(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports one arrest and a property damage accident. Authorities say at around 7:17-p.m. Thursday, Deputies conducted a traffic stop in Red Oak, and upon further investigation, arrested 35-year-old Samantha Josephine Wheatley, of Shenandoah, for Driving While Suspended. Wheatley was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on bond amounting to $491.25.

And, at around 8:40-a.m. Thursday, Deputies in Montgomery County received a report of a two-car, property damage accident that had occurred in at 122 W. High Street, in Villisca, where a 2019 Hyundai Kona was legally parked on the street. The vehicle had been struck by a 2002 Ford F-150 pickup, driven by 39-year-old James R. Gilvin, of Villisca. Authorities say Gilvin was traveling west of High Street and attempting to secure a pet in the passenger compartment of the vehicle. His distraction resulted in the pickup hitting the car on the left rear side.

The Kona sustained $6,000 in damage, while damage to the pickup was estimated at $3,500. There were no injuries and no citations issued.

(Ames, Iowa) – Officials with the Ames Police Department report Officers responded Thursday afternoon (12/8/22), to an accident at the North Dakota train crossing. Witnesses reported that a pedestrian had been struck by a train. When officers arrived on scene, they determined the person was deceased.

The accident is currently under investigation. The name of the victim is not being released pending positive identification and notification of family.

Anyone with information relating to this incident is encouraged to contact the Ames Police Department at 239-5133 or the anonymous tip line, 239-5533. You may also contact Crime Stoppers of Central Iowa at 515-223-1400. Online anonymous tips may be submitted to www.crimestoppersofcentraliowa.com or text a tip, Text “PCCS” plus your message to 274637 (CRIMES).

(Harlan, Iowa) – A former Harlan Community School District “teacher associate” is facing charges in two separate felony cases. KETV in Omaha reports investigators said 35-year-old Ashley Cibic is accused of having a relationship with a student and buying prescription drugs from an undercover officer. A criminal complaint alleges Cibic had a relationship with an 18-year-old student. The complaint states the student confirmed the relationship to investigators and alleges that deputies found pictures of Cibic and the student in bed.

Then in October, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office said Cibic bought hydrocodone, a prescription opioid, from an undercover deputy. Investigators said Cibic left her 13-year-old autistic son home alone to go make the purchase.

The woman is charged with: Sexual Exploitation by a school employee (a Class-D Felony); A controlled substance violation (Class-C Felony); Child Endangerment; and two counts of Unlawful possession of prescription medication. Her arraignment is set for Dec. 19th, with a pre-trial conference scheduled for January 23rd. Cibic’s trial is set for February 7, 2023.

In a letter to parents, the district said Cibic was a teacher associate at the high school. It said she was placed on leave after her arrest and fired once charges were filed. The district said the relationship with the student did not happen during school hours or on school property.

FREMONT COUNTY, Iowa – Officials with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) said today (Thursday), that “Over the past three days, state, local, and federal law enforcement assisted with an investigation in Fremont County. Authorities brought in an array of experts representing several disciplines and significant assets to excavate, collect and examine soil samples from a site identified by a reporting party. After exhaustive efforts, no evidence or other items of concern were recovered.

Law enforcement agencies coordinating this effort included the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Division of Criminal Investigation and the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office.”

You may recall that in late October, the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office said they were looking into claims from a woman there who said her father murdered many women decades ago and buried the remains in a remote field near Bartlett. The woman claims her late father killed at least 50 women over a span of three decades and used his children to help bury them in a well. The alleged victims are believed to be prostitutes or transients picked up in Omaha and lured to the farmland.

The man who allegedly committed the murders, died in 2013, at the age of 75.