WorkForce West Virginia has received 35-thousand fraudulent Unemployment claims in the past two weeks. Officials have tracked down some of the scammers to the Charleston area. They are using personal information that was stolen earlier this year in national data breaches. Investigators say they will aggressively pursue and prosecute the perpetrators.
The 2020 Mothman Festival is off. The festival celebrating the legend of the 1966 Point Pleasant Mothman sighting was planned for September. Organizers pulled the plug because of the coronavirus.
West Virginia State Police are looking for two men who broke into several cars and stole wallets in the Fayette County. It happened in May, and the credit cards that were stolen have been used several times. State Police posted surveillance phots of the suspects online.
The Fayette County Sheriff’s Office is looking for a man who has been missing since February. Forty-six-year-old Michael Greene abruptly quit his job, and told people he met someone online. Police believe the person he met was from Cabell or Putnam County.
Search crews from the Ashland Fire Department Dive Team found a firearm in the Little Sandy River that was used in a drive-by shooting. Twenty-five-year-old Richard Carpenter is accused of firing shots on Armada Boulevard in Raceland. No one was hurt.
A man wanted for a deadly hit-and-run in Charleston is under arrest in Ohio. Forty-four-year-old Che Lark is accused of hitting and killing a woman on the West Side in March.
Kanawha County deputies are investigating a suspicious death. Officers responded to a disturbance call at the Budget Host Inn in Malden, and found a man dead in his motel room. The coroner’s office is working to determine the cause of death.
The West Virginia State Fair is on. The board of directors voted to hold the fair in mid-August at the state fairgrounds in Greenbrier County. Under the governor’s reopening plan, fairs and festivals can resume on July 1st with social distancing guidelines.
A 50-year-old Mineral County man has died from COVID-19, bringing the state’s death toll to 86. There are five new cases of the virus for a total of over 22-hundred. The positive test rate is below two-percent.
In-person graduation ceremonies will be allowed beginning June 22nd. The ceremonies will take place at outdoor venues only, and students will have to stay six feet apart. Laidley Field is one of the main venues being considered.