Kansas City’s first heat wave of the summer is about to roll in, and it will be a shock to the system after a relatively mild start to the season. In fact, it will be hot enough Thursday that we have added a First Warn to spotlight what may be dangerous heat for some.

Starting with Tuesday, it will be a beautiful morning with a cool start. Lows will briefly even touch the upper 50s in some spots before we heat up to the mid-80s by afternoon. It will be warmer and more humid than previous days, but still certainly tolerable. Winds will be light from the southwest and most of us will be dry, though there is a slim 20% chance for a quick shower. The best odds to see and raindrops would be north of the metro around lunch.

Wednesday looks to bring the first official taste of the 90s to Kansas City with a high right at 90 degrees (89 has been our highest reading so far, which we saw last Friday). It’s fair to call Wednesday hot, especially with humidity rising, but this is not uncommon this time of year. In fact, we have had a late start to the 90s, as we typically get our first taste by the end of May.

Thursday is the biggie, as we soar to the mid-90s. Our humidity will also be very high, so it’s a one-two combo that pushes our heat index (how hot it feels to our bodies) to around 103. This will be by far the hottest day so far this year, and it will feel about 15° hotter than anything we’ve experienced so far in 2024. The heat/humidity combo is high enough that it may be dangerous for those working outside, those without air conditioning, or people sensitive to the heat. The Heat Risk index (which measures how likely heat-related illness is likely to occur) puts Thursday in the “Major” category, which is just short of the top-level “Extreme” category.

Once the 90s arrive, they look to stay for awhile, lasting into Father’s Day weekend and beyond. Even our nights warm up dramatically, with several nighttime lows not falling out of the 70s. It is safe to say summer has arrived in Kansas City.

Copyright 2024 KCTV. All rights reserved.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – A metro woman made it her mission to bring justice to unsolved homicide cases across the Kansas City metro. She pulls inspiration from the homicide of her son, hoping that she will soon be able to experience what justice feels like in her own life.

Someone shot and killed 20-year-old Alonzo Thomas IV on April 5, 2014, near 71st and Wayne in Kansas City, Mo. The shooting, which quickly turned the neighborhood into a crime scene, happened shortly after 1 p.m. Thomas ran for help before collapsing in the doorway of a friend’s house.

At 20-years-old, Thomas was a man in the eyes of the law. His mother, Monique Willis, still only sees him as her child.

“He was my only. He was my little boy,” Willis said.

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Willis has memories of the first two decades of Thomas’ life. Memories she holds tight.

“Trying to teach him and help him and push him to greatness. He pushed pushed back every step of the way. (Laughs)”

But, instead of social media feeds and photo albums filled with pictures and other memories, Willis relies on detectives with a different type of file that contains information about the past decade of life. A decade without Thomas.

Instead of a photo album, Kansas City Police detectives have a binder of evidence. It includes phone records and information about other clues in the homicide case that may eventually be pieced together to form answers to the questions Willis has about the shooting that took her son.

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“It’s a long time. It’s a long time to not know and to (sighs) sit and breathe,” Willis said.

Key Questions

Detectives are focused on two main points in the search for Thomas’ killer.

The first are phone records.

The binder of evidence police have is filled with all kinds of phone record. The reason detectives believe the records may hold a critical key to the investigation is because Thomas received a phone call right before his death. The phone call was so important he went to 71st and Wayne where he was shot and killed minutes later.

The other piece of information police can’t locate is a white van.

“Which was described as a white van with some rust and a sliding door, so presumably a white minivan,” Sgt. Tim Fitzgerald, Kansas City Police Department Homicide Unit, said.

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Police believe Thomas may have walked over to the van to sell weed to the men inside. Then witnesses told detectives they heard a gunshot and Thomas running for help.

The problem is witnesses describe a white minivan, but no one got a license plate. The area also did not have the type of technology in place that police use now to solve cases like this one.

“Typically, in an investigation nowadays, there are street cameras everywhere. Almost everyone has a Ring Doorbell,” Fitzgerald said.

Key Clues

Instead of relying on countless angles of a homicide scene from home security cameras, detectives used what they did have at the time. They pulled dash camera video from every patrol car that answered the 911 call for help at 71st and Wayne.

They hoped the effort would pay off and show a white van driving away from the area as police responded.

No luck.

So, officers turned to Thomas’ phone records.

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Detectives said they spoke to a number of possible suspects. Every single one of those people denied being in the area of the shooting at the time Thomas died.

“So, when someone denies being there, unless we have somebody that physically saw them there and identified them, then we don’t have a lot of rebuttal to that,” Fitzgerald said.

Key Reward

Now that the case is at a standstill, police have hope money will help someone talk.

There is a reward of up to $27,000 offered in the case. Police are looking for someone the shooter confessed to, a neighbor with more information about the description of the van, someone who is brave enough to come forward and help solve this case.

“We just need that information to come in so that we can get our detectives out there to follow up on that information.”

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Following Thompson’s homicide, his mother founded the group “Momma on a Mission” following her son’s murder. The group works to help other families who end up facing the same future.

Every one of them will benefit from witnesses making the decision to pick up a phone, or send an email, to KC Crimestoppers at tips@kc-crime.org or the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS.

There are rewards offered in all unsolved homicides in the Kansas City area.

Copyright 2024 KCTV. All rights reserved.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (WIBW) – Multiple people were taken to the hospital after a three-vehicle crash late Sunday on Interstate 670 in Kansas City, Kan., authorities said.

The crash was reported at 11:10 p.m. on eastbound I-670 just east of 7th Street.

According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, the crash occurred when a 2004 Dodge Caravan struck the rear of a 2015 Dodge Journey that was on the shoulder of the highway. After the collision, the Journey then struck the rear of 2021 Hyundai Kona, which also was on the shoulder of the roadway.

The driver of the Caravan, Felipe Garza, 20, was transported to the University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City, Kan., with serious injuries. The patrol said Garza, who was alone in the minivan, was wearing his seat belt. The patrol’s crash log didn’t indicate a city of residence for Garza but did note he was a Kansas resident.

The driver of the Journey, Kisha Dodson, 36, of Lawrence, was transported to the University of Kansas Hospital with suspected minor injuries. The patrol said Dodson was wearing her seat belt.

A passenger in the Journey, Carolyn J. Townsel, 63, of Lawrence, also was taken to the University of Kansas Hospital with suspected minor injuries. The patrol said Townsel was wearing her seat belt.

The patrol said three juvenile passengers were in the Journey. Information about them wasn’t released.

The driver of the Hyundai, Chase F. Daniels, 27, of Independence, Mo., was reported uninjured. The patrol’s crash lot didn’t indicate whether Daniels was wearing his seat belt.

A passenger in the Hyundai, Alyssa Carter, 26, of Kansas City, Mo., also was reported uninjured. The patrol said Carter was wearing her seat belt.

Copyright 2024 WIBW. All rights reserved.