MAN FOUND DEAD IN MEXICO AFTER BOAT CRASH: A 78-year-old Alameda man was found dead in southern Mexico after his boat ran aground, the U.S. Embassy said Sunday.
The body of a man believed to be John Long was found floating Saturday afternoon near his 55-foot sailboat near the town of Puerto Madero, Chiapas, just north of the border with Guatemala, embassy spokeswoman Judith Bryan said.
Long had sent a distress signal from the boat, which bore Irish, Mexican and U.S. flags, Bryan said. Authorities believe he may have had electrical problems and was headed for Panama, she said.
Authorities were investigating whether the boat had any links to organized crime or drugs after they discovered a false bottom presumably for cargo, said an official with Mexico’s navy who asked not to be named for security reasons.
He said that Long had a white beard and was found with bruises all over his body.
Los Angeles
POLICE CHASE BIG RIG ON FREEWAY: A Los Angeles freeway was the scene of a bizarre police pursuit early Sunday, when authorities chased a Vons delivery truck.
Officials say the hourlong pursuit began when Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies responded to a report that a big rig was weaving.
Sgt. Dan Raimo said the driver failed to yield and headed onto Highway 101.
The big rig eventually stopped near Cerritos and the driver was taken into custody.
Raimo says the truck had not been reported stolen.
Santa Barbara
OFFICIALS SEARCH FOR MISSING PILOT: Search-and-rescue teams are looking for a pilot who went missing while flying his experimental aircraft along the border of Kern and Santa Barbara counties.
Authorities say Chris Kidd, 45, took off Saturday morning from an airstrip at his residence in Valley Acres West. He was piloting a home-built white and red Harmon Rocket aircraft to survey the cattle on his family ranch 13 miles away.
Kidd never returned and his family reported him missing Saturday night.
Sheriff’s department teams along with Civil Air Patrol pilots are surveying Kidd’s likely route, but authorities say they’ve been hampered by bad weather.
— Associated Press
