Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

Officials with the Iowa Department of Public Safety reported late Thursday night, that authorities in western Iowa were investigating the suspicious death of a western Iowa woman whose remains were discovered while officers were investigating the alleged kidnapping and attempted sexual assault of another victim. The body was located at 2242 Ira Avenue, and officials say the death was being treated as suspicious in nature. An autopsy will be conducted by the Iowa State Medical Examiner in Ankeny. The name  of the victim was being withheld pending notification family.

In early May of 2011, a Carroll resident, 50-year old Dawn Allen was reported missing. Her vehicle was found in the parking lot of a club on the east side of Carroll. The last person known to have had any communication with her, 54-year old James Snovelle, committed suicide May 9th in Kansas, as authorities closed in on him. Allen’s remains were never found. It’s not clear if there is any connection with her disappearance though, and the remains found Thursday in neighboring Sac County.

The investigation into death of the woman found Thursday, started at around 8-a.m., when the Sac County Sheriff’s Office responded to Highway 20 and Ira Avenue, two miles west of Early, to investigate an alleged kidnapping. Law enforcement had received a 911 call from a local citizen who had encountered a 21 year old woman attempting to flee a vehicle and claiming she had been kidnapped. Once at the intersection of Ira Avenue and Hwy 20, law enforcement officials made contact with the victim and determined the suspect had fled on foot. A search of the area was conducted and sheriff’s deputies located 21 year old Kirk Riley Levin hiding in a nearby barn. Levin was taken into custody without incident.

The victim reported that Levin showed up at her Storm Lake residence at approximately 6:30-a.m., and initially asked her for a ride. Levin took her out of Storm Lake, to a residence at 2242 Ira Avenue, in Early. The residence is about one-half mile away from the roadside where the victim was discovered by the citizen and law enforcement. The victim reported Levin held her against her will and informed her she was being kidnapped.

Levin was being held at the Sac County jail on 20-thousand dollars bond. He’s facing felony charges of assault with intent to commit sexual abuse (a class D felony), assault while participating in a felony (a class D felony), and 3rd degree kidnapping (a class C felony). Levin is being held on $20,000.00 bond.

The investigation into the kidnapping and death is being investigated by the Sac County Sheriff’s Office, Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, and Storm Lake Police Department. The Buena Vista County Sheriff’s Office and the Iowa State Patrol assisted in the initial search for Levin.

The Page County Sheriff’s Office Thursday, released details about an arrest which occurred Sunday evening. Sheriff Lyle Palmer says 40-year old Merlin Glenn Lininger, of Clarinda, was pulled over for a traffic violation at around 6-p.m. Sunday, in the 1200 block of South 16^th Street.

During the traffic stop, it was determined Lininger’s driving privileges were suspended. He was subsequently arrested for Driving Under Suspension (DUS), and brought to the Page County Jail. Lininger posted bond, and was released pending a hearing on the charge.

The head of a Mason City hospital calls this “a very tragic time” following last night’s (Wednesday) medical helicopter crash in a northern Iowa field that killed the crew of three. Dan Varnum, president of Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa, confirms those killed are: pilot Gene Grell, nurse Shelly Lair-Langenbau and paramedic Russell Piehl. Varnum says, “They, like all Mercy employees, were selfless health care workers who gave their lives to really providing care for others each and every day.”

Fred Buttrell is president of Air-Med, which runs the helicopter service. Buttrell says the Texas-based company has 50 outlets all across the country and makes 50-thousand flights a year. He says this is the company’s first serious incident since 2004. He says the Bell 407 helicopter was put in service new in April of 2011 and it was in full compliance with all of its maintenance and safety checks.

A Bell 407 Medical helicopter, similar to the one which crashed.

“The aircraft was equipped with all of the latest technology, night-vision goggles, avoidance and warning systems,” Buttrell says. “The aircraft did not have the quote black box but it did have a satellite tracking system that monitored aircraft positioning and aircraft information that will be used as part of the download of the investigation.” The chopper crashed near Ventura about 9 P-M as it was flying from Mason City to Emmetsburg to pick up a patient.

The cause of the accident is unknown. The FAA and local law enforcement officials are investigating.

(Bob Fisher/Radio Iowa)