3 at 11:00 a.m.
SMITH COUNTY — Officials from the Smith County Sheriffs office responded the scene of a gas station at I-20 and Jim Hogg Road Tuesday afternoon where a body was found near a wooded area. According to our news partner KETK, the body was found to be a white male and partially decomposed.The scene was processed for evidence and the neighborhood was canvassed. The cause of death is unknown. An autopsy had been ordered by the Justice of the Peace.
GREGG COUNTY — The Gregg County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the deaths of two people who were found after a welfare check. According to our news partner KETK, the bodies were found in the 300 block of Coulter Road, just off FM 1844, in the East Mountain area of Gregg County. The cause of death is unknown. Autopsies have been ordered.
LONGVIEW — On Wednesday TxDOT crews will be conducting seal coat operations at the I-20 Service Road at FM 2207 in Liberty City and SH 135 from Watson St., just south of the Traffic Circle in Kilgore, to the Rusk County. Alternate routes are encouraged. Motorists can expect lane closures and delays with flaggers and a pilot car providing traffic control at all work locations.