Dive team finds remains of North Carolina woman missing for over a year
The Warren County Sheriff’s Office have been identified as the remains of missing person Dana Leigh Mustian in North Carolina. (Warren County Sheriff’s Office)
(VANCE COUNTY, NC) — The remains of a North Carolina woman who had been missing for over a year have been found by a dive team, officials said.
A dive team discovered human remains in Vance County on Thursday, according to the Warren County Sheriff’s Office. Vance County is northeast of Raleigh and Durham, and borders Virginia on its north.
The remains were identified by the medical examiner’s office as those of Dana Leigh Mustian, 33.
Mustian was last seen at her home on Nov. 30, 2023, according to the Warren County Sheriff’s Office.
She was reported missing by her father on Dec. 4, 2023, according to the sheriff’s office.
The investigation into her disappearance and death will continue, the sheriff’s office said.
“We would like to thank Sheriff Curtis Brame and the Vance County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance,” the sheriff’s office added.
(LOS ANGELES) — Los Angeles residents who fled devastating wildfires are facing a huge recovery and rebuilding effort, as they gather what they can from ruins that were once their homes.
As firefighters continue a massive effort to contain and subdue the historic infernos, Angelenos are grappling with unthinkable loss.
Mike Geller and his 18-year-old son spoke with ABC News among the rubble of Palisades Village, where their family’s 50-year-old jewelry business once stood.
“My family has been doing jewelry servicing of the community for almost three generations,” Geller explained as he pointed to the school next door. “My mother ran this business prior to me, when I was going to elementary school here.”
Now 48, Geller said he’s facing the reality of being forced to start over completely. His business — Jaimie Geller Jewelry — his home, car, truck, motorcycle and the personal belongings of his family of five all burned in the Palisades Fire.
“Thank God I was able to retrieve my birth certificate,” he said. “But every possession my children have accumulated… gone, decimated.”
“I’m in shock,” Geller added. “I’m not even sure how I’m talking to you. I’m absolutely in shock. I’m just going through the motions. It hasn’t really set in yet.”
Geller filed personal insurance claims, though he said he has no clue when any of them will be processed.
Geller said he and many of the older people in the Palisades don’t have the means to wait months — if not years — and rebuild.
“There are people on the Alphabet Streets who bought their homes for $75,000, $50,000,” Geller said. “Those people will not be able to come back. And if they do and they have insurance, will they rebuild? Look, if I’m 75, 80 years old… how much time do I have?”
“It’s about quality of life,” he continued. “If it takes me three years to rebuild, how much more time do I actually have left at that point?”
The Palisades Fire that consumed Geller’s home and business is still burning. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said the blaze was at 23,713 acres with only 14% containment as of Monday morning.
The Eaton Fire north of Pasadena — at 14,117 acres and 33% containment — is also still raging, as is the Hurst Fire near San Fernando, which is now 799 acres in size though 89% contained.
More than 12,000 structures are believed to have been damaged or destroyed, with at least 24 people killed. About 105,000 people remain under mandatory evacuation orders and another 87,000 are under evacuation warnings as of Monday morning.
A preliminary damage estimate by AccuWeather put the economic losses so far between $135 billion and $150 billion, which would put the fires among the costliest natural disasters in American history. High winds forecast through Wednesday threaten to spread the fires further.
Geller’s family and many others are now trying to piece together a plan, even as the smoke from the wildfires hangs heavy over their ravaged neighborhood.
“My wife and I are even considering whether or not we rebuild, really, but at this point with the insurance companies, it’s a smoother transaction,” Geller said. “It’s a smoother road if you rebuild.”
In the meantime, he’s staying in a hotel. Fire victims here are in desperate need of affordable housing, according to Geller. He’s found shelter but said it’s not sustainable.
“It’s insanity,” he said. “Hotels are packed to the gills. Shelters are packed to the gills.”
“Hopefully a lot of these elderly have children,” Geller said. “I pray that they have some means of finding a place to stay, you know — get in and be a home base and just somewhere where they can just recuperate their mindset.”
(LOS ANGELES, Calif.) — Police in Los Angeles said they are looking for a man who stabbed a woman while she was walking down a street and then fled.
The Los Angeles Police Department this week released surveillance footage that captured the disturbing attack as they attempt to identify the suspect.
The incident occurred midday on Jan. 18 in the area of Santa Monica Boulevard and Edgemont Street in East Hollywood, according to the LAPD.
The victim was walking with two other individuals when the suspect approached her from behind and stabbed her twice, police said. He then fled east on Santa Monica Boulevard to the Vermont/Santa Monica MTA Station, police said.
Paramedics responded and transported the unidentified victim to a local hospital, where she was treated for non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
Police released an 11-second video of the attack and an image of the suspect while asking for the public’s help in identifying him. The woman could be seen grabbing her head and doubling over following the assault.
An LAPD spokesperson told ABC News on Friday that there are no updates in the case at this time.
Police described the suspect as a Hispanic man in his 30s with black hair and brown eyes, standing 5 feet, 6 inches tall and weighing 180 pounds.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the LAPD’s Rampart Detective Division at 213-484-3631 during regular business hours or 877-527-3247 during non-business hours and weekends. Those wishing to remain anonymous can go to lacrimestoppers.org.
(NEW YORK) — Over 85 million Americans are under cold weather alerts over the next few days as arctic air plunges south across the country.
Portions of North Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin have an extreme cold warning in effect as wind chills may reach as low as -50°F.
While it won’t be quite that cold farther south, wind chills may be dropping into the teens in cities like Houston and New Orleans early next week.
On Sunday, a developing coastal storm will bring the chance for moderate to heavy snow in several major cities.
Winter storm watches and warnings are in effect for more than 28 million people from the mid-Atlantic to the Northeast on Sunday.
A wide swath of 4 to 8 inches of snowfall is expected from West Virginia to Maine.
New York City is currently forecast to pick up around 3 to 6 inches of snow on Sunday afternoon and into the evening, which could make this the biggest snowstorm in nearly three years for NYC.
As for timing, the bulk of it will be during the afternoon and evening on Sunday, with much of the I-95 corridor from Baltimore to Boston seeing the potential for slick roads.
As the cold snap progresses into the south, there will also be a winter weather potential in cities along the Gulf Coast that don’t often see frozen precipitation, including Houston and New Orleans.
Starting Monday night and continuing through Tuesday, there may be measurable snowfall in Houston, which could create numerous travel issues.
The last time Houston saw 1 inch of snow was back in 2021, but 2008 was the last time they picked up more than 1 inch of snow. New Orleans hasn’t recorded any measurable snow since 2009, and the city hasn’t topped 1 inch of snow since 1963.
It’s too early to determine if they’ll break that streak, but the chance for winter precipitation along the Gulf Coast is real enough that preparations need to be done this weekend ahead of the storm.
