(Radio Iowa) — The question in Marshalltown the past 24 hours is — “Where is Corey Brown? The Marshalltown teen left his home late Tuesday night, apparently after an argument with his parents and hasn’t been seen since. Marshalltown Police Chief Mike Tupper says the search is continuing, adding every piece of information that can be shared with the police is important. “What we’re asking from the public is to help spread the info we pushed out on social media far and wide. If anyone out there in the community has any thoughts or ideas on where this young man could be, please call us so we can follow up on the information,” Tupper says.

Corey Brown

The 13-year old Brown is described as five feet tall, brown hair, weighing 98 pounds. Home security video showed he was wearing a red shirt, black pants, gray tennis shows with a lime green Nike logo, a black and lime green coat and a Seattle Seahawks stocking cap when he left home Tuesday night. Tupper says a search yesterday of the area on the south end of Marshalltown didn’t turn up anything and there is no evidence to show he has been out in the winter weather since leaving home “We’re hopeful that he is with somebody he knows and maybe he’s just apprehensive about coming home right now. If he’s listening, we want him to know that everybody’s worried about him and it’s okay to come home and everybody just wants to help him,” according to Tupper.

Many folks on social media have asked why an Amber Alert has not been issued. Chief Tupper says this situation does not meet the guidelines for an Amber Alert. There is no vehicle to search for, no license plate number, nor is there any evidence that a crime has been committed or that Corey Brown is in imminent physical danger.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Officials in eastern Iowa have decided to spend more than $10,000 on new public benches that don’t have center armrests after an extended debate about whether benches installed earlier were hostile to homeless people. The Iowa City Press-Citizen reports that the Iowa City Council has decided to replace 14 benches in a downtown pedestrian mall with seating that doesn’t include center armrests.

Nichole Novak is an organizer with Iowa City Catholic Worker House, a shelter that led the effort to change the benches. She says the idea is to make “a public space that is welcoming to all.” Cady Gerlach is the director of strategic operations and resource management of Shelter House. She says the money for the benches could’ve been better spent in other ways to help the homeless.

The Iowa Department of Transportation’s 511ia.org reports some crashes on area roads are slowing traffic.

• I-80 eastbound, just east of the Highway 148 interchange at Anita, is blocked in the left lane due to a crash.
• A semi tractor-trailer is jackknifed on Interstate 80 near the Walnut exit due to the icy road conditions. And a westbound pickup spun out and ended up in the ditch in this same location.
• I-80 in Council Bluffs, the southbound I-29 ramp is partially blocked due to a crash. Open as of 8:52-a.m.

Many area roads are partially covered with snow, due to blowing snow. Tow bans are in effect for Mills and Montgomery Counties.

BETTENDORF, Iowa (AP) — A Bettendorf counselor has pleaded guilty again to kissing and touching a client against the woman’s wishes. The Quad-City Times reports that 46-year-old Aracely Schutters filed a written plea Wednesday. The charge: misdemeanor sexual exploitation by a counselor or therapist. Schutters’ sentencing is scheduled for March 7. Schutters initially pleaded guilty in February, but a judge later allowed her to take back the plea after learning Schutters was not informed of some of the plea’s ramifications, including being required to register as a sex offender.

An arrest affidavit says the incident happened Dec. 4, 2017, when Schutters invited the client to her home to talk about the client’s problems. The client reported getting into Schutters’ hot tub, where the counselor reportedly kissed and touched the client. The client then got out of the hot tub and left Schutters’ home.