Amber Alert cancelled, missing girl found
The Amber Alert for Alexis Deas was cancelled after the 14-year-old girl was found, WLTX reported. Deas was located early Monday morning in Lancaster county at a family member’s home, according to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. She was treated at a hospital in Cheraw for dehydration.
Before her disappearance, Deas was last seen around 10 a.m. Friday at New Heights Middle school in Jefferson, South Carolina. Reports say that she left with Harland Donnell Melton, her 43-year-old stepfather. Sheriff Jay Brooks reported that the police had information from the family implying Deas and Melton were having an inappropriate relationship.
Police believe the pair may have been traveling to Texas, and police said that Melton still remains at large.
— Lauren Shirley, News Editor
Buildings on North Main to become children’s ‘Art Village’
According to WLTX, some vacant buildings on North Main Street will be used to start construction on what the Auntie Karen foundation is calling the “Art Village.” Karen Alexander, the Auntie Karen founder, will be heading the project.
Converting 24 old apartments from Lutheran Seminary, the foundation will work to create this Art Village geared toward children. It will offer a center devoted to offering classes on visual arts, tech labs, cooking and sewing and interior design to children. A second phase of the project will introduce performing arts into the mix.
They are looking to launch this ‘village’ by Summer 2015. The project has been made possible through a partnership with the Lutheran Theological Seminary, and construction will officially begin in March.
— Lauren Shirley, News Editor
Fire burns house to ground behind Granby Mill Apartments
According to The State, a house in the Granby neighborhood in Columbia caught fire Monday night. Firefighters responded to the fire at a home at the 100 block of S. Williams Street around 9 p.m. The house was located in the residential area behind Olympia’s Granby Mill Apartments.
The house was unoccupied and no injuries were reported, according to department spokesman Brick Lewis. The Columbia Fire Department showed up on scene and continues to investigate the fire. The house was burnt to the ground and was deemed a “complete loss” according to Lewis.
— Lauren Shirley, News Editor