Prison escapees thought to be in area around Yellowstone

YELLOWSTONE

Escapees thought to be around park area

Federal authorities say two men who escaped from a private Arizona prison and a woman thought to have helped them are thought to be in the area around Yellowstone National Park.

The U.S. Marshals Service said information had developed in the past few days that indicated Tracy Province, John McCluskey and Casslyn Welch may be hiding in portions of the park that span Montana and Wyoming.

Authorities said it was now thought that Province had separated from McCluskey and Welch.

The manhunt intensified after forensic evidence linked at least one of the inmates to the killing of an Oklahoma couple in New Mexico last week. The couple's badly burned skeletal remains were found in a charred camper on a ranch in Santa Rosa.

-- Associated Press

NEW YORK

1 killed, 6 wounded in gun battle at party

Authorities say an argument at a New York City block party escalated into gunfire, resulting in the killing of one man and the wounding of six others, including a police officer shot by a fellow officer in the hail of bullets.

Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said two men began arguing about 3 a.m. Sunday in Upper Manhattan. One of the men killed the other, then fired at the five police officers who had arrived, he said.

Kelly said four officers fired back, wounding the man.

Authorities said that in the confusion, an officer fired the shot that hit another officer in the chest. He was wearing a bullet-resistant vest and was expected to be fine. Another officer was grazed in the hand.

Three other people were hospitalized for gunshot wounds. Two other officers had minor injuries.

-- Associated Press

Search for missing Oregon boy renewed: Searchers have renewed their hunt this weekend for a 7-year-old Oregon boy who has been missing since early June. Multnomah County sheriff's spokeswoman Mary Lindstrand told the Oregonian newspaper that they were following up on leads and tips. She declined to say what led them to search for Kyron Horman on Saturday and Sunday. KGW-TV reported that searchers were looking east of Skyline Elementary School in a rural area of northwestern Portland. Kyron vanished June 4 after attending a science fair at the school.

Man accused of killing fellow Marine faces trial: A Marine accused of killing a pregnant colleague -- whose remains were found in a fire pit behind his home -- will go on trial Tuesday in Goldsboro, N.C., on charges that include first-degree murder. Investigators say Marine Cpl. Cesar Laurean had a motive to kill Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach: She accused him of raping her and fathering her baby. However, Navy investigators said they have no physical evidence or witnesses to corroborate Lauterbach's claims, and Laurean denied they ever had sexual contact.

Eagle halts airline flight: An eagle was sucked into an engine of an Alaska Airlines jet as the aircraft was taking off from a small southeast Alaska town Sunday, causing the flight to be aborted. Seattle-bound Flight 68 was approaching takeoff speed when the bird was ingested into the left engine shortly after 10 a.m. in Sitka. None of the 134 passengers or five crew members was hurt. The collision automatically shut off the plane's engine, airline spokesman Paul McElroy said. He said the jet braked to a stop about 3,000 feet from the end of the 6,500-foot runway, which ends at the water's edge. The plane then taxied back to the terminal. The airline was sending a replacement plane from Anchorage to continue the flight.

Buffalo-hunting site uncovered: Archaeologists working on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in northwestern Montana say they have uncovered a vast former hunting complex where bison were stampeded over a cliff at least 1,000 years ago. Plains Indians harvested the animals by stampeding them over cliffs. Researchers say the nine-mile-long area contains a well-preserved "drive line" system used to funnel bison, along with bison bones and the remnants of campsites.

-- From news services