Law officers in western Iowa are reminding everyone the importance of keeping cell phones charged with G-P-S locators on while traveling in cold weather. Woodbury County deputies found a missing Sioux City woman in the snow in a farm field near Moville Tuesday through the G-P-S coordinates on her phone. Woodbury County lieutenant, Tony Wingert says the cell phone helped save 24-year-old Shaniqwa Hayes’ life.

He says leaving your cell phone on and having it hooked up to a charger in you car “that will help greatly, immensely, save lives, because law enforcement can use it to locate that cell phone.” He says the cell phone can still be used, even if you aren’t able to use it to call for help. “If you don’t have coverage…the cell phone towers will still be able to locate you so law enforcement can get there to help you,” Wingert says.

Hayes remains hospitalized in Sioux City. Her family has asked that her condition not be released.

(Radio Iowa)

The Council Bluffs Police Department is asking for the public’s help in identifying a suspect wanted for questioning in connection with a vehicle burglary. (See photo’s posted below) The incident occurred at the Ameristar Casino.

If you have information on this person, call Crimestoppers at (712)328-STOP (7867) or submit an online tip at http://www.councilbluffs-ia.gov/…/Po…/Report-a-Tip-Online-33.

The Union County Sheriff’s Office reports a man wanted on a Union County warrant for Failure to Appear in Court on a 5th Degree Criminal Mischief charge, was arrested today (Friday), at the Union County Law Enforcement Center. 25-year old Christopher Dale Browning, of Creston, was arrested at around 12:40-a.m.  He was later released on $300 bond.

Iowans are being warned about a scam that’s surfaced this week, following Wednesday’s world record Powerball drawing. Jim Hegarty, at the Better Business Bureau, says crooks are always looking for new ways to separate unsuspecting folks from their money. “We’ll probably start seeing texts and emails that are going out to people saying, ‘We’re sorry you weren’t a grand prize winner but you were a secondary winner,'” Hegarty says. They’ll claim your numbers were picked and you’re eligible to collect a few hundred-thousand dollars. “You call a number and then you’ll be connected with scammers and they’re going to work you,” he says.

Hegarty says Iowans need to be very wary of this type of email, letter or phone call. “If you think this through, there’s no way they can know who you are, they don’t know who has bought these tickets,” he says. “It’s like the foreign lottery scam that we’ve seen for years. You get a letter in the mail saying you’re the grand prize winner of a foreign lottery that you entered because you shopped at Walmart or Target or whatever.”

Con artists have learned to make it appear that they’re legitimate, so Hegarty says you need to be on guard when answering your phone and when opening your mail and email. “The tip-off the the rip-off is that you’ve been contacted,” he says. “They’ll spoof the email to make it look like it’s coming from Powerball, they’ll spoof phone calls to make it look like that, too, so don’t trust caller I-D, don’t trust the address.” Hegarty says if one of these scammers calls you, simply hang up.

(Radio Iowa)