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Canadian man presumed dead in 1977 fire found alive in Oklahoma

Published August 26, 2014

A Canadian man declared missing nearly four decades ago and presumed dead has reportedly been found alive in Oklahoma.

Ronald Stan, 69, was declared dead in 1986, nearly nine years after he was reported missing following a 1977 barn fire in the former township of East Williams. Ontario Provincial Police and the Ontario Office of the Fire Marshal investigated the fire, but found no human remains or any trace of Stan, then 32. But a routine audit of the case reopened the investigation into his disappearance in July, ultimately leading authorities to Stan, who had been living in Oklahoma under the name Jeff Walton, the Toronto Star reports .

“I’m still trying to put all the puzzle pieces together myself,” Jeff Walton Jr., 35, told the newspaper. He and the rest of Stan’s relatives in the United States, including Walton’s stepmom and at least three grandchildren, only found out about his Canadian past this month.

Middlesex County Const. Laurie Houghton said the case was cracked due to modern investigative tools not available in 1977. No charges are expected to be filed, authorities said.

“I can’t speak to his motives,” Houghton told the newspaper. “We were able to connect the dots.”

At least one neighbor reportedly recalls the serious blaze. Bert Toonen told the newspaper his brother, Peter, was out with Stan earlier that evening.

“They were my father’s pigs in that barn,” Toonen told the Star. “We were out the next day tcoming through the wreckage with the police looking for human remains.”

Jeff Walton, Jr., declined to discuss the specifics of his father’s disappearance or any potential motive. He now suffers from vascular dementia and heart disease, his son said. Stan’s wife in the United States, Debra Proctor, filed for divorce upon hearing the development, Walton Jr. said.

“It’s been tough on me, but he’s still my father,” he told the newspaper. “It doesn’t change the man I knew for 35 years. Hopefully one day he can sit down and write a book and remember all the stuff he’s been through in his life. It’d be a damn good book I’ll tell you that, just from what I’ve heard.”

August 26, 2014 at 04:34PM

Source/Credit: Fox News

New UN envoy to Libya opposes foreign intervention, says it won’t end country’s turmoil

Libyan Foreign Minister Mohamed Abdelaziz, right, listens to his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shukri, left, during the opening session of The Fourth Ministerial Meeting for the Neighbouring Countries of Libya, in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, Aug. 25, 2014. Foreign ministers from Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, Sudan, Chad, as well as the Arab League Secretary General met Monday in Cairo as Islamist-led militias in the Libyan capital say they consolidated their hold on Tripoli and its international airport, driving out rivals to the city’s outskirts after battles that largely destroyed the strategic hub. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)The Associated Press

August 26, 2014 at 03:19PM

Source/Credit: Fox News

Mikolas, Rangers blank Mariners

Published August 26, 2014

Seattle, WA (SportsNetwork.com) - Miles Mikolas pitched eight strong frames to help the Texas Rangers to a 2-0 win over the Seattle Mariners in the opener of a three-game set.

Mikolas (2-5) gave up just three hits and a walk while striking out five to win for the first time in six starts, as he had lost his last three decisions.

J.P. Arencibia and Rougned Odor drove in a run each in the win.

Roenis Elias (9-11) allowed just one run on three hits with four walks and six strikeouts over five innings to take the loss for the Mariners, who were coming off a three-game sweep of Boston.

Logan Morrison had two of the four hits for Seattle, which has a half-game lead over idle Detroit for the second wild card spot in the American League.

"This is baseball and if you don’t get hits you’re not going to win," said Seattle manager Lloyd McClendon. "Tonight Texas played a better ball game then we did and that’s why they won the game."

Texas got on the board in the fourth as Elvis Andrus led off with a single, moved to second on a walk by Adrian Beltre, then came in on Arencibia’s single to left for a 1-0 lead.

In the seventh, the Rangers added a run when Leonys Martin singled to start, moved to third on a bunt from Tomas Telis and scored on Odor’s groundout for a 2-0 advantage.

Mikolas, meanwhile, got into just one minor jam in the contest, as the Mariners had men on first and second in the second. It was with two outs, though, and he got Endy Chavez to ground out and end the frame.

From there he faced the minimum the rest of the game as he got double plays in the fourth and eighth innings.

Neftali Feliz pitched around a one-out single in the ninth to notch his seventh save on the season.

Game Notes

Texas has won eight of the 13 games with Seattle this season … Texas batted just 3-for-13 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base.

August 26, 2014 at 10:20AM

Source/Credit: Fox News

Matzek and Rockies edge Giants

Published August 26, 2014

San Francisco, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Tyler Matzek pitched seven solid innings for his first career road win and the Colorado Rockies took advantage of Giants mistakes to down San Francisco, 3-2, in the opener of a four-game series.

Matzek (3-9) scattered eight hits and fanned seven to snap a five-start losing streak. The rookie left-hander had been 0-5 over his previous eight road games (seven starts).

The Rockies won their third in a row overall and beat the Giants for a fourth straight time.

Jake Peavy (2-4) yielded six hits and three runs — one earned — and had five strikeouts over seven innings. The veteran right-hander was clearly upset at the strike zone in the late innings, which ultimately led to the ejection of manager Bruce Bochy.

Andrew Susac homered for the Giants, who were hampered by four errors in their third straight defeat. They also grounded into four double plays.

San Francisco is a half-game ahead of Atlanta for the second wild card spot.

LaTroy Hawkins walked Michael Morse to start the bottom of the ninth, but then retired the next three hitters for his 21st save.

Peavy had words for Doug Eddings in the seventh inning after the home plate umpire squeezed the strike zone. A pitch that appeared right over the plate would have resulted in a strikeout of Matzek, who then walked on an offering just below the knees to put men on first and second. Charlie Blackmon then singled to right field and Hunter Pence’s throw home was on line. DJ LeMahieu was ruled safe on the slide and Matzek was then tagged out trying to come home. Replay overturned the first out call, keeping it a 3-2 game.

Pence singled to begin the home eighth. When Buster Posey was called out on a borderline low pitch from Adam Ottavino, Bochy came out of the dugout to argue and was then ejected. Pablo Sandoval grounded into a double play to end the inning.

"I didn’t like it. That’s why I wasn’t around to watch the rest of the game. It was a critical pitch," Bochy said of the pitch to Posey.

Blackmon scored on Justin Morneau’s sacrifice fly in the first, an inning in which the Giants committed a pair of errors. That included an errant pick-off throw by Peavy.

Posey singled to center to plate Angel Pagan in the bottom of the first, and Susac homered to center in the second for a 2-1 San Francisco lead.

The Rockies took advantage of more mistakes by the Giants in the fourth to go in front. Drew Stubbs reached first on a Brandon Crawford throwing error. Another Crawford throwing gaffe moved Stubbs to third when Morneau legged out an infield hit. Stubbs scored on a balk from Peavy. After Nolan Arenado singled, Corey Dickerson’s sacrifice fly to center made it 3-2.

"We’ve been getting rewarded for our hustle and we’ve turned it into runs several times the last two weeks," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. "Wins have been tough to come by, but the guys have done a nice job."

Michael Morse tripled with one out in the bottom of the fourth, but Matzek escaped trouble with a strikeout and a groundout around a walk to Susac.

"I think you have to look at our play early. It was a little awkward," Bochy said. "It was just not a well-played game. It caught up with us."

Game Notes

Before the game, the Giants optioned infielder Adam Duvall to Fresno and recalled pitcher George Kontos from the Triple-A club … This was the first of 13 straight games against NL West opponents for the Rockies … Peavy has 1,997 career strikeouts … The Rockies won for only the fourth time in their last 27 road games since sweeping a three-game set against the Giants in San Francisco from June 13-15.

August 26, 2014 at 10:19AM

Source/Credit: Fox News

UAE, Egypt carry out airstrikes in Libya without US' consent, officials say

Published August 25, 2014

UAE fighter jets with help from Egypt carried out airstrikes in Libya a week ago amid an ongoing power struggle in the country in the wake of Muammar Qaddafi’s ouster, a senior U.S. official confirms to Fox News.

The Pentagon is not commenting on the matter and AFRICOM said the strikes – which hit targets in the Libyan capital of Tripoli — were not carried out by U.S. aircraft.

Four senior American officials who spoke to the New York Times said Egypt and the United Arab Emirates — both allies — executed the military maneuvers without informing the Obama administration beforehand.

The first wave of airstrikes hit positions in Tripoli controlled by Islamist-friendly militias, including a small weapons depot. The second wave targeted rocket launchers and military vehicles owned by militias, the New York Times reports.

The Islamist forces have been given weapons and support from Qatar, officials told the newspaper.

But the strikes didn’t appear to hold them back. A day after the militants were hit, Tripoli’s airport fell to the Islamists.

The U.A.E. has not commented on the airstrikes but American officials told the New York Times that Egypt provided bases for their planes to conduct the operations.

Meanwhile, Libya’s past, Islamist-dominated parliament reconvened Monday and voted to disband the country’s current interim government, defying voters who elected its opponents to take over.

The power grab highlights the lawlessness that has swept Libya since rebels overthrew Qaddafi in 2011 and later formed powerful militias that successive governments have been unable to tame. It also leaves troubled Libya with two governments and two parliaments, deepening divisions and escalating the political struggle that’s torn the country apart.

The fighting in Tripoli began after Islamist candidates lost parliament in June elections and a renegade general began a military campaign against Islamist-allied militias in Benghazi, Libya’s second-largest city.

Libya’s newly elected parliament meanwhile continues to meet in the eastern city of Tobruk, far from the militia violence. Those lawmakers have branded Islamist militias as terrorists, sacked the country’s chief of staff over his alleged links to Islamists and named a new one who vowed Monday to wage war against “terrorists.”

Libya’s interim government is also unable to return to the capital and has been holding its meetings in the eastern city of Bayda. It sent its foreign minister to Egypt to meet officials from neighboring countries to discuss ways to stop the spiraling violence.

The meeting ended with calls for disarming the militias and opposition to outside military intervention in Libya’s affairs.

Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri warned the gathering that the situation in Libya threatens the entire region and other parts of the world.

"The developments in Libya have left an impact we have felt on the security of neighboring countries, with the presence and movement of extremist and terrorist groups whose activists are not only limited to the Libyan territories but also spill over to neighboring countries," he said.

Meanwhile Monday, retaliatory attacks swept Tripoli, targeting houses and buildings of Islamist rivals, including Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni. He accused Islamists of attacking his house in Tripoli, then torching and looting it.

"It is impossible that you can impose anything on Libyans using force," al-Thinni warned. "It will be like a devil who wants to enter heaven."

Fox News Jennifer Griffin and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

August 26, 2014 at 12:35AM

Source/Credit: Fox News