MADERA COUNTY – The man accused of causing the death of a young boy on Bass Lake on June 27, and causing traumatic injuries to a teenage girl in the same jet ski incident, will soon be formally arraigned on charges including misdemeanor involuntary manslaughter. Phat Chau, 55, is expected to appear in Madera Superior Court at Bass Lake on ...

MARIPOSA COUNTY – The Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office is warning all residents about a telephone fraud that’s targeting the mountain area. Scammers are using scrambling devices to change the phone number shown on the caller ID, in some cases showing the Sheriff’s Office phone number of 209-966-3615, or even just showing 911. The scammers are identifying themselves as Sheriff’s Office ...

MARIPOSA COUNTY – After a week-long social media sting operation, the Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office has arrested Matthew A. Tilton, 25, of Mariposa, on charges relating to contacting a minor for sexual purposes. Once the Sheriff’s Office received reports of Tilton having inappropriate conversations with minors on social media, investigators initiated the social media operation to contact Tilton. The conversations ...

CLOVIS – After their fire engine rolled over in a crash on Highway 168 near Clovis on Sunday, all five Stanislaus National Forest firefighters on board were taken to area hospitals for treatment of their injuries. The Forest Service reports that two were released the day of the incident, one was released last night, and two are in stable condition ...

CLOVIS – A woman attempting to pass a fire engine on the right side in an intersection, hit the large truck, causing it to roll over and injuring all five firefighters on board. At 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, July 12, a Stanislaus National Forest Fire Engine was eastbound on Highway 168 approaching Shepherd Avenue at about 55 mph. The wildland ...

CLOVIS – Five firefighters were injured this morning when a US Forest Service fire engine rolled over on Highway 168 between Academy and Shepherd Avenues near Clovis, according to CHP. Just after 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, July 12, a small SUV was attempting what was described as an unsafe pass, and collided with the firetruck, which was carrying five firefighters. ...

NORTH FORK – An early morning crash near North Fork on Friday sent a Wishon woman to the hospital after her car caught fire. Just before 5 a.m., Carolyn Pinion, 60, was westbound on Road 223 in the curves approaching Road 420 when, for unknown reasons, she traveled off the right side of the roadway and hit the embankment. Her ...

MARIPOSA COUNTY – On July 8, 2015 the Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office along with the US Forest Service, conducted a marijuana eradication operation in the Sierra National Forest. The garden, located in the Signal Peak area, was identified as an illegal Mexican Cartel Drug Trafficking Operation. While entering the garden complex, members of the eradication team located two subjects. One ...

MARIPOSA – The Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office has graciously accepted a donation of seven Automated External Defibrillators, otherwise known as AEDs, from Rick Roesch, owner of Mercy Ambulance. An automated external defibrillator is a portable electronic device that automatically diagnoses life-threatening ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia in a patient. This is when the heart’s chambers “fibrillate” in an unsynchronized way, ...

BASS LAKE – With two teenagers having lost their lives in jet ski accidents on the lake this past week, and another person injured just this afternoon, the Madera County Sheriff’s Office will be out in force over the 4th of July weekend to ensure that everyone has a safe and sane holiday. Just after 4 p.m. today, a woman ...