Police recover Travis Kelce’s watch after spate of burglaries targeting athletes during games
Oliver Helbig/Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — Authorities investigating the rash of recent burglaries at the homes of professional athletes have recovered a watch belonging to Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce in Providence, Rhode Island, sources familiar with the case told ABC News.
Kelce’s Leawood, Kansas, home was burglarized as the Chiefs were about to kick off Monday Night Football against the New Orleans Saints hours apart from a burglary at the home of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Police had not previously disclosed a watch was taken from Kelce but did confirm that $20,000 cash was stolen.
Police believe the athletes are being targeted based on their game schedules and are working to determine whether a crime ring is targeting them along with other luxury homeowners.
So far all of these thefts have occurred while nobody is home. There is a concern about what happens if the athlete or his/her family members are present, a security source told ABC News.
The burglars conduct extensive surveillance, sometimes posing as delivery men, maintenance workers or joggers to learn about residences, neighborhoods and security systems, according to an NFL memo obtained by ABC News.
One security source told ABC News the burglars appear to know what they’re looking for, where it is in the home and are in and out within 15 minutes.
(ALPINE, TEXAS) — A hiker has been found dead at a national park in Texas after authorities discovered a car had been parked for several days and launched a search and rescue operation, officials said.
The body of the unnamed 24-year-old hiker was discovered in Big Bend National Park in Texas on Monday after an aerial and ground search by National Park Service rangers and U.S. Border Patrol. Supported by helicopters from the Texas Department of Public Safety and U.S. Customs Air and Marine Operations, they found the hiker’s remains along the park’s “rugged” Marufo Vega Trail, according to a statement from the National Park Service.
“The day before, park rangers observed a vehicle that had been parked for multiple days at the Trailhead for Marufo Vega / Strawhouse / Ore Terminal Trail,” NPS said. “Records indicated that there were no overnight backpackers listed for that area for those nights. A quick search by the park pilot was unable to locate hikers in the area.”
On Monday morning, the park search and rescue team was mobilized across three different trails and air assets were directed to the remote area, authorities said.
“The victim was located along the rugged Marufo Vega Trail. A Department of Public Safety helicopter was utilized to remove the body from the remote area,” NPS said.
The Marufo Vega Trail is a “spectacular yet challenging 14-mile loop that winds through rugged desert and along rocky limestone cliffs. No shade or water makes this trail dangerous during the warmer times of year,” park officials continued. “Even though it is late October, daily temperatures along the Rio Grande and desert areas of Big Bend remain extreme; close to 100 degrees each afternoon. Park Rangers wish to remind all visitors to be aware of the dangers of extreme heat. Hikers should be prepared to carry plenty of water, salty snacks, and to plan on being off desert trails during the heat of the afternoon.”
“Big Bend National Park staff and partners are saddened by this loss,” stated Deputy Superintendent Rick Gupman. “Our entire park family extends condolences to the hiker’s family and friends.”
(NEW YORK) — Steve Witkoff — a friend of, and donor to, former President Donald Trump — told ABC News’ Good Morning America on Tuesday that Secret Service agents protecting the Republican presidential nominee during Sunday’s apparent assassination attempt did “exactly what they’re supposed to do.”
Witkoff was with the former president at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, when Secret Service agents fired several shots at would-be gunman Ryan Wesley Routh, who was allegedly concealed in a tree line 300 to 500 yards from the Republican presidential nominee.
“We were having a great day,” Witkoff said of the incident, during which Secret Service agents rushed Trump to a safe location.
He added that, after hearing the first shot, “I saw the Secret Service do exactly what they’re supposed to do, which was get right on top of the president.” There were “a whole bunch” of agents on top of Trump, Witkoff said.
“They did that job in an exemplary way,” he said. “I was almost mesmerized by everything that was happening.”
“In quick succession, there were four shots and then the Secret Service was whisking him out of there, getting him back to the club house, as he’s the first priority — he’s the protectee,” Witkoff said. “They were engaging in that corner on the sixth hole where evidently … this would-be assassin had put himself, had created a sort of lair there.”
Trump, he said, was “looking over” and “gesturing” to the area at which the Secret Service agents fired. As he was rushed away, the former president appeared “very concerned” about the friends and staffers with him on the course, Witkoff said.
“That’s all he was concerned about,” Witkoff said.
Routh, 58, lay in wait for Trump for nearly 12 hours, authorities said. Secret Service Acting Director Ron Rowe Jr. said the suspect did not fire any shots or have a line of sight on the former president at any time.
Secret Service agents spotted Routh’s gun barrel poking out from the tree line near the sixth green, authorities said. After they fired at the suspect, Routh fled leaving behind a digital camera, two bags including a backpack, and a loaded SKS-style 7.62×39 caliber rifle with a scope.
Routh was detained attempting to leave the area in a vehicle, a witness having reported his license plate number to police. He appeared in court on Monday and currently faces two felony gun charges.
Trump said during an online conversation on the platform X — formerly known as Twitter — that he “was with an agent and the agent did a fantastic job.” The former president posted to the Truth Social platform soon after the incident on Sunday: “I would like to thank everyone for your concern and well wishes – It was certainly an interesting day!”
(TAMPA, Fla.) — Tampa General Hospital put its flood barrier to the test during Hurricane Helene late last month, helping protect the facility from record storm surge.
As Hurricane Milton is expected to bring record-breaking storm surge yet again to the region, the hospital — located on the bay near downtown Tampa — is surrounded by the water-impermeable barrier once more.
Milton is expected to make landfall Wednesday night near Sarasota, south of Tampa, as a Category 3 hurricane. The National Weather Service in Tampa Bay warned on Monday that Milton could be the “worst storm to impact the Tampa area in over 100 years.”
While several health care facilities are suspending service due to Milton, Tampa General Hospital, the region’s only Level I Trauma Center, is preparing to continue normal operations.
The hospital said it has several mitigation measures in place for the storm, including its barrier, made by the company AquaFence. The fence is built to withstand storm surge up to 15 feet above sea level, the hospital said.
Peak storm surge in the Tampa Bay area topped six feet during Helene, which set a new record. The flood barrier “worked effectively to prevent the storm surge from flooding” the main campus, the hospital said in the wake of Helene.
Milton could bring a record-breaking storm surge to the Tampa Bay area. Six to nine feet of storm surge is forecast for the Tampa Bay area.
The hospital said Tuesday it had completed assembly of its flood barrier ahead of Milton “to protect vulnerable areas of the campus against storm surge and flooding.”
“While AquaFence has proven effective in the past, it is just the first line of defense and one of many mitigation efforts we’ve implemented this week to safely continue care for our patients,” Jennifer Crabtree, chief of staff at Tampa General, said in a statement to ABC Orlando affiliate WFTV.
Other measures to help sustain hospital operations during the storm include an on-site water source, in the event that water service is disrupted, and an on-site energy plant located 33 feet above sea level that is built to withstand the impact and flooding of a Category 5 hurricane, the hospital said. The hospital said it has also stocked up on more than five days of supplies, including food and linens, and more than 5,000 gallons of water.
Tampa Bay, and many areas across the surrounding peninsula, are particularly vulnerable to hurricanes since these regions have not been hit with a major hurricane in decades.
Hospital systems in the region have invested in flood mitigation, hardening their facilities and moving electrical equipment to levels to protect against flooding, according to Mary Mayhew, president and CEO of the Florida Hospital Association.
“Flooding is such a huge concern,” Mayhew told ABC News. “And now, on the heels of Helene, where we have debris that is, strewn up and down the Gulf Coast, drains are plugged, they’re filled with sand.”
