Region/state briefs 01/31/03

Michigan man found dead in Marble Hill

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- A Baldwin, Mich., man who was on his way to visit relatives in Arkansas was found dead inside a burned vehicle Thursday morning on a gravel road in southern Bollinger County.

According to Bollinger County Coroner Charles Hutchings, John Groenezeld, 41, had apparently been operating a propane heater in his truck and was probably overcome by carbon monoxide. The truck was found on Bollinger County Road 524 around 7:20 a.m. Thursday.

Hutchings said foul play is not suspected.

Poplar Bluff man charged with marijuana possession

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- A Poplar Bluff man is free on bond after being charged with possessing the substantial quantity of marijuana authorities allegedly found at his residence last week.

Thomas Wade Livingston, 49, of the 5500 block of County Road 426 turned himself in at about 8:50 a.m. Wednesday on a warrant for possession of a controlled substance.

He was booked at the Butler County jail and released on $50,000 bond.

According to the complaint, on Jan. 20 Livingston allegedly, with the intent to distribute, possessed more than 5 grams of marijuana.

The charge reportedly stems from a search warrant that was executed Jan. 20 by members of the SEMO Drug Task Force, Butler County Sheriff's Department, Missouri State Highway Patrol and Poplar Bluff Police Department at Livingston's residence.

Audrain County man dies in grain bin accident

CENTRALIA, Mo. -- An Audrain County man was killed after he became trapped in a grain bin and suffocated in the corn that was in it, authorities said.

Marcus K. Orth, 22, was working alone Wednesday, loading corn into a truck, when he entered the bin on Keith Schnarre's Boone County farm, authorities said. The bin, which holds about 3,500 bushels of grain, was about two-thirds full and Orth became trapped inside the loose corn.

Schnarre said Orth should not have been working alone.

"You're supposed to have somebody with you," Schnarre said. "Everybody knows that's a danger."

Schnarre said Orth used a cell phone to call him and Schnarre's son, Darin, and tell them he was trapped.

He does not know why Orth entered the bin.

Scott Olsen, assistant chief for the Boone County Fire Protection District, said the Schnarres rushed to the bin in an attempt to free Orth but soon realized they wouldn't be able to and called for help.

State to audit child abuse hot line again

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The state's child welfare system again faces scrutiny after a father said he called its child-abuse hot line 40 times before his children were removed from their mother's home.

Missouri Auditor Claire McCaskill said she would scrutinize how the Division of Family Services' abuse hot line operates after reading about the Jackson County case in which a mother and her boyfriend are accused of abusing two girls. It will be the second time McCaskill has investigated the hot line in three years.

Her first audit, in 2000, uncovered multiple problems, including ignored cases, incorrectly classified calls and inadequate staff supervision. She is concerned that problems still exist.

McCaskill's office is auditing the foster care system and expects to release results in March and April. The hotline will be audited after that.

Kennett men charged in Pemiscot County murder

KENNETT, Mo. -- Two Kennett men who were already being held in the Dunklin County Jail on other charges, have been arrested and charged with the murder of a Pemiscot County man, Pemiscot County officials said.

Charges of murder in the first degree and two counts of armed criminal action were filed Tuesday against Robert David Hudson, 38, and Timmy Ray Jackson, 23, by Pemiscot County Prosecuting Attorney Mike Hazel.

The two men are accused of murdering Jimmy D. Grills, 52, of rural Bragg City, Mo., in his home Nov. 30.

-- From wire reports