Deputy’s report: Missing 16-year-old found

The following are excerpts from just some of the reports recently generated by the Texas County Sheriff’s Department:

• At approximately 4:15 p.m. July 25, a 53-year-old woman reported that her 16-year-old daughter had run away.

The woman said the girl had been given permission to use her grandfather’s car to go to a job interview and was told to be home in 30 minutes.

An investigating deputy made contact with the woman at her U.S. 63 residence, and she said the girl had last been seen at about 11:30 a.m. at a gas station in Mountain Grove. Dispatch conducted a phone location ping on the girl’s phone, and it was determined to be in Howell County.

Authorities were notified and the girl was found by Missouri State Highway Patrol personnel at a McDonald’s in Mountain View.

• A deputy was dispatched at about 7:50 p.m. Aug. 3 regarding a report of a domestic assault at a U.S. 63 residence at Cabool.

The officer made contact with a 52-year-old woman there who said her 53-year-old former husband had been arguing over finances and his drinking, and that he had punched her with a closed fist. The deputy observed marking where her lip had been imprinted against her teeth.

The woman said she feared for her physical safety and that the man had left with a firearm.

The officer made contact with the man at another U.S. 63 residence, and he claimed that the woman had hit him, too, but no physical evidence was observed. The man was arrested and taken to jail, and a probable cause statement was sent to the county prosecutor.

No gun was found in the residence where the man was located.

• On July 11, a 69-year-old man reported that a Hustler zero-turn mower valued at $4,500 and two trailers with a total value of $3,250 had been stolen from his property on Stouse Drive at Elk Creek.

During subsequent investigation, a 23-year-old Norwood man was identified as a suspect, and the equipment was found and returned to the owner.

A probable cause statement was sent to the county prosecutor seeking a charge of stealing over $750.