There were 110,129 people who read Noozhawk this past week, about the same number of runners the Dodgers left in scoring position in yet another underwhelming performance.
Here’s my take on your top stories:
1. Search On for Nevada College Student Who Disappeared in Santa Barbara
A Nevada college student who was reported missing in Santa Barbara earlier this month eventually was found safe in her dorm room. How she got from here to there — at Sierra Nevada College near Lake Tahoe — involves a lot more questions than there are answers.
Dianne Thacher, 23, who attends the small private college in Incline Village, Nev., had last been seen Oct. 6 at a motel in the 6000 block of Hollister Avenue.
She apparently had traveled to the South Coast alone, and her family reported her missing Oct. 11. She turned up two days later.
According to Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Kelly Hoover, Thacher’s 2000 Honda CRV was found abandoned Oct. 6 in the 7600 block of Hollister Avenue in Goleta’s Ellwood neighborhood.
The SUV, which had Rhode Island license plates, was parked on the side of the road and sporting a flat tire.
“Thacher allegedly met a male acquaintance when her vehicle received a flat tire,” Hoover said. “Her cell phone battery died shortly afterward. Thacher reportedly stayed with the male acquaintance for several days.”
Hoover said that after Thacher returned to school, her companion saw the news reports about her disappearance and contacted authorities.
Before she was located, the Sheriff’s Department had pinged her cell phone, and the signal indicated it was somewhere along the Gaviota coast — about 15 miles from her car.
That only added to the alarm, and triggered a search of the area by a county helicopter crew, the sheriff’s Search & Rescue Team and a canine unit. They found nothing.
Back on campus, as our Tom Bolton discovered, Thacher had told her school’s news website, the Eagle’s Eye, that the hullabaloo was unwarranted.
“I was camping and exploring,” she explained. “This started due to a family issue and did not need to be on the news.
“I left the car because I was having tire trouble and didn’t want it anymore, as it belongs to my mom. That’s a complicated story.”
Sounds like it, and I’ll leave it at that, content that the story also has a relatively happy ending.
“This has gotten so blown out of proportion,” she told the news site. “I’m sorry everyone was so worried and such. I am fine, and was fine the whole time.”
2. Santa Barbara County Wants Fugitives Randy Quaid, Wife Extradited after Vermont Arraignment
Evi and Randy Quaid, two of Santa Barbara County’s most notorious fugitives, were nabbed at a border checkpoint in Vermont the night of Oct. 9 as they tried to cross into the United States from Canada.
The couple has been on the lam since 2010 when they fled to British Columbia to escape criminal charges stemming from their arrest for allegedly squatting at a vacant house in Montecito.
According to the Quaids, they also were trying to escape the clutches of the “Hollywood Star Whackers,” a shadowy group they say is responsible for the deaths of their friends and fellow actors, David Carradine, Heath Ledger and Natasha Richardson.
A Vermont judge sprang the dynamic duo from jail Oct. 15, ruling there was no probable cause to hold them in the Green Mountains State.
Afterward, Senior Deputy District Attorney Lee Carter told our Lara Cooper that the DA’s Office still wants them back to stand trial on felony vandalism, misdemeanor trespass and felony failure to appear while out on bail.
Evi Quaid also faces a charge of misdemeanor resisting arrest in the case, which involves a house she and her husband once owned in the 1300 block of East Mountain Drive.
Carter said the DA’s Office has filed for a governor’s warrant that could bring the scofflaws back to Santa Barbara, but that process could take as long as three months.
In the meantime, the Quaids can move about Vermont — no doubt giving them ample opportunity to make more of the entertaining-yet-delusional videos like the one Evi Quaid posted online last week.
(Noozhawk video)
3. Line of Intense Thunderstorms Hammers Goleta, Isla Vista
After a day of magnificent cloud formations and distant thunder, the heavens finally opened up on western Goleta the evening of Oct. 14. That was as far as it went, however.
A narrow band of intense thunderstorms moved into the area, accompanied by intense downpours, hail, deafening thunder and numerous lightning strikes, including one that set a palm tree on fire in Ellwood. Power outages were reported all over the place.
Then the storms moved east … and disappeared.
4. Murder-Suicide Suspected After Couple Found Dead Inside Los Olivos Home
The Oct. 8 deaths of a Los Olivos couple — last week’s top story — remained in this week’s Top 5.
Authorities found the bodies of Kimberly Towe Hamilton, 45, and her husband, Gregg Hamilton, 50, in their residence in the 2200 block of Alamo Pintado Avenue, four blocks west of Grand Avenue.
Law enforcement had sealed off the area after a 9-1-1 caller reported that a violent crime had occurred at his cell phone’s location.
Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Kelly Hoover said investigators suspected a murder-suicide.
“Kimberly Hamilton suffered an apparent gunshot wound and Gregg Hamilton suffered an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound,” she said.
After autopsies were conducted a day later, the Coroner’s Office confirmed the manner of death and agreed the circumstances were consistent with a murder-suicide. A final determination won’t be made until toxicology results are ready in a couple of weeks.
The Hamiltons are survived by three children — Justin, Taylor and Dylan — and the community has established a GoFund page that has raised more than $36,000 for them to date.
An account also has been opened at Rabobank under the name of Kimberly Hamilton to assist her three children. Donations may be made at any Rabobank branch.
Zinke Wine Co., 2366 Alamo Pintado Ave., is hosting a community fundraiser from 5 to 10 p.m. Oct. 16. Figueroa Mountain Brewing Company and other local businesses are contributing wine, beer and food, with all proceeds going to the family.
A memorial service is scheduled for 3 p.m. Oct. 17 at St. Mark’s-in-the-Valley Episcopal Church, 2901 Nojoqui Ave.
5. Ants Are Everywhere, But They’re Not Alone as Pesky Home Invaders
We’ve all seen them. In fact, if you’re reading this at home, one or two may be making their way across the top of your computer right now. Ants really are everywhere.
The presence of Argentine ants — even a long line of them — is not an indication that your house is particularly messy. California’s persistent drought is partly to blame for the proliferation, but ants typically head indoors when they encounter dry, hot weather or wet, cold weather.
Vexed by this fall’s heat and wave of intruders, and mindful of the predictions of an El Niño-sodden winter, our Hilary Doubleday decided to do some research on how you can defend your home.
There’s actually quite a lot you can do, but there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. Your results most certainly will vary.
Click here for Hilary’s recommendations, many of which can be repurposed for other bugs and pest peeves.
• • •
Bill Macfadyen’s Story of the Week, from my peripatetic tour of the World Wide Web: Look Like Superman While You Ride This Prone Bicycle.
Because … why?
• • •
You know you want one.
(BBC News video)
• • •
If you value our unmatched breaking news and in-depth reporting on the issues that you care about, please support our experienced staff of professional journalists and help us continue to provide a vital forum for the community.
How can you help?
» Join our Hawks Club.
Membership Options
Red-Tailed Hawk, $5 a month; Cooper’s Hawk, $10 a month; Red-Shouldered Hawk, $25 a month; Birds of a Feather, $52 a year.
Checks can be snail-mailed to Noozhawk, P.O. Box 101, Santa Barbara 93102.
» kim.clark@noozhawk.com or market your business, organization, service or event.
» Subscribe to our free daily A.M. Report.
» Display your Noozhawk pride with a 3-inch-square Noozhawk sticker. Send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Noozhawk Promotions, P.O. Box 101, Santa Barbara 93102. The free stickers — as well as full-sized bumper stickers and pens — also are available at Noozhawk World Headquarters, 1327-A State St., by the historic Arlington Theatre.
Please note that personal contributions to Noozhawk are not deductible as charitable donations.
Thank you for your support.
— Bill Macfadyen is Noozhawk’s founder and publisher. Contact him at wmacfadyen@noozhawk.com, follow him on Twitter: @noozhawk, or click here to read previous columns. The opinions expressed are his own.