Thursday
• December 17, 2015
www.magicvalley.com •
$1.50
In Duck Hunt Season, Fish and Game Is on the Prowl • B5
Idaho lawyer: Counties, Not State, Liable for Public Defense REBECCA BOONE Associated Press
OISE • An attorney for the state of B Idaho says the American Civil Liberties Union is suing the wrong people over the state’s allegedly unconstitutional public defense system. Deputy Attorney General Michael Gilmore told a judge Wednesday that neither Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter, the Public Defense Commission nor the state as a whole has the legal authority or responsibility to enforce standards on county public defense systems. “That’s not how a system of government based on a separation of powers principle works,” Gilmore told the judge. It would have been more appropriate for the ACLU to sue county commissioners, magistrates or judges, Gilmore said. The ACLU contends state officials have known for several years that overwhelming case loads, underfunded budgets and a patchwork system that varies county by county prevent defendants from receiving adequate legal representation guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. Though the ACLU has brought similar cases over public defense systems in parts of Michigan, Washington state and other regions, attorneys on the Idaho lawsuit say it’s the first such case against an entire state. ACLU attorney Jason Williamson told 4th District Judge Sam Hoagland that the organization could have taken a county-by-county approach, but that would take years, leaving defendants to continue to get unconstitutional representation well into the future. “We were not quick on the draw” to bring the lawsuit, Williamson told the judge, but instead gave the state plenty of time to take action. Idaho can’t escape liability just by claiming there’s no one to sue, Williamson said. He agreed that the state could delegate that responsibility to counties, but he said the counties must also have the resources and training to carry out the task. Idaho is one of just three states that don’t provide funding for public defense, Williamson noted. Please see DEFENSE, A4
DREW NASH, TIMES-NEWS
William Streling embraces his family during a vigil for his daughter, Tiffani Streling on Wednesday night on Overland Avenue in Burley.
If Only in Their Dreams
At Christmastime, families hold onto hope for missing loved ones ERIC QUITUGUA equitugua@magicvalley.com
URLEY • Holidays, birthdays and milestones B come and go, but for families of people who have gone missing, the absence of their loved one brings grief with Christmas cheer. The family of Tiffani Streling, the 21-yearold Burley woman who has been missing since May, prepared for an evening vigil Wednesday during frigid weather. Getting her name back in the news brings hope but also heartache, Streling’s stepmother, Stephanie Albert, said. Her family joins dozens of others in southcentral Idaho who are missing family members this Christmas. “My mom has a closet full of gifts she wraps every year,” Sheila Van Zant-Lewis said.
tdunlap@magicvalley.com
WIN FALLS • Are you dreamT ing of a white Christmas? Well, keep at it. The probability of powdery moisture falling from the sky is high. The Climate Prediction Center, a section of the National Weather Service, predicts the probability for precipitation is 70 percent for the Magic Valley. Joel Tannenholz, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said, while the probability is high, the temperatures could go either high or low. That means there will be moisture, but whether it’s in the form of snow or rain, is still uncertain.
I f You Do One Thing: Magic Philharmonic Orchestra presents its Christmas concert at 7:30 p.m. at King Fine Arts Center, 2100 Parke Ave., Burley. Tickets: $10 adults, $3 students.
1439 N. College Road E.
of unidentified people to her brother’s profile. Her mother has, on at least two occasions, sent out fliers to every sheriff’s office in the country, Van Zant-Lewis said. But so far, no luck. Streling’s family has also stayed vigilant in their search for their daughter. Throughout the spring and summer, Albert and Streling’s father, William, combed the Magic Valley. They’ve sent out fliers all over the state. Desperate for hope, they’ve even consulted two psychics. Right at the seven-month mark, they feel no closer to finding her. “It’s horrible. It’s hard,” Albert said of spending Christmas without Streling. “We still try to include her in some way.” Please see MISSING, A8
‘White Christmas’ Likely in the Magic Valley TETONA DUNLAP
5 Reasons to Visit Thousand Springs State Park in Winter • B5
Her brother, Patrick Beavers, disappeared from his home in Jerome in the middle of the night on April 3, 1997. He had cut up his identification cards and walked out into a snowy night. He left behind his coat, wallet, tax forms and a rifle. He also left behind a farewell note: “My will,” he said. “Mom gets everything. Sorry but my time here is up. Love you all, no blame, ecxsept (sic) my own.” Since he’s been gone, celebrating holidays seems pointless. “I don’t celebrate the holidays,” his sister said. “It’s kind of senseless now. My mom doesn’t do anything for the holidays because she’s depressed. One of her children is missing.” Van Zant-Lewis still searches for her brother 18 years later. She uses websites like NamUs and the Doe Network to compare the records
High
12 Days of Christmas: 12 Days, 12 Stories, 12 Songs The Times-News is wishing readers a happy holidays by sharing one story a day with a Christmas carol theme from now until Dec. 25. Check out Magicvalley.com, where each day you’ll find a new Christmas song connected to each story in the series. Today, the fourth day of Christmas, is “White Christmas.” “Based on a 30-year average for the Twin Falls area, there is a 60 to 75 percent that there will be greater than 1 inch of snow on the ground,” Tannenholz said. “For Boise, it’s a lot lower than that because we are at a lower elevation.” What states should you be in if
34° 31°Low
you want to see a white Christmas? The National Weather Services lists Idaho along with Minnesota, Maine, upstate New York, the Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
Comics C12 Markets A2
Please see WHITE, A4
Crossword C5 Dear Abby C4
Snow Possible. B4
Twin Falls, ID 83301
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Jumble C2 Obituaries A5
DREW NASH, TIMES-NEWSFILE PHOTO
Robert England sleds down an embankment with his son Nathan, 5, Dec. 25, 2014, on the CSI campus in Twin Falls.
Opinion A7 Sudoku C4
A8 • Thursday, December 17, 2015
Active Missing Persons Cases Fred Miller
Disappeared on Aug. 17, 1968 at age 66 Gray hair, blue eyes, 5-foot-10, 175 pounds Miller was last seen driving away from a bar in Hagerman on the evening of Aug. 17, 1968. He was in a white, four-door 1960 Rambler Ambassador and had two hitchhikers in the car with him. They were identified but not publicly named.
Louis Neguelouart Last seen in Gooding on Jan. 12, 1986 at age 48 Brown hair, brown eyes, 6-foot-1, 200 pounds
DREW NASH, TIMES-NEWS
Donna Munoz prepares to release her balloon during a vigil for Tiffani Streling Wednesday night on Overland Avenue in Burley.
Missing Continued from A1
Hope, Heartache
“Every time we make big plans for Tiffani, we get the weird stories,” Albert said. The absolute worst one was the “Internet one,” Albert said. In August, William Streling received a message on Facebook from a Seattle woman who claimed his daughter was in a sex-trafficking ring in Canada. In exchange for further information, she wanted the father to fly out to Washington and pay her. Instead, he went to detectives who determined it was a fraud.
There was also a man on a missing persons Facebook page who recently said he may have encountered Streling in Arizona. The man claimed he was at a restaurant in Chandler, Ariz., when a woman who resembled Streling bummed a cigarette. She told him her name was Taylee and had left Burley for Arizona because things there had gotten “bad,” he said. But that turned out to be a dead end, Albert said. Despite the lack of solid leads, Albert remains steadfast in her search for Streling. Before the vigil, Albert said nothing will stop the family from searching for their daughter. “She’s a strong girl and if she’s still alive, she’ll come home,” she said. “She’ll fight.”
The Missing In the Magic Valley, dozens of people are reported missing each year. Lori Stewart, a spokesperson for the Twin Falls County Sheriff’s Office, said this year the department has had 62 calls for missing people. Of those, 14 resulted in the office opening cases. Those cases involve runaways, hunters and people who left on their own but were later found safe. Stewart said a common call is for people who were lost
or stuck in the mountains on snowmobiles. George Warrell, Cassia County’s undersheriff, said there are many factors to look into when investigating a missing persons case, including the possibilities of parental abduction and if the person simply ran away. “We get a lot of runaways,” he said. “Most of them get found and returned home or we go and pick them up and they end up getting detention.”
The Found In Jerome County, two people who were previously reported missing were found safe. Regina Twist left her home in April 2013. A little more than a year ago she made contact with her family in Twin Falls. Leticia Chavez, who left her home in March 2009, was found living with family in Mexico.
“We routinely go back on our runaways and missing persons files,” said Lt. Dan Kennedy of the Jerome County Sheriff’s Office. In Rupert, Jessica Valencia, a teenager who ran away in July 2011, was found living in Arizona with her biological mother.
Neguelouart was last seen in Gooding County. He had picked up his last paycheck but his bank account was overdrawn by $56 four days after his disappearance. His vehicle was found abandoned north of Las Vegas on Highway 93. A side window had been punched out and the keys, along with Neguelouart’s belongings, were still inside.
Richard Willis Bendele
Disappeared on Nov. 17, 1996 at age 29 Brown hair, green eyes, 5-foot-11, 170 pounds Bendele was hunting north of Rupert near Laidlaw Park on Nov. 17. He called his mother to say his blue pickup truck stalled and he was getting help. It was discovered abandoned. Bendele was never heard from again.
Ruben Felix
Disappeared Feb. 23, 1997 at age 2 in Shoshone Blonde hair, blue eyes, 2-foot-5, 32 pounds Ruben’s stepfather was watching him at the family’s ranch along the Little Wood River. Ruben was in the front yard drinking from his bottle when the stepfather went inside the house for a moment. When he returned, Ruben was gone. Searchers found a child’s footprint on the riverbank but did not find Ruben.
Robert Swaner
Disappeared from Blaine County on June 27, 2001 at age 65 Graying brown hair, blue eyes, 5-foot-9 and 180 pounds
An avid hiker, Swaner’s disappearance wasn’t a cause for concern initially. His car was found abandoned at Fisher Creek north of Ketchum but Swaner was never heard from again.
Thomas Randall Hedgecock
Disappeared from Filer on May 24, 2004 at age 51 Blond hair, hazel eyes, 5-foot-7, 200 pounds Hedgecock left his home at 10:30 p.m. to attend a barbecue. On May 31, his cream-colored 1982 Dodge pickup truck was found wrecked 65 feet down an embankment close to the Snake River between Filer and Wendell. His truck was badly damaged but there was no sign of Hedgecock at the scene. Investigators found no blood or footprints on the ground outside the vehicle but believe he is deceased.
Luis RodriguezHernandez
Disappeared from Jerome on July 4, 2005 at age 41 Black hair, brown eyes, brown skin, 5-foot-2, 160 pounds Rodriguez-Hernandez left his home for work at Bettencourt Dairy at 8:30 a.m. and was later seen leaving at 4:30 p.m. However, his employer said Rodriguez-Hernandez didn’t work that day. His two-tone blue 1987 GMC pickup truck was found in a Walmart parking lot in Las Vegas two weeks later. He was never heard from again. A death certificate was issued citing a gunshot wound to the head as the cause of death.
John “Mike” Carroll
Disappeared from Victor on Nov. 10, 2005 at age 43 Graying curly blond/ brown hair, blue/hazel eyes, sideburns and long hair, contorted right arm and hand Carroll, a Burley native, was living in Victor and working as a delivery driver for a lumber yard in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He was last seen at a cabin where he was living. He left all of his belongings behind including keys
and a wallet with $7,000 in cash. He left the cabin locked but didn’t take any of his vehicles. Money in his two bank accounts were untouched.
Kevin Bowman
Disappeared from Twin Falls on Oct. 15, 2010 at age 33 Brown hair, brown eyes, 6 feet tall, 170 pounds Bowman was paid twice his normal paycheck on Oct. 5 by his employer in Twin Falls. He said he’d pay his boss back but bought a car that night and later on a pre-paid cellphone. Three days later, Bowman’s roommate found all his things were gone. Bowman’s family reported him missing in January 2011. On May 7, a hunter found Bowman’s vehicle crashed into a tree off a dirt road near U.S. 80 east of Wells, Nev. Inside the car were his luggage and keys but Bowman was nowhere to be found. A missing persons investigator said the car had been through the winter. His cellphone was last used on Oct. 14, 2010. Investigators have found no activity on Bowman’s bank accounts since his disappearance.
Laura Adame
Disappeared from Jerome on Sept. 28, 2006 at age 14 Black hair, brown eyes, 5-foot-1, 113 pounds Authorities believe Laura left on her own and may be traveling in a white Jeep. She was seen wearing a black tank top, black slacks and black flip-flops.
Maria Medel
Disappeared from Twin Falls on Feb. 11, 2009 at age 15 Brown hair, brown eyes, 5-foot-1, 123 pounds Authorities believe Maria moved to Mexico with her mother but have been unable to confirm this.
Aurora Payton Fallis
Disappeared from Gooding on Oct. 20, 2015 at age 17 Black hair, blue eyes, 4-foot-11, 130 pounds She was last seen wearing a black/purple hoodie and fuzzy tan boots.
2338 Overland Ave | Burley
878-8004
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