FRESNO — Humberto Ceballos-Rangel (Ceballos), 37, of Mexico, pleaded guilty today in connection with his involvement in a large marijuana cultivation operation found by law enforcement last summer in the Sierra National Forest in Madera County, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced. Ceballos pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to manufacture, to distribute, and to possess with the ...

NORTH FORK — For nearly three decades, the brutal murders of Velma Avdeeff and Stella Rea have remained unsolved – but not forgotten. Each year as the holidays come and go, the family wishes for only one thing – the answer to the question of who murdered these two women and why. The crime took place on New Year’s Day ...

MADERA COUNTY — Madera Snow Search and Rescue volunteers, ‪Madera Sheriff OHV‬, ‪‎Madera County Sheriff deputies‬ and two Sierra National Forest officers conducted snow training Saturday, Jan 16. The teams trained on snowmobiles, tracked ATVs, tracked UTVs and a snow cat. Teams also conducted GPS and avalanche beacon training. Training started off at 8 a.m. and it rained on the ...

COARSEGOLD — A single-vehicle crash near Yosemite Springs Park ended in an arrest for suspicion of DUI this morning. Just after 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 12, CHP began receiving calls of a reckless driver who was all over the road northbound on Road 400. Minutes later, reports came in of a crash just north of Yosemite Springs Parkway. The ...

MARIPOSA COUNTY — A high speed chase on Highway 49 North in the wee hours of this morning ended with the recovery of one stolen vehicle, and one suspect on the run. On Tuesday, Jan. 12, at 1:36 a.m., the Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office received a BOL (Be-On-the-Lookout) for a stolen vehicle out of Merced County that was being tracked, ...

COUNTY — The Madera County Sheriff’s Office just completed their second annual Explorer Academy with 32 Explorers participating, including candidates from the Madera County Fire Explorers, Fresno Sheriff Explorers, Madera Police Department Explorers, and Madera Sheriff Explorers. This four day academy is designed to provide a basic foundation for a career in law enforcement. With these graduates having completed the ...

COARSEGOLD — A crash involving four vehicles blocked Highway 41 this morning just south of Yosemite Springs Parkway. At about 8:45 a.m., a 38-year-old Coarsegold woman was northbound on Highway 41 in a 2007 Toyota Prius, and had slowed to a stated speed of about 30 mph and signaled to turn left onto Road 207. According to CHP at the ...

YOSEMITE — During the evening of Jan. 2, California Highway Patrol Helicopter 40 (H40) was requested by Yosemite National Park search and rescue personnel (YOSAR) to assist with a first-light hoist rescue of an injured person. The victim was 63-year-old Sue Hopley from Palo Alto, Calif., who was hiking the Nevada Falls trail. Due to ice formation on the granite, ...

MADERA COUNTY – Following are details from the Madera County Sheriff’s Office of reports taken locally from Dec. 27, 2015 through Jan. 3, 2016. Oakhurst runaway juvenile On Sunday, Dec. 27 at 00:19 a.m., a deputy flagged down by a citizen in the 45000 block of CA-41 regarding a runaway juvenile. Investigation concluded the juvenile had possibly left the Oakhurst ...

MADERA COUNTY — Sheriff Jay Varney is pleased to announce the promotion of three Sheriff’s Office employees and the swearing in of two new deputy sheriffs. Joseph Wilder was promoted to Sergeant. He has been with the Madera County Sheriff’s Office since April of 2004, and had also been an Explorer with the Sheriff’s Office from 1997 until 2004. Rainbow ...