DES MOINES – The Iowa Department of Corrections, Saturday, reported 33-year-old Brandon Allen Mitchell, who was convicted of Willful Injury in Polk County, left the Fort Des Moines Residential Correctional Facility without permission Friday night, and has not returned.

Mitchell is a white male, height 5’9″, and weighs 185 pounds. He was admitted to the work release facility on March 29, 2021. On a Des Moines television station’s social media post about his escape, Mitchell responded by saying through his social media post, “Lol I didn’t escape they opened the door and let me walk out of it… you guys act like I kicked some walls down and climbed over it.” He said tauntingly, also, that “They know where I’m at they always do someone will do there [sic] job for them.”

Brandon Mitchell

Persons with information on Mitchell’s whereabouts should contact local police.

The Iowa Department of Public health, Saturday, said there were 311 new COVID-19 positive tests, and three additional deaths, including one in Union County, where the pandemic total is 33. The total number of COVID-related deaths statewide is 5,983. The health department reports 397,443 total positive tests since the start of the pandemic. The state’s positivity rates continue to decline, with the 14-day rate 3.7%, and the seven-day rate at 3.5%.

COVID hospitalizations across slowly declining. As of Saturday, there were 176 hospitalized, 39 persons in an ICU, 27 people were admitted, and 16 were on a ventilator. In RMCC Region 4 (hospitals in western/southwest Iowa), there are 12 COVID patients hospitalized; five are in an ICU; two people were admitted, and one person is on a ventilator.

There have been more than 2.46-million doses of a COVID vaccine administered in Iowa, with 1.16-million persons having completed their respective vaccination series.

The state reports one Long-Term Care Facility Outbreaks, which is one less than what was reported on Friday. The Urbandale Health Care Center has 19 positive cases among residents and staff,  with 17 total recoveries. The state reports 2,324 care facility deaths since the pandemic began.

In the KJAN listening area, here are the current number positive cases by County; The # of new cases since yesterday {+} if any; and the total number of deaths in each county to date:
Cass, 1,461 cases; {+1}; 54 deaths
Adair, 983; {+1}; 32
Adams, 350 {+1}; 4
Audubon, 526 {+0}; 10
Guthrie, 1,290 {+0}; 29
Harrison County, 1,923; {+1}; 73
Madison County, 1,752; {+6; 19
Mills County, 1,784; {+3}; 22
Montgomery, 1,111;{+5}; 38
Pottawattamie County, 12,178; {+17}; 168
Shelby County, 1,364 {+0}; 37
Union County, 1,362; {+0}; 33

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest Friday evening of a Clarinda man following a traffic stop. At 7:15 p.m. Deputies conducted a traffic stop at Highway 48 and 270th Street. As a result of that stop they arrested 29-year-old Ryan Joel Kaleb Christie of Clarinda for Driving Under Suspension. Christie was taken to the Montgomery County Jail and held on $300 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa House has given final approval to a bill that immediately removes the time limit for filing criminal charges against people accused of sexually abusing a child. During House debate, Friday, Representative Cherielynn Westrich of Ottumwa spoke publicly for the first time about the abuse she suffered as a child.

“It was only as an adult that I was finally able to come to terms and to talk openly about this. I even had to write down my statement because it’s emotional and it’s hard to face,” Westrich says. “…I think we need to support those victims who find the courage to speak out, who find the courage to come forward no matter how long it takes them.” Westrich says this law change gives victims a chance to get justice.

Cherielynn Westrich

“As a small child, I was sexually abused by a babysitter. It was something that I felt a lot of shame for. I was very confused. I was afraid to speak out, but I told my parents, but I wasn’t believed — at that time,” Westrich says. “They’ve since come back and apologized. My mother has cried many nights that she didn’t believe me.” Westrich says as a teenager, she was part of a group who were supporting a friend who had been sexually abused and the memories of her own abuse returned. And her siblings remembered being the babysitter locking them out of the house so he could be alone with her.

Westrich asked her colleagues to think about all the victims of child sex abuse. “One in five girls and one in 20 little boys are sexually abused,” she said. “How many perpetrators is that, that get away with it? That’s a lot of perpetrators. That’s a lot of children that are being hurt.” The legislator who spoke next thanked Westrich for having the courage to tell her story in a public forum and then expressed the hope it would inspire other victims to come forward and press charges.

Under current state law, child sex abuse victims must contact authorities before their 33rd birthday to file criminal charges or sue their abuser. The bill only deals with the statute of limitations for criminal charges. While the bill passed on an 84-to-two vote, critics argued it’s time to lift the time limit on civil lawsuits as well, so victims can sue institutions that knew about child sex abusers, but did not act to prevent them from targeting other children.

Sheriff’s officials in Montgomery County report the arrest Friday evening, of 29-year-old Kaleb Christie, of Clarinda. He was taken into custody following a traffic stop on Highway 48 at 270^th Street, and charged with Driving Under Suspension. Christie was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $300 bond.