Watercooler Stories

Police: Girl, 5, backed SUV into yard

MANSFIELD, Ohio, Oct. 27 (UPI) -- Police in Ohio said a 5-year-old girl who was worried about her absent mother backed her mom's 1999 Lincoln Navigator into a neighbor's yard.

Mansfield police said the girl, Ameleah Kegley, called 911 Monday evening and said she had not seen her mother since arriving home from school and she initially claimed she did not know how the vehicle ended up in an a neighbor's yard, the Mansfield News Journal reported Wednesday.

Police said they eventually determined the girl had attempted to take the vehicle out to find her mother, but the ignition was not completely on when she shifted the Lincoln into reverse, so it rolled backward into a neighbor's yard.

Officers said they found Ameleah's mother, Christina Hunter, 31, had been taken from her home in an ambulance earlier in the day to be treated for an undisclosed ailment. Hunter said she had asked for the girl's father, Aaron Kegley, 26, to watch over her when she got out of school, but Kegley said he never received the message.

Richland County Children Services is investigating the incident.

"There was no one waiting for the child when she came home on the school bus Monday, according to a police report," Children Services spokesman Carl Hunnell said. "It's not clear who was supposed to meet the child. Adults in the child's life differ on who was responsible to meet her."

Police: Drunk parents had boy, 9, drive

ORLANDO, Fla., Oct. 27 (UPI) -- Authorities in Florida said a Wyoming man was arrested after he and his wife allegedly made their 9-year-old son drive because they were drunk.

The Florida Highway Patrol said they responded to a report of a crash around 11:46 p.m. Saturday at the Sheraton Vistana Resort in Orlando and they arrived to find the 9-year-old had crashed his parents' van through a security gate arm, the Orlando Sentinel reported Wednesday.

Nathan Sikkenga, 31, of Gillette, Wyo., told officers he and his wife had instructed the boy to drive them in the van because they had consumed too much alcohol to operate the vehicle.

Sikkenga was arrested and charged with neglecting a child without great harm. He was released after posting $2,500 bond.

Woman sends nude photos to ex-lover's wife

PASADENA, Texas, Oct. 27 (UPI) -- A Texas man says an ex-lover sent nude photographs of him to his wife and neighbors as an act of revenge.

The man, who declined to give his name, says the woman called his employer, accusing him of stealing on the job. He was fired from his job, KPRC-TV, Houston, reported.

"I lost my job for her," he said.

Pasadena, Texas, police were alerted to the incident when several female neighbors made complaints about receiving the photographs in an envelope addressed to "Ms." The back of each photograph had a vulgar phrase written on it.

"I think she wanted to get me somehow," said the man, who asked to remain anonymous. "I want her to leave my family alone and my kids."

The man says he and his wife have reconciled and he plans to file a lawsuit against the woman.

Police contacted the ex-lover, who agreed to not send any more photos. They say no charges will be filed because no crime was committed.

Student: Nude photo scammer at it again

SAN MARCOS, Texas, Oct. 27 (UPI) -- A Texas State University student says he has been scammed by a man previously indicted for promising Texas Tech students money in exchange for nude photos.

A case in Lubbock County is pending for Terrill Taylor, 21, a former Texas Tech student accused of securing documents by deception. Brandon Barrows says two weeks ago, Taylor offered him $2,500 to pose for photographs in his boxers, the Lubbock (Texas) Avalanche-Journal reported Wednesday.

Barrows says during the photo shoot, he received text messages from a person claiming to be a representative from a company called KG Studios, saying more money would be paid if he posed nude.

"Every time I got a text message, it was [Taylor] texting right there in front of me," Barrows said Tuesday.

Barrows said he left Taylor's apartment when he began to feel uncomfortable and never received any money. He said he later searched Taylor's name online and discovered news stories about the pending case in Lubbock.

Barrows had not yet filed a complaint with San Marco or university police, the Avalanche-Journal reported.