Girl reported missing after social worker visits

Girl reported missingafter social worker visits
AURORA, Colo. -- A missing 6-year-old girl, who police say may have been dead for more than a year, was reported missing less than two hours after a social worker visited her father's home last week, a newspaper reported Thursday. Catholic Charities President Jim Mauck confirmed the Nov. 14 visit, but refused to provide details. The annual visit was to help determine if the family remained eligible for financial assistance, the Rocky Mountain News reported. Aarone Thompson's father reported her missing that same day, telling authorities she had run away after an upsetting event. Police said they called off their search for the child after three days following a tip from "a person with very close ties to the family" that led them to believe she was dead. Interim Police Chief Terry Jones has said the girl may have been killed as long as 18 months ago. Her father, Aaron Thompson, and his girlfriend have been described as "persons of interest."
Pardoned turkey drawscheers at Disneyland
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Marshmallow, the white turkey pardoned by President Bush, spent its Thanksgiving at Disneyland, perched atop a float in a clear enclosure and surrounded by children in pilgrim costumes. The 35-pound national turkey was one of two pardoned by the president this week, and it drew cheers from onlookers as the colorful holiday parade wound its way through the theme park amid a spray of confetti. A sign above the float read: "The Happiest Turkey on Earth." "He was gobbling away and his feathers were fully open and he was having a good time," Disneyland spokeswoman Valerie Sukovaty said.
Four friends travelingfor holiday die in crash
MILWAUKEE -- Four friends traveling to Mississippi for a Thanksgiving gathering were killed when their vehicle collided nearly head-on with a tractor-trailer in southeastern Missouri, officials said. The sport utility vehicle crossed the median on Interstate 55 and into the path of the tractor-trailer Wednesday morning near Portageville, Mo., according to the Missouri Highway Patrol. The victims included the driver, Steven Branch, 52, and three passengers, Robert Thompson, 74, Joseph Downs, 71, and Betty Wimpie, 44, all of Milwaukee, according to the highway patrol. Wimpie's brother, Dennis Wimpie of Milwaukee, said the four were going to visit friends for the holiday. The truck driver, John Sparks, 53, of Sikeston, Mo., was hospitalized in serious condition Thursday, the highway patrol said.
Colombian soldiers nabsuspect in terrorism acts
BOGOTA, Colombia -- Soldiers captured a senior guerrilla commander suspected of carrying out more than a dozen kidnappings and other terrorist attacks over the past two decades, the military said Thursday. Arcesio Lamus, leader of the Bolshevik Front of the National Liberation Army, was captured during a gunbattle Wednesday near Villa Hermosa, about 140 miles west of Bogota. His group is the smaller of Colombia's two leftist rebel groups known as the ELN. No casualties were reported among government forces. A 14-year-old rebel fighter was also captured but the rest of the group escaped. Gen. Alberto Suarez, commander of the army's 5th Division, called Lamus "a very important member of the ELN's national leadership," who orchestrated more than 15 kidnappings.
Associated Press