Nashville, TN (WOKI) The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation reports that three children who were kidnapped from a bus stop in Virginia may be in East Tennessee.
An Amber Alert has been issued for 10-year-old Jai’Marcus Lewis, 8-year-old Ja’Miyah Lewis, and 6-year-old Ja’Liyah Lewis. Authorities say the three children were were kidnapped at an apartment complex in Virginia Thursday morning. The Augusta County Sheriff’s Office says the kidnapping took place at the Bobby’s Way apartment complex in Fishersville.
Police believe the children are with their biological mother, Shanice Chante Davidson. Deputies responded to a 911 call from the children’s parent at 8:27 a.m.
The three children were “waiting for the bus, when a black 4-door vehicle pulled up to the bus stop, and took the children,” according to the sheriff’s office.
Both Ja’Miyah and Ja’Liyah were wearing pink jackets, while Jai’Marcus was wearing a black and dark blue jacket with neon zippers, officials said. Davidson is described as a 35-year-old Black female. She is 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighs 184 pounds. She has black hair and brown eyes.
If you spot the vehicle or individuals, you’re urged to call 911 immediately.
“Investigative efforts indicate they may be in East Tennessee,”the TBI said. (Courtesy: TBI)
Crossville, TN (WOKI) A Maryville man is arrested in Cumberland County and charged with “multiple offenses,” including carrying weapons on school property.
Officials with the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office say 33-year-old Robert Alva Sardella was detained Wednesday by a Student Resource Officer on 4th Street after being on the campus of Cumberland County High School. CCSO says the man was looking for the driving school.
Authorities say Sardella was found with a backpack containing a loaded handgun, stun device, expandable baton, a chemical weapon and ammunition.
He is being held on a $55,000 bond pending a court date.
Cumberland County Schools officials assured parents that there “[was] no current threat to students.”
Sevier County sees multiple wildfires this week and fortunately all 4 fires are 100% contained, the latest breaking out last night in Townsend.
Crews called to Province Drive last night and officials say that fire was about 8 acres.
Wednesday, three fires broke out in Sevier County: one at Walden’s Creek near Shagbark Gated Resort estimated to be 81 acres. This fire was started by trees falling on power lines. The second fire at Cresswell Road near East Union Valley which was 8 and a half acres and another at Flat Branch Road near the Spur affecting four acres.
Original Story: Sevier County, TN (WOKI) UPDATE: Sevier County remains under an “Elevated Fire Danger” warning, and officials say NO Burn Permits will be issued as emergency crews have worked and continue to work several brushfires which broke out overnight.
Those fires have closed Foothills Parkway West between Walland and Wears Valley.
Fire officials say a 4-acre fire off Flat Branch Road near the Spur between Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge and an 8-acre fire in the Creswell Road and East Union Valley area have both been 100% contained, but crews are continuing to monitor them.
As of 1:15 p.m., crews were still working to contain an 81-acre fire at Shagbark/Walden’s Creek in the Overholt Trail area north of Wears Valley where an evacuation order remains in place.
Officials urge residents to avoid affected areas and sign up for CodeRED emergency alerts.
ORIGINAL STORY: Crews are battling fires in Sevier County and windy conditions are making it difficult and so is steep and treacherous terrain.
The Seymour Volunteer Fire Department is one of several agencies that responded to three brush fires last (Wednesday) night.
Crews responded to a brush fire on Creswell Ridge near the Knox and Sevier county line.
One home and multiple outbuildings were threatened but Officials say at 3:30 a.m. this (Thursday) morning the fire was contained with 8 and a half acres burned.
There are two in the Shagbark community.
The first fire, a 2 acre fire, on Emerald Springs Loop in Waldens Creek.
The second on Overholt Trail with more more than 70 people were fighting the fire which is estimated to be about 20 acres.
Officials say both fires in the Shagbark area sparked from trees falling on power lines.
Bristol, TN (WOKI) Tickets for the highly-anticipated MLB Speedway Classic at Bristol Motor Speedway are on sale now, and officials say a portion of the ticket sales will go towards Hurricane Helene relief.
Proceeds of ticket sales during the month of December will be donated to Appalachia Service Project and Mountain Ways, with a total commitment of $50,000 that will be split evenly between the two nonprofits.
General public tickets for the game can be purchased here.
The game, which will feature the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds, is scheduled for August 2 at 7:00 p.m.
It will be the first MLB game to be played in Tennessee. (Courtesy: WVLT)
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee women’s basketball remained unbeaten this season, outlasting a talented Florida State squad, 79-77, in a see-saw affair in front of a crowd of 9,529 on Wednesday night at Food City Center.
The Lady Vols (6-0) used a 13-0 run to build a 20-point second-quarter lead and took an 18-point advantage into the intermission before the Seminoles stormed back via a 13-point run of their own to grab a one-point edge, 53-52, with 3:03 to go in the third period. UT quickly retook the lead and ended up staving off the visitors in the fourth quarter as redshirt sophomore Talaysia Cooper (12) and junior Zee Spearman (10) combined for all 22 of their team’s points in the frame and the Big Orange outworked FSU on the glass, 13-6, including 8-2 on the offensive end.
For the third straight game, Cooper eclipsed 20 points and led Tennessee in scoring, dropping in 22 on 10-of-17 shooting from the field. Spearman finished with 13, followed by senior Samara Spencer with 11. Cooper, Spencer and sophomore Alyssa Latham each grabbed seven rebounds to lead the charge on the boards, as UT finished with a 50-39 differential, including 23-10 on the offensive end in a battle between two teams residing just outside of the top-25 polls.
Florida State (8-2), which saw its seven-game winning streak come to an end, was led by the nation’s leading scorer, Ta’Niya Latson, who fired in 38 points. Joining her in double figures were O’Mariah Gordon with 16, Makayla Timpson with 13 and Sydney Bowles with 10. Timpson also grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds for a double-double.
The Seminoles struck first on a layup by Gordon before UT seized a 5-2 lead on a Spearman three and a Cooper put-back. After FSU retook the lead, 6-5, the Lady Vols reeled off six straight points on buckets from Sara Puckett, Ruby Whitehorn and Jillian Hollingshead to move ahead 11-6 and force a timeout with 4:43 remaining in the opening stanza. UT built its lead to as many as eight, 21-13, with 2:02 to go, fueled by a three-pointer and layups by Whitehorn and Latham before the Seminoles cut the gap to six, 21-15, before the quarter’s end.
With both teams seeking their shooting touch, Tennessee sandwiched threes by Tess Darby and Spencer around a Spencer coast-to-coast layup to forge a 29-22 advantage by the 4:59 media break. An 11-3 burst, fueled by a trey and jumper from Cooper and threes by Darby and Jewel Spear pushed the lead to its biggest of the night at 40-25 and required another FSU timeout with 3:23 to go. Another Spear three out of the break and a Spencer layup helped the Big Orange shoot 56.3 percent for the period and extend the lead to 20, 45-25, with 2:06 remaining before a Seminole layup from Timpson with 1:22 to go concluded the scoring. The teams went to the locker room with the home team seemingly in command, 45-27.
Florida State worked itself back into the game quickly at the outset of the third frame. After UT’s Cooper hit a jumper to make it 47-27 with 9:48 remaining, the Seminoles reeled off a 13-0 run and a 17-2 burst in all to cut the gap to 49-44 and force a Lady Vol timeout with 5:37 remaining. Hollingshead hit a layup to slow the FSU momentum, but the visitors responded by scoring six straight points to send the teams into the 3:44 media timeout with Tennessee in front by one, 51-50. FSU grabbed its first lead since the early going, 53-52, with 3:03 left, but a Spencer three put her team back in front, 55-53, with 2:41 to go. UT would lead again 57-55, courtesy of a Latham layup, before the Seminoles knotted it up to send the game into the final 10 minutes tied at 57.
Cooper drew first blood in the final stanza on a layup and then hit a jumper, put-back and driving layup to give UT leads of 61-59, 63-59 and 65-61 early on. A Spearman layup with 4:51 to go and a tip-in with 3:58 left gave her team edges of 67-63 and 69-63, respectively. FSU answered at the 3:51 mark on a Latson layup to send teams into the media timeout with UT up 69-65. Right after the pause, Bowles pulled her team to within one, 69-68, via a long ball with 3:21 remaining. UT pushed the lead back to five twice, with a Cooper turnaround jumper in the paint making it 75-50 with 1:54 left on the clock. FSU kept coming, twice knotting the score at 75-75 with 1:16 left and 77-77 with 49 ticks remaining. Spearman, though, answered with a step-back jumper in the paint to give Tennessee a 79-77 lead with 24 seconds to go. A driving layup attempt by Latson just before the buzzer was off the mark, and Spearman was there to grab the rebound and preserve the victory.
UP NEXT: Tennessee hits the road for its first game outside of Food City Center, when it travels to Brooklyn, N.Y., to face No. 17/20 Iowa on Saturday night in the Shark Beauty Women’s Champions Classic. FOX will televise the game from the Barclays Center at 7 p.m. ET, and the Lady Vol Network and SiriusXM will have radio broadcast and audio stream as well.
UNDEFEATED WITH A FRESH FIVE: Tennessee has started the season 6-0 with six different starting lineups and eight different players appearing in the first five. Ruby Whitehorn, Samara Spencer, Zee Spearman, Tess Darby and Talaysia Cooper opened the contest on Wednesday evening against the Seminoles. Cooper, Spencer and Whitehorn notched their fifth starts, while Darby and Spearman made their third trips to the jump circle.
SIX STRAIGHT ON ROCKY TOP: Tennessee has won its first six games for the initial time since beginning the 2021-22 season at 9-0. This marks the first time since 2015-16 that UT has opened a campaign with six straight games at home. Tennessee played eight in a row here to start the 2015-16 schedule. The Lady Vols also dawned their “Summitt Blue” uniforms against Florida State, improving their record to 5-2 when wearing them, including 4-0 at home.
CALDWELL KEEPS CLIMBING: The Lady Vols’ 6-0 is the second-best opening of a season in Kim Caldwell‘s nine years as a head coach. Last game against Western Carolina, she had matched her 5-0 start at Glenville State in 2018-19. Top honors go to her 2021-22 GSU squad that started 29-0 on its way to 35-1 and an NCAA DII national title. A year ago, Caldwell’s Marshall team began the year 0-1 and 2-5 before reeling off a 24-2 record the rest of the way en route to 26-7 and a sweep of Sun Belt Conference titles. Other starts include 3-0 in 2016-17 and 2022-23, as well as 1-0 in 2020-21, 2019-20 and 2017-18.
ANOTHER 20-PLUS EFFORT FROM COOP: Redshirt sophomore Talaysia Cooper carded her fifth double-digit season performance, including her fourth consecutive, dropping 22 points versus Florida State. The Turbeville, South Carolina, native’s other double-digit games came against Samford (19), MTSU (18), Liberty (33) and Western Carolina (20), now giving her three consecutive games of 20+ scoring. She is averaging 19.7 points per game through six contests.
ALL ABOUT THE BOARDS: Tennessee etched its second game with 50 or more rebounds, pulling down 50 vs. Florida State. The Lady Vols had 54 vs. UT Martin on Nov. 7. The Lady Vols grabbed 23 offensive rebounds vs. the Seminoles, marking their fourth game with 20 or more on that end of the court for the NCAA’s leader in o-boards per game at 23.5. Talaysia Cooper, Samara Spencer and Alyssa Latham led the Big Orange with seven caroms a piece.
Larry McBee is found guilty of shooting and killing a 23-year-old Halls Rural King employee in 2022.
Jury deliberations took less than an hour, and the jury returned a verdict convicting McBee of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to life in prison.
Several witnesses spoke at the trial, including a neighbor, a Rural King shopper, and investigators.
According to the Knox County Sheriff’s Office, McBee shot and killed Tristan Smith after he was accused of trying to steal from the store.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Ethan Muza, a transfer from Baylor University, has signed with the Tennessee men’s tennis team, head coach Chris Woodruff announced Wednesday.
The Pittsburgh, Pa., native will join the squad for the 2025-26 campaign, and he will add a wealth of experience to a program that has reached the NCAA Quarterfinals three times in the last four years.
“We are excited to add Ethan to our squad for next fall,” said associate head coach Matt Lucas. “His competitive spirit, experience in the Big 12 and aspirations as a tennis player align with what we look for in student-athletes. We are looking forward to his arrival on Rocky Top next fall.”
Muza holds a 37-22 singles record and a 20-14 doubles mark for his career. In the 2023-24 campaign, he went 7-1 in dual singles thanks to a seven-match win streak to start the season, and he also tallied a perfect 4-0 ledger in doubles for the dual season.
For his career, Muza is a two-time ITA Scholar-Athlete and Academic All-Big 12 First Team selection.
With a career-high ITF ranking of No. 736, Muza was ranked as the No. 83 player in his class coming into college, according to TennisRecruiting.net. He carried an ITF Juniors ranking of No. 1068 and a junior UTR ranking of No. 68 before starting his Baylor career.
During his prep career, he played for club team Gomez Tennis Academy in Naples, sharpening his notable speed and defensive skills on the court.
He is the son of John and Shari Muza and also has two siblings, Mason and Colin, Muza played hockey in high school as well as tennis.
MADISON, Wisc. – The Tennessee Lady Vols kick off their 19th trip to the NCAA Tournament with a first-round matchup against No. 18 Georgia Tech on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. ET.
The contest will be streamed on ESPN+. The winner of the match will face the winner of Wisconsin and Fairfield on Friday.
The Big Orange (15-11, 8-8 SEC) is led by a pair of All-SEC players in graduate student outside hitter Nina Cajic and redshirt sophomore setter Caroline Kerr. One of the top offensive players in the country, Cajic ranked 37th nationally and seventh in the SEC in kills per set at 4.25 and was 36th and seventh in points per set (4.85). The Subotica, Serbia, native posted double-digit kills in 24 of 26 matches during the regular season, including four performances with at least 20 kills, two with 30-plus kills and one 40-kill effort.
Earning All-SEC accolades for the second straight year, Kerr ranked sixth in the SEC and 40th nationally in assists per set (10.22). She helped the Lady Vol offense average 13.21 kills per set while hitting .278 hitting, which ranks 16th nationally and fourth in the SEC. Kerr eclipsed 40 assists in a match 11 times and 50 assists three times.
The Yellow Jackets (20-9, 12-8 ACC) are a No. 7 seed in the bracket, and they are led by a trio of All-ACC honorees. Senior outside hitters Bianca Bertolino and Tamara Otene were awarded Second Team All-ACC recognition, while freshman middle blocker Logan Wiley was named to the All-Freshmen Team. Bertolino sits as the only Power 4 player with 300 kills, 300 digs and 50 aces, while Otene secured her second-straight 400 kill/300 dig season, registering a team-best 410 kills and 307 digs.
Georgia Tech is currently on a four-match skid, losing in heartbreaking five-set contests each time. However, three of those matchups came against top-25 opponents, including a pair against No. 1 Pittsburgh and No. 6 Stanford.
Here are a few other Lady Vol volleyball notables going into the postseason:
POSTSEASON BOUND: Lady Vols Punch Ticket to NCAA Tourney For the 19th time in program history, Tennessee volleyball was selected for the NCAA Tournament. The Lady Vols have made the tournament four years in a row and five times total under head coach Eve Rackham Watt. Prior to her arrival on Rocky Top, UT had missed the postseason five years in a row. This is now the third time in school history in which the team earned NCAA Tournament bids four seasons in a row (1981-84 & 2008-12).
Tennessee in the Tournament Under Rackham Watt In its first four tournament appearances under head coach Eve Rackham Watt, Tennessee is 4-4 in the Big Dance. The Lady Vols have advanced out of the first round three times. Last year, the Big Orange earned the No. 10 national seed and hosted the first and second rounds for the first time since 2011. The Lady Vols defeated High Point and then Western Kentucky to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2005. Prior to that, Tennessee advanced to the second round of the tournament after first-round wins over Colorado State (2018) and North Carolina (2021). In 2022, the Lady Vols fell short in a five-set battle to Purdue in the first round.
Lady Vols vs. The Field The Lady Vols were 5-9 against NCAA Tournament teams during the regular season. Tennessee’s top win came in a 3-1 victory against No. 6 seeded Texas A&M. UT also bested South Carolina, Western Kentucky on the road and Western Michigan twice. Of the Big Orange’s 14 contests against tournament teams, eight came away from home. The Lady Vols kicked off the season with back-to-back matches against two No. 1 overall seeds in Louisville and Penn State.
Knoxville, TN (WOKI) A bowling alley on Western Avenue is closed following a fire Wednesday afternoon.
Knoxville Fire Department crews were called to the Strike and Spare in the 5700 block of Western Avenue shortly after noon; they found heavy smoke coming from the building’s roof. Upon entering the building, KFD says crews discovered that the fire was coming from the heating and air system with smoke quickly filling the majority of the building.
Fire officials say the business was open and occupied at the time of the fire, but the building was evacuated quickly and no injuries were reported.
The building has suffered heavy smoke damage throughout and moderate water damage.
Crews responded to Strike and Spare, located on the road’s 5700 block. (Courtesy: KFD)
Jekyll Island, GA (WOKI) A Tennessee state senator from Kingston is facing a DUI and hit-and-run charge out of Georgia.
Tennessee Senator Ken Yager (R- Kingston) was arrested for DUI following a hit-and-run crash Tuesday evening in Jekyll Island, Georgia.
According to officials with the Georgia Department of Public Safety, Yager was booked into the Glynn County Jail but was released Wednesday. He’s facing three charges: DUI, hit-and-run and failing to stop at a stop sign.
Authorities say the investigation into the incident is ongoing.
Yager represents District 12 which includes Campbell, Fentress, Morgan, and Roane counties among others.
Tennessee state senator charged in Georgia DUI hit-and-run. (Courtesy: Georgia Department of Public Safety)
