A Pennsylvania man is being accused of kidnapping a 13-year-old Jackson County girl, taking her back across the country and sexually assaulting her.

The Lancaster County Pennsylvania District Attorney’s office reported on Friday that 38-year-old Andrew E. Howland of Lancaster City was arrested last week after a multi-agency investigation led them to a hotel room where the girl was rescued and he was arrested.

The investigation found that Howland had been communicating the girl online, and outlined his plan to bring her to Pennsylvania to sexually assault her. Howland is accused of kidnapping the girl at about 1 a.m. Tuesday morning and then drove through several states before returning to several hotels with her in the Lancaster area.

Howland is facing felony charges of kidnapping, unlawful contact with a minor, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, statutory sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault, interference with custody of children, and misdemeanor counts of indecent assault and corruption of minors.

The Lancaster County Children’s Alliance and Lancaster County Children and Youth Agency assisted the girl and she is in the custody of social services.

Lancaster County District Attorney’s office announcement

Photo courtesy of West Hempfield Township Police Department.

Seymour police recovered a stolen handgun and made a drug arrest during an investigation Thursday.

According to police reports, officers had a tip about the location of a stolen gun and a wanted man in the 200 block of East 13th Street. Officers noticed a car in the driveway and in plain view inside was the allegedly stolen weapon.

Police had the vehicle towed back to police headquarters and after getting a search warrant, they recovered the weapon which had been reported stolen in November.

At the home, officers found 20-year-old Tyler Burke of Seymour who was wanted on an outstanding warrant. With a second search warrant, officers discovered two handguns, marijuana and drug paraphernalia in the home. He was arrested on charges of possession of a handgun without a permit, theft and possession of marijuana, along with the outstanding warrant.

A juvenile at the home was also arrested on a charge of obstruction of justice, but was released to a grandparent. Police say the investigation is ongoing.

Today was the third highest day so far for positive COVID-19 cases in Indiana.

The state reported 8,003 new positive COVID-19 cases but some of those date back to Oct. 26th. The previous single day high was yesterday with 8,457.

The state is also reporting 84 deaths and a 7-day positivity rate of 11.7 percent.

Bartholomew County had 114 new cases to report, with a 7-day positivity rate of just over 10 percent. Decatur had 44 new cases, Jennings 34, Jackson 54, Brown 4, Johnson 247 and Shelby 68. Jennings had two new deaths to report while Bartholomew, Shelby and Johnson counties each added a single death.

Jackson County continues to be red on the state’s color-coded COVID-19 spread map, showing a severe spread of the disease. Bartholomew and other surrounding counties remain orange, showing serious spread of COVID-19.

Columbus Regional Health is announcing that the CRH Wellness Center is being closed for the rest of December, with the hope to reopen on January 4th.

The hospital announced that with the spread of COVID-19 at an all-time high, that it would close the center and suspend ongoing classes to try to limit the spread of the disease. The center leadership and fitness instructors are encouraging residents to continue to take part in solo exercise plans or by including household members in group fitness activities.

CRH says the decision to close was made to keep Wellness Center customers as safe as possible.

The Bartholomew County Health Department and the Indiana Immunization Coalition will be holding a walk-in flu vaccination clinic on Saturday at the Bartholomew County 4-H Fairgrounds Community Building.

The clinic will be for those older than six months. Private insurance, Medicaid, or Medicare will be accepted as well as those with no insurance. Masks are required.

The clinic will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the fairgrounds on Bartholomew County Road 200S. You can get more information at 317-628-7116.

The Town of Hope will be holding its community-wide Deck The Town holiday lights competition again this year. And the prize will be the traveling trophy – a replica of the leg lamp from “The Christmas Story” movie.

All homes in the town limits will be considered if they are decorated for Christmas on or before Dec. 16th. Photos from all the lit homes will be hosted on the Main Street of Hope Facebook page for voting. Voting will continue until 10 p.m. in the evening on Dec. 20th.

Main Street of Hope Facebook page

Two Columbus men found in a storage facility with bolt cutters Wednesday night are facing attempted burglary charges.

Columbus police say that they were called to the storage facility on North Indianapolis Road at about 11:30 Wednesday night after a security guard saw the two men in the facility. He said they did not come through the front gate and police found a hole cut in the fence.

The two ran away when police arrived but officers cordoned off the area and soon found 31-year-old James M. Kapetanois. Police brought in police dog Argo who found 39-year-old Matthew B. Herron. A set of bolt cutters were also recovered with Herron.

They are both facing charges of attempted burglary and trespassing. Kapetanios is also being accused of carrying a syringe.

A report of a woman being held at gunpoint led to a standoff with police and the arrest of a Jennings County man yesterday morning.

The Jennings County Sheriff’s Department said deputies were called to a domestic dispute in the Hickory Hills Subdivision at about 9:45 a.m. Thursday morning. Deputies say that a woman had escaped from the home and called for help after having a gun pointed at her by 57-year-old Anthony R. Dean.

Dean wouldn’t talk to deputies by phone but repeatedly tried to call the victim. The Jennings County Emergency Response Team and Indiana State Police SWAT teams were called in and continued to try to contact Dean. He reportedly walked onto the front porch several times and eventually was talked into sitting in a chair on the porch. The SWAT team and Jennings County police dog Axle moved in to prevent him from going back inside.

After a brief struggle, including punching Axle and the use of less-lethal weapons, Dean was taken into custody. After being taken to St. Vincent Jennings Hospital to be checked out, Dean was arrested on preliminary charges of intimidation with a deadly weapon, domestic battery, resisting law enforcement and criminal confinement.

Indiana had its highest single-day total number of positive COVID-19 tests reported yesterday, although some of the tests are weeks old.

The state reported 8,527 new positive COVID-19 cases but some of those date back to Nov. 13th. The previous single day high was Nov. 13th with 8,283 three cases.

The state is also reporting 60 deaths and a 7-day positivity rate of 11.4 percent.

Bartholomew County had 124 new cases to report, with a 7-day positivity rate of 10.4 percent. That marks a new single-day high. Decatur had 34 new cases, Jennings 39, Jackson 116, Brown 21, Johnson 249 and Shelby 36. Jackson and Brown counties each had one new death from the disease.

Jackson County continues to be red on the state’s color-coded COVID-19 spread map, showing a severe spread of the disease. Bartholomew and other surrounding counties remain orange, showing serious spread of the disease.