All 6 on board private jet presumed dead after crash during takeoff at Maine airport: Police
(BANGOR, Maine) — All six people on board a private jet are presumed to be dead after the plane crashed while taking off from Bangor International Airport in Maine during the winter storm, according to police.
No victims were taken to the hospital, Bangor police said on Monday. The victims’ identities have not been released.
The Bombardier Challenger 600 crashed around 7:45 p.m. Sunday as the deadly storm slammed the Northeast, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
At the time of the crash, the Bangor International Airport was open, with deicing operations underway and both commercial and private planes landing and departing, Bangor International Airport Director Jose Saavedra said on Monday.
First responders were at the scene of the crash within a minute, Saavedra said.
“The snowstorm started taking effect into the vicinity right around that time,” he said.
“This is normal for us to deal with weather events, and we had crews on site to address the weather event,” he said.
The airport will be closed for at least 24 hours as airport officials wait for National Transportation Safety Board investigators to arrive, Saavedra said.
Spencer and Monique Tepe are seen in this undated photo. (Courtesy Rob Misleh)
(COLUMBUS, Ohio) — A man is due in court on Monday for allegedly gunning down his ex-wife and her husband in their Ohio home and leaving their two young children alive, authorities said.
Dentist Spencer Tepe and his wife, Monique Tepe, were found shot to death on Dec. 30, according to Columbus police, and the mysterious case quickly garnered national intrigue.
McKee, a Chicago resident, was taken into custody in Illinois and is charged with premeditated aggravated murder, according to records.
McKee and Monique Tepe were married in 2015 and divorced in 2017, according to divorce records obtained by ABC Columbus affiliate WSYX. They did not have any children together, according to the records.
Spencer and Monique Tepe married in December 2020, according to their obituary.
The arrest came one day before the scheduled celebration of life service for the couple.
“Today’s arrest represents an important step toward justice for Monique and Spencer,” the family said in a statement. “Nothing can undo the devastating loss of two lives taken far too soon, but we are grateful to the City of Columbus Police Department, its investigators, and assisting law enforcement community. … As the case proceeds, we trust the justice system to hold the person responsible fully accountable.”
“Monique and Spencer remain at the center of our hearts, and we carry forward their love as we surround and protect the two children they leave behind,” the family said. “We will continue to honor their lives and the light they brought into this world.”
ABC News’ Matt Foster, Victoria Arancio and Nadine El-Bawab contributed to this report.
ICE Police and Immigration & Deportation (Douglas Rissing/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The Department of Homeland Security has now picked another state on which to focus its immigration enforcement action: Maine.
On Wednesday, DHS launched “Operation Catch of the Day” — an operation targeting criminal illegal migrants in the state, according to a DHS spokesperson.
Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin singled out Maine Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, and “her fellow sanctuary politicians” for prompting the need for the federal immigration crackdown in Maine.
“We have launched Operation Catch of the Day to target the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens in the state. On the first day of operations, we arrested illegal aliens convicted of aggravated assault, false imprisonment, and endangering the welfare of a child,” McLaughlin said in a statement. “Under President Trump and [DHS] Secretary [Kristi] Noem, we are no longer allowing criminal illegal aliens to terrorize American citizens.”
It was not immediately clear how long DHS plans to keep U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Maine or if the Customs and Border Protection agents currently operating in Minneapolis will move to Maine.
Mills, who has had previous run-ins with President Donald Trump over the past year, is running for the U.S. Senate.
In a statement released on Monday, Andrew Benson, the U.S. attorney for the District of Maine, said people have the right to protest, but not turn to violence, and seemed to indicate a DHS operation was coming.
“In the coming days, if Maine citizens seek to exercise their rights to assemble and protest, it is vital that these protests remain peaceful,” Benson said. “Anyone who forcibly assaults or impedes a federal law enforcement officer, willfully destroys government property, or unlawfully obstructs federal law enforcement activity commits a federal crime and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
There was no immediate comment from Mills on the ICE operation in Maine. But in a Jan. 14 video statement released on social media, Mills said she and members of her administration had unsuccessfully attempted to glean any information about the federal government’s enforcement plans in her state.
Mills said the state was taking proactive steps to prepare for the immigration crackdown.
“I have directed the Maine State Police to work closely with local law enforcement as necessary, to provide whatever support is needed in advance of and during any potential federal operations,” Mills said.
She said her administration had also been in contact with city officials in Portland and Lewiston, the largest cities in Maine, as well as the state attorney general, “to coordinate our response.”
“If any operations take place, our goal as always will be to protect the safety and the rights of the people of Maine,” Mills said. “Look, Maine knows what good law enforcement looks like because our law enforcement are held to high professional standards, they undergo substantial professional training, and they are accountable to the law. And I’ll tell you this, they don’t wear a mask to shield their identities, and they don’t arrest people in order to fill a quota.”
Mills said she fully supported the right for the people of her state to protest, as long as they do so peacefully.
She also directed a message to the federal government.
“If your plan is to come here to be provocative and to undermine the civil rights of Maine residents, do not be confused. Those tactics are not welcome here,” she said.
Lewiston Mayor Carl Sheline slammed ICE in a statement on Wednesday, saying the agency’s “terror and intimidation tactics reflect a complete lack of humanity and concern for basic human welfare.”
“These masked men with no regard for the rule of law are causing long-term damage to our state and to our country,” Sheline said. “Lewiston stands for the dignity of all the people who call Maine home. We will never stop caring for our neighbors.”
In these photos released by the University of South Florida Police Department, Zamil Limon and Nahida Bristy are shown. (University of South Florida Police Department)
(TAMPA, Fla.) — Investigators have listed that two University of Southern Florida doctoral students who went missing last week are endangered as the search continues.
Zamil Limon and Nahida Bristy, both 27, were last seen at separate locations in the Tampa area on April 16, according to the USF Police Department.
Officials received new information to warrant the upgrade to an endangered status, which indicates they are at risk of physical injury or death, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday.
The sheriff did not provide any more details about the investigation or search efforts.
Limon and Bristy are friends, and a mutual acquaintance reported them missing, campus police said.
Limon, who is pursuing a degree in geography, environmental science and policy, was last seen at his Tampa residence at approximately 9 a.m. on April 16, according to police.
Bristy, who is studying chemical engineering, was last seen at the USF Tampa campus at the Natural & Environmental Sciences Building at approximately 10 a.m. that day, police said.
Both students have been entered into state and national missing persons’ databases.
Anyone with information on their whereabouts is urged to call the University of South Florida Police Department at 813-974-2628.
-ABC News’ Meredith Deliso contributed to this report.
