Pittsburg, PA
Volunteer who found missing girl with Down syndrome in Pittsburgh shares details on the search
:quality(70)/d1hfln2sfez66z.cloudfront.net/01-07-2024/t_50542ecf30a14ce4b31a586cb66b9eb6_name_missingkayladurler11pp010624.jpg?ssl=1 "Volunteer who found missing girl with Down syndrome in Pittsburgh shares details on the search")
PITTSBURGH — A West Mifflin teen has been found safe in downtown Pittsburgh after she was reported missing Friday morning, Jan. 5. Kayla Durler, 17, has special needs, and the situation was getting dire as temperatures dropped and the snow started to fall.
Community members stepped up to find Durler Saturday afternoon and reunite her with her parents. She had been missing for more than 30 hours and was hungry but seemingly okay.
“It was probably the most intense change of emotions I’ve ever felt,” said Rebecca Bykoski of Pittsburgh.
Bykoski spotted the teen, who has Down syndrome, around 3:30 Saturday afternoon after an hours-long search in the cold with dozens of other volunteers.
“I started looking through alleys, behind garbage cans,” Bykoski said. “I was getting to the point where I was feeling very defeated and saddened and supper worried because now it’s turning dark; it’s cold.”
Bykoski said she ended up finding Durler in plain sight, standing in front of a retail shop, DK Pittsburgh Sports on Fifth Avenue.
“I ran up to her and I said, ‘Kayla, oh my gosh are you okay?’ I said, ‘We’ve been looking for you. There have been so many people looking for you,’” Bykoski said. “I asked her if she was okay. She said, ‘Yes.’ I asked her if she had been scared and she said, ‘No.’ I said, ‘Would you like a hug?’ and we had a hug.”
Bykoski bought Durler some food and said she didn’t seem hurt or traumatized.
Durler was then checked out by medics and Allegheny County Police said she appeared to be okay.
The teen disappeared Friday morning after her bus driver dropped her off at Sto-Rox High School even though the school closed for the day.
Police said she then took a PRT bus downtown.
Jamie Ward, the founder of Jamie’s Dream Team, started a small search party for Durler Friday night. By the next morning, the group of six volunteers had expanded into 100 volunteers handing out flyers across the entire city.
“Those volunteers were unbelievable,” Ward said. “They were coming out by the dozens and just wanting to help.”
Ward said she was thankful to the volunteers and added that many of them came together with a common bond of knowing someone with special needs.
“This girl needed to be found, and somebody had to help,” she said. “Somebody had to do something.”
In a statement, the Sto-Rox School District superintendent said they were trying to find out why ABC Transit, the bus company that dropped the teen off, wouldn’t take her straight home. He said the company was notified the night before that classes at the school were canceled.
Channel 11 reached out to ABC Transit to get its side of the story and is waiting to hear back.
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A man from Fayette County has been arrested and is facing over 1,000 charges related to alleged animal cruelty and neglect.
Fayette County District Attorney Mike Aubele said that John Saxberg, 57, is facing charges in connection with what he called “a suspected illegal kennel operation” in Washington Township.
According to DA Aubele, Saxberg is accused of subjecting numerous animals to “deplorable conditions” and “circumstances constituting torture,” adding that approximately ten animals suffered serious bodily injuries.
Court records show that Saxberg is facing 1,029 criminal charges in total with offenses including aggravated cruelty to animals, cruelty to animals, neglect of animals, penalties related to dog licensing, and violations of vaccine requirements.
52 of the charges that Saxberg is facing are felonies, according to court records.
Online court paperwork shows that Saxberg was arraigned on Tuesday afternoon and is being held in the Fayette County Prison after bail was posted at $85,000.
A preliminary hearing for Saxberg is scheduled for late next week.
An Allegheny County park with 200-year-old trees has been added to a growing network of protected and publicly accessible old-growth forests.
Local leaders announced on Tuesday that Hartwood Acres is now part of the Old-Growth Forest Network, which consists of over 340 forests, though this is Allegheny County’s first.
The 692-acre property features a Tudor mansion built in 1929, and while about a quarter of the park is maintained, the other 75% is forested. Some of the oldest trees include a black oak that’s over 200 years old, and a sugar maple and red oak that are nearing 200 years old.
“Hartwood Acres is one of Allegheny County’s greatest natural treasures, and this designation recognizes both the ecological value of these forests and the generations of stewardship that have protected them,” Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato said in a press release. “As we work to build an Allegheny County where everyone can thrive, that includes ensuring residents have access to clean air, green spaces, and the opportunity to connect with nature close to home.”
The Old-Growth Forest Network, founded in 2012, aims to create a national network of protected, mature and native forests that are accessible to the public. The goal is to preserve at least one forest in every U.S. county that can sustain a forest.
“The importance of the preservation of these rare forests cannot be overemphasized,” said Brian Kane, the Mid-Atlantic regional manager with the Old-Growth Forest Network. “As seen at Hartwood Acres, forests perform critical environmental services that benefit communities, such as storing carbon, providing wildlife habitat, and retaining stormwater. OGFN is grateful that Allegheny County values its old-growth forests and will enable its residents and visitors to marvel at these old hardwoods far into the future as they grow even more mature and majestic.”
An overturned truck spilled hazardous materials onto the 62nd Street Bridge late Monday night and crews spent several hours working to contain the spill.
The Cherry City Volunteer Fire Company said it was assistant on a “large scale hazmat incident” along with crews from Allegheny County Emergency Services and the city of Pittsburgh’s Bureau of Fire.
A truck turned onto its side on the Sharpsburg side of the Senator Robert D. Fleming Bridge, also known as the 62nd Street Bridge, late Monday night and the fire company said crews were working to contain the leak.
An aerial view from the KDKA Drone Team around 3 a.m. Tuesday showed the large response from crews working at the scene of the crash.
A first responder told KDKA’s news crew at the scene that the chemical that was spilled was peroxide and the fire company said crews were working to keep the material from entering drainage systems.
Around 4 a.m. Tuesday, the fire company provided an update and said that all “hazardous materials have been mitigated,” but that the bridge is expected to remain closed for an extended period of time.
Drivers are being urged to use alternate routes for the morning commute.
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