(Photo Courtesy of Dolton Police)
Police, 20 community volunteers, and the family of 19 year old Austin Battle will be canvassing the Village of Dolton, Illinois on Monday, in a search for the teen who was last seen on March 19^th. Dolton Police report Battle, who was known for having bouts of depression, had asked his father to pick him up, during a phone call that Tuesday night, at the intersection of Sibley Blvd and Burnham Avenue, in Calumet City, but when his father arrived Battle was no where to be found. Police say phone records indicate there has been no activity since that call, and the Cook County Morgue reports no possible matches. Austin Battle is described as standing five-foot-eleven inches tall, and was last seen wearing a grey hoodie, blue jeans and black boots. If you would like to volunteer in the search effort, stop by the Dolton Police Department, 14014 Park Avenue, at noon. Anyone with any information is asked to please contact the Dolton Police Department, at (708) 201-3375.
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Read more: Search on Monday for Missing Dolton Teen

The identity of a 73 year old woman, who died shortly after being hospitalized Monday evening after being removed from house fire in Gary remains unknown at last check. The Lake County Coroner's Office reports a next of kin has yet to be found, so until then, the name and the cause of death is being withheld. The fire reportedly occurred in the 24-hundred block of Buchanan Street.
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Read more: Coroner Still Seeking Next of Kin in Monday 's Fire Death

The 68 year old woman is expected to recover from her injures after the Michigan City woman failed to stop at a LaPorte County intersection Thursday afternoon and her vehicle collided with a garbage truck, killing her husband, and their golden retriever. LaPorte County Coroner John Sullivan says 70 year old David Riggs, of Michigan City, the front seat passenger, was pronounced dead at the scene, due to massive blunt force trauma. The driver, Barbara Riggs, was airlifted to a South Bend hospital, and remains hospitalized. Sullivan says the garbage truck was empty at the time of the crash, with a three-man crew, no of which were injured, when it collided with the vehicle, at the intersection of County Road 300 North and Johnson Road, near LaPorte.
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Read more: Identities of Thursday LaPorte County Crash Released

Police in Gary and Griffith are investigating the shooting death of a 76-year-old St. John woman found inside a vehicle, police say, in a parking garage at Majestic Star Casino in Gary. The Lake County Coroners office says Mary Austgen was pronounced dead at the scene in parking garage 2D, 1 Buffington Harbor, shortly after 4-o'clock this morning, from a single gunshot wound to her torso, and her death has been ruled a homicide. Gary Police Public Information Officer Corporal Gabrielle King says at about 4:30 Thursday afternoon, family members of the victim reported her missing to the Griffith Police Department.  No information was available from Griffith Police at this hour. Mary Austgen is listed as owner of a business in Griffith, but we've not been able to get that confirmed.
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Read more: Woman Found Dead in Casino Parking Garage

The Lake County Coroners office says a 76-year-old St. John woman suffered a fatal gunshot wound this morning in a parking garage at Majestic Star Casino in Gary. Authorities say Mary Austgen was pronounced dead at the scene in parking garage 2D, 1 Buffington Harbor, shortly after 4 am from a single gunshot wound to the lower left torso, and her death has been ruled a homicide. Investigating agencies also include Gary and Griffith Police Departments and the Lake County Crime Lab, according to officials this morning.
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Read more: Fatal Shooting at Gary Casino Parking Garage

Police in Merrillville say a 14-year-old juvenile who suffered a gunshot wound to the head while in the living room of his family's home was airlifted to an Illinois hospital with life-threatening injuries. Police say they responded to the 75-hundred block of Marshall Street shortly after 8:30 Wednesday night in reference to gunshots heard in the area. There is no suspect information available at this time. Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Ray Smith of the Merrillville Police Department at 219-769-3531.
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Read more: Teen Critically Hurt in Merrillville Shooting

Today (Fri Mar 29)  is the final Friday of the month, the day of the Hobart Marine Corps League “Howlin' Mad Detachment Number 93” Doughboy ceremony – where the names of fallen soldiers for the month are read out loud – a total of 15 names will be read tonight. Last month, for the first time in three-and-a-half-years, there were no names to read. The public as always is invited to the service which starts at 5pm at the Hobart Doughboy statue, at 7^th and Main.   Doughboy was a term used to describe U-S infantrymen of the American Expeditionary Force during World War One.
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Read more: 15 Names to be Read in Hobart Ceremony

On July first Calumet College of St. Joseph out of Whiting becomes the new sponsor of Charter School of the Dunes in Gary. The announcement comes just three months before Ball State's sponsorship ends. Earlier this year, Ball State announced its sponsorship of several charter schools, including two in Gary, Charter School of the Dunes and LEAD College Preparatory , would end June 30^th based on a review of academic performance and other criteria.
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Read more: Cal College to Sponsor Gary Charter School

Sentencing was set for April 24 for a 19-year-old Merrillville man who has pleaded guilty to reckless homicide in the shooting death of a 39-year-old Gary man. Officials say 39-year-old Bryan McCoy suffered a fatal gunshot wound inside his home on East 48^th Avenue in April 2011. Police allege the suspect, Angel Garcia, who was 17 at the time, shot the victim during an argument that turned physical. Garcia faces eight years in prison as part of the plea agreement. Charges of murder and murder in the perpetration of a robbery will be dismissed as part of the agreement if accepted.
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Read more: Plea Agreement in Fatal Shooting

Officials say a 28-year-old Illinois State Trooper was killed last night when his police car was apparently struck by a semi on the Tri-State Tollway in Northbrook. Illinois State Police say James Sauter was pronounced dead at the scene. The crash was still under investigation.
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Read more: Illinois State Trooper Killed in Crash