Stepfather of missing girl faces federal charge

Stepfather of missing girl faces federal charge

BETHEL, Vt. — The former stepfather of a missing Vermont girl was arrested, and authorities said Tuesday he would be charged with obstructing justice for destroying evidence.

Neither the FBI nor the head of state police discussed what evidence Ray Gagnon is alleged to have destroyed or whether that evidence was part of the investigation into 12-year-old Brooke Bennett’s disappearance or unrelated sexual assault accusations against him.

Gagnon had been scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday on a sexual assault charge involving a minor, but the arraignment was canceled as federal authorities took over. At an afternoon news conference, state police head Col. James Baker said that case was still being investigated and the charge could be refiled.

Ex-convict suspected of killing 8 is captured

GRANITE CITY, Ill. — Authorities say the Illinois State Police have captured an ex-convict suspected of killing eight people in two states.

FBI spokeswoman Kelly Brennan said Nicholas T. Sheley, 28, was captured Tuesday in Granite City, about 10 miles north of St. Louis. She didn’t immediately have more information about the arrest.

A spokeswoman with the Granite City police department says Sheley is in custody there. She declined to elaborate.

The FBI launched a manhunt for Sheley, who they believe is tied to the killings of eight people in Illinois and Missouri.

Among those killed were a 93-year-old man, a child and a couple whose blood-soaked dogs were found roaming a motel parking lot.

Recovery begins slowly for flooded river towns

ST. LOUIS — Some towns along the Mississippi River are beginning the slow task of recovery, even as water remains high.

With the river finally receding from near-record levels, the Federal Emergency Management Agency opened disaster recovery centers in the Missouri towns of Clarksville and Winfield on Tuesday.

The river is dropping as much as a foot a day in Clarksville and Hamburg, Ill., though the pace of the decline is expected to slow, said Ben Sipprell, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service. Many towns can expect the river to remain well above technical flood stage for weeks to come.

A few haven’t hit high-water marks yet. The Mississippi was expected to crest 12.6 feet above flood stage in Chester, Ill., and 10.5 feet above flood stage in Cape Girardeau, Mo., both today. No major problems were expected.

Las Vegas casino sues ‘Girls Gone Wild’ founder

LAS VEGAS — “Girls Gone Wild” founder Joe Francis is being sued by a Las Vegas Strip casino for $2 million in gambling debts from February of last year.

Francis spokesman Ronn Torossian said Tuesday that the man who built the soft porn empire already had satisfied his debt to the Wynn Las Vegas casino through “prior agreements.”

In a statement, Francis said he planned to fight the lawsuit.

“The Wynn hotel has chosen not to honor its agreement to apply certain discounts to balances they have already been paid for,” Francis said.

Sept. 11 memorial

NEW YORK — The head of the foundation building the Sept. 11 memorial told supporters Tuesday it’s “essential” to open the memorial by the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks, disputing a report that the project couldn’t be finished on time.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s executive director, Chris Ward, announced Monday that nearly every project under construction at the World Trade Center site is behind schedule and that the memorial would not be able to open by its target of Sept. 11, 2011.

On Tuesday, Ward said the public might have access to the cobblestone, tree-covered memorial plaza by the attacks’ 10th anniversary, but construction would still need to continue after that.

Jolie goes into hospital to give birth to twins

PARIS — Brangelina’s twins aren’t here yet, but the big day is drawing closer.

The seafront Lenval hospital in Nice in the south of France said Tuesday that Angelina Jolie had checked in at its Santa Maria maternity clinic to be kept under doctors’ surveillance and get some rest before she gives birth.

Associated Press