LATEST NEWS

Sonora, CA — The State of California is hosting a meeting in Tuolumne County this afternoon where leaders from a seven-county region are discussing challenges and opportunities related to broadband internet expansion. It is at the new Tuolumne Resilience Center on Bay Avenue. The federal government will be announcing...

Logan Gomes knew that a journey of 1,000 miles starts with the first step. Sure, the Calaveras High School senior didn’t set out to run 1,000 miles, but covering 60 miles in three different counties in six days is not a task that many runners would want to face.

Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office Search-and-Rescue volunteers and a California Highway Patrol helicopter pilot were looking Tuesday for a 22-year-old woman last seen Monday evening in the raging Clavey River, where snowmelt runoff conditions are currently too dangerous for swiftwater searchers to go in the ice-cold whitewater. Sheriff’s SAR volunteers...

Update at 4:58 p.m.: The CHP has provided additional information regarding this traffic incident. According to reports, the driver was allegedly trying to leave the crash site but was apprehended within five minutes, walking north of the scene. No injuries were reported in the collision; however, three utility poles suffered damage, leading to a three-hour disruption of traffic. Upon conducting a records check, it was discovered that the driver, identified as Daniel Douglas Broady from Groveland, had an active felony warrant with no bail for his arrest. Consequently, he was taken into custody and subsequently booked into the Tuolumne County Jail on the warrant charges, in addition to being cited for drug possession.

COLUMBIA -- Authorities have arrested a woman in connection with the March homicide of a Tuolumne County man.On Thursday afternoon, Tuolumne County Sheriff's Office detectives along with Stockton police officers took  28-year-old Sabrina Starkweather into custody in the Stockton area after having received a tip from a member of the public, according to a statement from the sheriff's office. On March 15, the body of 63-year-old Ben Lindsey was found on the ground at his Columbia. Detectives later determined that Lindsey was killed by his neighbor and tenant 63-year-old Jon Starkweather. Starkweather's daughter, Sabrina, and her boyfriend, 22-year-old Kasual McGuire-Meder were also staying with him and were also implicated in Lindsey's death.Two days later, detectives found McGuire-Meder at the Washoe County Jail where he was being held on unrelated charges. He was subsequently booked on charges of murder, conspiracy to commit a crime, robbery, and taking a vehicle without the owner's consent.Jon Starkweather was arrested the same day near his residence in Columbia. He was taken to the Dambacher Detention Center in Sonora and booked on charges of murder, conspiracy to commit a crime, and robbery. Columbia is located approximately 92 miles southeast of Sacramento in Gold Country.

A woman who deputies have been searching for in connection with a murder in March was arrested on Thursday afternoon, according to the Tuolumne County Sheriff's Office. Sabrina Starkweather, 28, was one of three suspects in the death of 63-year-old Ben Lindsey, who lived in Columbia on Calle Quartz Drive. An autopsy revealed that blunt force trauma was the cause of his death.

Sonora, CA– Law enforcement officials from the Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office (TCSO) apprehended homicide suspect Sabrina Starkweather yesterday, thanks to a valuable tip provided by a member of the community. The timely information, which came in response to TCSO’s public appeal on May 24th, in a story that was covered here, played a crucial role in leading detectives to the Stockton area, where the arrest was successfully made in collaboration with the Stockton Police Department.

Sonora, CA – A Jamestown man could spend the rest of his life in prison for murder. Yesterday (Thursday, May 25), Tuolumne County District Attorney Cassandra Jenecke announced that 51-year-old Steve Berrigan was sentenced to 9 years, 4 months, plus 55 years to life in state prison. He was convicted of the first-degree murder of 76-year-old Craig Arthur Hale of Twain Harte, as well as identity theft and driving a stolen vehicle.

SONORA, Calif. — The third and only outstanding suspect wanted in connection with a March homicide in Tuolumne County is now in custody. The Tuolumne County Sheriff's Office says a community tip about a possible sighting of Sabrina Starkweather led to her arrest in Stockton. She was then taken...

The California Department of Transportation will conduct one-way traffic controls on State Route 120 next week due to drainage work. The work will take place at Big Oak Road and from Wards Ferry Road to Memorial Drive. Motorists should expect up to 10-minute delays and use alternate routes whenever possible.Visit here for more details.

Sonora, CA – Caltrans crews typically shoot to have Highway 108 Sonora and Highway 4 Ebbetts passes open by the Memorial Day weekend, but this year there is just too much snow and storm damage. Caltrans reports that both passes are “experiencing extremely heavy, tightly packed snow with high...

Update: The Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office said a tip from a Stockton resident led to the arrest of Sabrina Stormy Leigh Starkweather. She was booked into the Dambacher Detention Center on a felony warrant for the charges of murder, conspiracy, robbery and vehicle theft and two outstanding felony warrants for failures to appear in court […]

Big Oak Flat Road, the route that leads Highway 120 motorists from Tuolumne County to Yosemite Valley, will reopen “with delays” on June 10, barring unforeseen complications or weather, the National Park Service announced Thursday afternoon. Road crews backed by a contractor and the Federal Highway Administration have...

A woman sought in a Gold Country murder is thought to be in the Stockton area, and the Tuolumne County sheriff is asking for the public’s help in finding her. Sabrina Starkweather, 28, has been a fugitive since shortly after Ben Lindsey, 63, was found slain in his home on March 15. His body was found wrapped in a tarp secured with binder clips; an autopsy determined he had been bludgeoned with a hatchet.

Sonora, CA – Tuolumne County Sheriff’s investigators are asking the public for help in apprehending the final suspect wanted for a Big Hill area murder. 28-year-old Sabrina Stormy Leigh Starkweather remains on the run and is believed to be in the Stockton area. Starkweather is one of three suspects sheriff’s officials say were involved in the homicide of 63-year-old Ben Lindsey. An autopsy showed he died due to blunt force trauma after his body was found at his Calle Quartz Road home near Big Hill Road.

COLUMBIA -- Authorities say they are still seeking one suspect in connection to the March death of a Tuolumne County man.According to the Tuolumne County Sheriff's Office, the body of 63-year-old Ben Lindsey was found on the ground at his Columbia home back on March 15. The coroner's office later found Lindsey died of blunt-force trauma. Witnesses said Lindsey's Jeep had been missing for a few days. Suspecting his death was a homicide, sheriff's detectives processed the scene and pursued available leads. During the course of their investigation, they learned that Lindsey's neighbor and tenant, 63-year-old Jon Starkweather, had recently...

Workers from the Central Sierra foothills to the high country are striving this week to open some facilities and roads that have remained closed so far this spring in the wake of a historically wet winter season. Acorn Campground in the Tuttletown Recreation Area at New Melones Reservoir is scheduled...

Repairing significant flood and erosion damage from winter storms at the Standard Park Sports Complex ballfields will take five to six more weeks, the Tuolumne County Recreation Department and the contractor said this week. Ongoing repairs will delay the start of softball season at Standard Park but other county recreation...