Arizona
Arizona girl who vanished 32 years ago has been found alive, sheriff says
An Arizona girl who vanished in 1994 has been found alive, the Gila County sheriff said Wednesday.
Christina Marie Plante disappeared from Star Valley, Arizona when she was 13 years old, the Gila County Sheriff’s Office said. She was last seen on May 19, 1994, around 12:30 p.m., after leaving home on foot to go to a stable where her horse was kept, according to a missing persons poster. She was last seen wearing shorts, a t-shirt and tennis shoes, and was considered “missing/endangered and under suspicious circumstances,” according to the sheriff’s office.
Sheriff Adam J. Shepherd said in a news release that the girl was reported missing at the time, and “extensive search efforts” involving local and regional resources were conducted. Plante was listed in national missing children databases, and missing persons posters were distributed around the region, state and country.
“Despite exhaustive ground searches, interviews and investigative follow-up, no viable leads were developed” at the time of her disappearance, Shepherd said,and the case remained open.Over the decades, investigators re-examined evidence and pursued any new information that became available, he said.
The sheriff’s office eventually established a cold case unit, which focused on unresolved investigations, Shepherd said. Detectives in the unit used “advances in technology, modern investigative techniques and detailed case review” to develop new leads that “ultimately led to a breakthrough,” Shepherd said.
Shepherd did not say where Plante was found, or share any circumstances of her disappearance “out of respect for Christina’s privacy and well-being.” Shepherd said that investigators have confirmed her identity, and that her status as a missing person “has been officially resolved.”
Shepherd said that the case “underscores the importance of cold case review initiatives and the impact of evolving technology in bringing long-awaitd answers to families and communities,” and said the sheriff’s office “remains committed to pursing all unresolved cases.”
TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – The University of Arizona’s Biosphere 2 facility is now home to Biosphere 3, a collection of artificial intelligence agents connected directly to the lab’s sensors.
The AI system analyzes data from more than 1,800 sensors at one-minute resolution across the facility’s recreated habitats, which include a rainforest, ocean and savannah grasslands.
“The system runs real research at Biosphere 2 — LEO hillslope sensor analysis, climate control optimization, cross-biome environmental monitoring,” said Ornette, the system’s AI spokesperson. “This isn’t a simulation. It’s deployed at a major university research facility.”
How the system works
Jeff Larsen, who helps run Biosphere 3, said the system uses multiple AI agents, each with different jobs and personalities. The agents include Socrates, Marcus, Ornette, Darwin, Dewey and Edison.
“Edison is actually the one who goes through and monitors for original intellectual property being developed autonomously,” Larsen said.
The AI agents work together to analyze large amounts of data. Questions that could take researchers days or weeks to answer can be completed in about two minutes.
Larsen demonstrated with a question about average temperature in LEO during summer months compared to winter months. The system completed the analysis in approximately two minutes, including trend analysis of daily cycles.
The technology does not replace researchers, Larsen said. It allows them to spend less time processing data and more time on scientific questions.
Real-world applications
The team recently used the technology in Yuma to study water usage.
“We proposed to Google a water offset program that would include automation of gates and precision water delivery that would save, on just a 500-acre plot of land, a billion gallons of water over ten years,” Larsen said.
The system includes checks to prevent AI hallucinations. The AI agents verify each other’s work to ensure final output is based on real sensor data and science.
Researchers believe the system could eventually help other facilities address environmental and agricultural challenges.
More information about Biosphere 3 is available at https://uavip.arizona.edu/ai-and-world-models-biosphere-3.
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Believe it or not, the 2026 All-Star Game voting process has already begun, as of Wednesday. Fans who want to see their favorite members of the Arizona Diamondbacks take the field in the midsummer classic this season can begin voting for their stars.
There are certainly some deserving players on this Diamondbacks club, which is currently 32-28 and occupying the third Wild Card sport in the National League.
Here’s how and where you can vote for your hometown heroes:
How to vote for Diamondbacks players to make All-Star Game
Fans can utilize the following link to vote for members of their team on dbacks.com. Fans are permitted to fill out and submit as many as five ballots per day, selecting as many or as few players as they choose.
This period of the fan vote constitutes Phase 1 of All-Star voting, which will run from Wednesday, June 3 through Thursday, June 25 at 9:00 a.m. Arizona time (12:00 p.m. Eastern time).
Following Phase 1, the two overall top vote-getters will receive automatic berths into the All-Star lineups. If those two are not Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge once again, that would be an upset.
When and where is the 2026 All-Star Game?
The 2026 All-Star Game will take place at Citizens Bank Park, home of the Phillies in Philadelphia. All-Star week begins on June 10, with a full slate of activities, before the game is played on Tuesday, July 14 at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time (5:00 p.m. Arizona time).
The full schedule of events are as follows:
- Friday, July 10: HBCU Swingman Classic
- Saturday, July 11: 2026 MLB Draft
- Sunday, July 12: All-Star Sunday, MLB Futures Game, MLBx All-Star 3-on-3
- Monday, July 13: T-Mobile Home Run Derby (8:00 p.m. ET)
- Tuesday, July 14: All-Star Red Carpet, All-Star Game
Which Diamondbacks are deserving All-Stars?
| Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
So, who should Diamondbacks fans vote for? Obviously, you may fill out the ballot however you choose. That can include a full roster of Diamondbacks, regardless of their stats or notoriety this season.
Still, here are some of the top performing D-backs who might have a leg up on an All-Star berth:
OF Corbin Carroll
Corbin Carroll is having another All-Star worthy season. He’s hitting .289/.380/.545 with a .925 OPS and eight home runs, while playing good right field defense. He has the eighth-most bWAR (2.7) among position players, fifth-most in the National League, and third-most among all pure outfielders.
2B Ketel Marte
If Marte wins the NL second base fan vote, it will be his third straight season starting the All-Star game. Despite such a slow start to the year, that feels possible again. Marte is hitting .259/.315/.456 with 10 homers and is playing the best defense of his career.
3B Nolan Arenado
Nolan Arenado is quietly putting together one of his better seasons of the 2020s, slashing .269/.351/.467 with eight homers and flashing his elite third base glove at nearly as good a pace as ever. His name still carries a lot of weight in third base conversations; he’ll get some votes, no matter what.
1B Ildemaro Vargas
Vargas’ bat has cooled down quite a bit since his historic start to 2026. He’s still hitting a sturdy .290/.318/.454, but feels more likely to be considered as a reserve selection than a leading vote-getter.
Honorable Mention: LHP Eduardo Rodriguez
Pitchers are not selected by the fan vote. They are selected by player ballots and the All-Star Game managers. The National League’s manager will be Dave Roberts of the Dodgers, again.
The National League has quite a few talented pitchers, but Eduardo Rodriguez currently holds the fifth-best starting pitcher ERA (2.24) among NL hurlers. It’s going to be difficult to dethrone Christopher Sanchez or Jacob Misiorowski, but Rodriguez could find his way into the pitching pool, especially after his WBC heroics for Team Venezuela.
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