On Labor Day, September 2, 2024, the 95 Express Lanes will operate northbound all day, with the regular reversal schedule resuming on Tuesday, September 3, including the end of the summer schedule and the start of the regular reversal times.
Press release:
The Prince William County Police Department is urgently seeking public assistance to locate Caleb Anthony Beer, a missing endangered adult last contacted on April 6, known to frequent areas in Culpeper, Stafford, Woodbridge, and Dumfries, with his safety currently in question due to undisclosed reasons.
*MISSING ENDANGERED ADULT: The Prince William County Police Department is asking for the public’s help locating Caleb Anthony BEER who was reported missing by family members on April 19. Family members became concerned after not hearing from Caleb for several days with the last known contact with Caleb being on April 6. During the ongoing investigation, additional information was recently obtained by detectives leading to increased concern for Caleb’s wellbeing and has prompted him to now be considered endangered. Currently, it is undetermined if Caleb is missing due to voluntary reasons, or possible foul play. Caleb is unhoused and known to frequent Culpeper, Stafford, Woodbridge, and Dumfries, and unhoused encampment areas. Anyone who has information regarding the whereabouts of this person or information that can otherwise aid in the investigation is asked to contact Prince William County police at 703-792-6500 or your local police department.
Press release:
A resident of Stafford County, and a resident of Fauquier County, were among the 21 Virginia State Police Troopers who graduated from the 141st Basic Session on Friday, August 23, 2024, at the VSP Academy in North Chesterfield, Va. During the 141st Basic Session’s 30 weeks at the VSP Academy, trooper-trainees received instruction in more than 100 different subjects over the course of hundreds of hours. Academy training includes areas such as crime scene investigation, judicial procedures, self-defense, cultural diversity, and firearms.
Several residents in Stafford County’s White Oak area woke up to anti-Semitic flyers strewed across their properties. Stafford County Sheriff’s Office reported several calls about the flyers, which were placed at residences. Detective S.M. Danyluk has obtained copies of the flyer and is actively investigating the incident, requesting any residents with video footage be submitted online.
Department spokesman Ryan Wilbur said while houses were not specifically targeted, the flyers were distributed randomly along sidewalks and driveways. The flyers were inside plastic bags weighed down by rice. Wilbur said the papers “were generalized flyers” and they “contained misinformation regarding religion, media, and conspiracies.”
The Stafford County School Board will hold a special called meeting on Tuesday, August 27, at 5:30 p.m. The meeting is open to the public, livestreamed online, and televised on local cable channels. The public is invited to attend, but the agenda does not include public comments.
The meeting agenda includes a transportation update; Stafford Public Schools faced a chaotic first week with major software issues that left thousands of students without transportation to and from school. The board will also discuss redistricting for the county’s newest High School, which will impact students in the 2026-27 school year. The school will be located between Route 17 and Truslow Road in the southwestern part of the county. This area currently does not have a public high school, and the new facility is expected to help alleviate overcrowding in the existing schools.
With school having started in the region these past two weeks, several localities have released safety reminders for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists.
In a May 2021 report, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said between 2010 and 2019, there were 1,080 school transportation-related crashes and 1,199 people of all ages were killed in those crashes.
Stafford County voters will receive a new, unique “I Voted” sticker this year. Ellie Brewer, a senior at Mountain View High School, created the hand-drawn design of a cardinal perched on a dogwood branch, symbolizing the pride and beauty of Virginia.
Brewer’s design will be featured on the official 2024 “I Voted” stickers distributed at polling stations throughout Stafford County. Stafford County Public Schools (SCPS) collaborated with Stafford County Government and the Office of Elections to host the 2024 sticker design contest. Students were asked to create designs to inspire voter participation.
“A Stafford man who killed another man in 2022 outside a county motel following a multiday drug binge was ordered Monday to serve 49 years in prison. George Lee Pearson III, 47, was sentenced in Stafford Circuit Court to a total of 68 years with 19 years suspended. He shot and killed 47-year-old Leo D. Franklin of Oxon Hill, Maryland, for reasons that remain unclear.” Read more from The Free Lance-Star.
On Sunday morning, June 19, deputies found a man suffering a gunshot wound to the chest in the parking lot of the Red Roof Inn, 386 Warrenton Road in Stafford County. Three deputies provided first aid to the victim until medics arrived on the scene to treat and take the victim to a hospital where he later died. Pearson fled the scene armed with a handgun. Deputies were able to speak with him through FaceTime on his phone. Pearson eventually stopped on an exit ramp of I-95 and surrendered at 11:30 a.m.
