Jim Pillen, a hog farm owner and veterinarian, won Nebraska’s crowded Republican primary for governor on Tuesday over a candidate endorsed by Donald Trump, dealing the former president his first loss of the midterm election season.

Pillen defeated eight challengers, including Charles Herbster, a Trump-backed businessman accused late in the campaign of groping young women, and Brett Lindstrom, a state senator and Omaha financial adviser who was generally viewed as a more moderate choice.

The results were a setback for Trump after a decisive win in last week’s Ohio Republican Senate primary for his candidate, JD Vance. The former president has released hundreds of endorsements in races across the country, all in an effort to reshape the GOP and lift his loyalists into office. Herbster’s loss raises the stakes on other high-profile races this month in Pennsylvania and Georgia, where Trump has also intervened in campaigns.

Pillen will be a strong favorite in November’s general election against his Democratic opponent, state Sen. Carol Blood, in the Republican-majority state. Nebraska hasn’t elected a Democrat as governor since 1994.

Pillen was endorsed by many top GOP leaders in the state, including Gov. Pete Ricketts, former Gov. Kay Orr, and renowned former University of Nebraska football coach and congressman Tom Osborne. Ricketts, the incumbent, was prevented by term limit laws from running again.

In Nebraska, the allegations against Herbster, a longtime supporter of Trump’s, didn’t stop the former president from holding a rally with him earlier this month.

“I really think he’s going to do just a fantastic job, and if I didn’t feel that, I wouldn’t be here,” Trump said at the rally at a racetrack outside Omaha.

In a story last month, the Nebraska Examiner interviewed six women who claimed Herbster had groped their buttocks, outside of their clothes, during political events or beauty pageants. A seventh woman said Herbster once cornered her privately and kissed her forcibly.

One of the accusers, Republican state Sen. Julie Slama, said Herbster reached up her skirt and touched her inappropriately at the Douglas County Republican Party’s annual Elephant Remembers dinner in 2019. The Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they choose to come forward publicly, as Slama has done.

Herbster filed a defamation lawsuit against Slama, saying she falsely accused him in an effort to derail his campaign. Slama responded with a countersuit against Herbster, alleging sexual battery.

Herbster has suggested in television ads that Pillen and Ricketts conspired with Slama to falsely accuse him of sexual assault — allegations the three deny.

Some voters said the allegations didn’t dissuade them from backing Herbster.

As she voted at an elementary school in northwest Omaha on Tuesday, Joann Kotan said she was “upset by the stories, but I don’t know if I believe them.” Ultimately, the 74-year-old said she voted for Herbster “because President Trump recommended him.”

Lindstrom has faced a barrage of attacks as well, with third-party television ads funded by Ricketts that portray him as too liberal for the conservative state. One digitally altered ad shows Lindstrom standing in front of a rainbow flag with a coronavirus mask superimposed over his face. A mail ad notes that Lindstrom was endorsed by U.S. Rep. Brad Ashford, a moderate Republican-turned-Democrat who died last month of brain cancer.

But Devon Leesley said he backed the 41-year-old Lindstrom because “it’s time to hand over the politics to the next generation.” Pillen and Herbster are both in their 60s.

The 45-year-old Leesley, who lives in Omaha, said he didn’t pay much attention to the various endorsements in the race.

“I don’t trust any politician talking about any other politician. It’s all dirt,” he said. “We would never vote for anybody if we listened to their opponent.”

Carol Bruning, 59, of Omaha, said she went into Election Day debating between Pillen and Lindstrom, but went with Pillen because of his age and experience. She said she liked that Ricketts and former football coach and congressman Tom Osborne endorsed Pillen. The fact that Trump endorsed Herbster may have even been a little bit of a turn off at this point even though Bruning said she voted for Trump.

The allegations against Herbster weren’t much of a factor.

“You don’t know what to believe. That’s the hard part,” Bruning said.

Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen, a Republican, predicted that 35% of registered voters will cast ballots in the primary, the highest percentage since 2006, based on what he’s seen so far.

Nebraska Republicans and Democrats also picked their candidates for the seat previously held by Republican U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, who resigned from office and ended his reelection bid in March after he was convicted of federal corruption charges.

State Sen. Mike Flood, a former speaker of the Nebraska Legislature, won the Republican nomination, while state Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks won the Democratic nod. Flood will enter the race as a strong favorite in the Republican-heavy 1st Congressional District, which includes Lincoln, small towns and a large swath of eastern Nebraska farmland.

Despite Trump’s loss in the Nebraska governor’s race, his influence proved decisive in West Virginia, which also held primary elections Tuesday. In a race pitting two Republican incumbents against each other, Trump’s candidate, Rep. Alex Mooney, defeated Rep. David McKinley, who had angered Trump by voting for President Joe Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure package and the creation of the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

Two people and a sheriff's office K-9 have died following a high-speed pursuit and a train crash involving two vehicles in Nebraska on Tuesday night.

Joseph Stoltenberg, 43, the suspect who initiated the chase, died on impact.

The other person who died was 31-year-old Kyle Ediger, a teacher at Hampton Public Schools, the district confirmed to sister station KETV. Ediger, who worked at the school for the past nine years, was a math teacher and the Hampton boys basketball coach.

"Mr. Kyle Ediger worked at Hampton Public School for the past 9 years, and was a valued and respected math teacher and coach. His unexpected death was a shock to our students and staff," Hampton Public Schools said in a statement.

Stoltenberg hit the back of a vehicle driven by Ediger that was waiting for the train, pushing the vehicle into the train. Stoltenberg, Ediger and the K-9 died on impact.

Aurora News-Register

Nitro was the female K-9 who died in the crash, the sheriff's office confirmed to sister station KETV.

York County sheriff's office

Watch the video above for the full story.

Doctors and nurses in the ICU are approaching two full years of pandemic pressure. But public support for frontline workers has taken a back seat.

"We're here to help, but we also need you to help. We also need the public to help," said Haleigh Seizys, an ICU nurse at Nebraska Medicine.

As the pandemic rolls into a third year, that help can be as simple as sending donuts.

"You feed my nurses and they'll be happy," said Kim Olson, an ICU charge nurse at Bergan Mercy in Omaha, Nebraska.

But ICU nurses say you can make the biggest difference by taking precautions to mitigate hospitalizations.

"For the past two years, our world has honestly been turned upside down," said Olson.

But the days of banging pots and pans to thank our health care heroes are bygone, while the virus is as vicious as ever.

"I can't speak to my patients, because they're struggling so much. I've had way more experience with death in two years, than I ever thought I would in a lifetime," said Seizys, who feels public support for doctors and nurses has plateaued. "I wish that people could understand the exhaustion of just the overworked staff."

Some people do, especially those who have witnessed the crush of COVID-19 first-hand.

"We have had phenomenal care," said Amy Crosby. Her 1-year-old has Down syndrome and is hospitalized with COVID-19 right now. "I don't think some of the health care people take credit for all that they do for the families."

As a nurse herself, Crosby appreciates how health care workers put on a brave face for patients and frightened families.

"I feel like they've just been my good friends or my girlfriends through this whole process," said Crosby.

Patients, like family members, recognize what their nurses are going through. Marvin Brinkman was in the ICU at Bergan Mercy last month.

"The ICU stay really showed me the pressure that a lot of the nurses and doctors were under," said Brinkman, who had brain surgery and said there were COVID patients in the unit.

Some fear those pressures of the pandemic could cause mistakes in high-stakes environments.

"I think that that's always a concern," said Brinkman. "I could tell that they were stretched thin."

Those on the front lines say advertising our appreciation is more important than ever, as health care workers leave the profession in droves.

"We need those very skilled nurses taking care of us, otherwise we're going to be regretting it," said Brinkman.

For nurses, the exhaustion they’re experiencing right now is unprecedented. It is spurred in part by mandatory overtime.

"Every day continues to get harder," said Olson. As cases rise, support seems to be slipping away. “From an ICU standpoint, we're drowning, emotionally and physically."

Even so, they continue to show up, shift after shift.

"You don't lose the passion for nursing," said Olson.

They say a simple 'thank you' can sustain them during their darkest days.

"We have seen the most amazing support from both patients, families and friends."

A customer at The Omaha Bakery in Nebraska ordered two turnovers, and in return put forth a huge tip.

"Everybody was freaking out in here, they were like 'you guys won't believe what just happened!'" employee Preston Rath said.

Rath thought he was doing a typical transaction at the bakery.

"He ordered two turnovers which came to $5 and as I'm ringing them up he kind of snickers a little bit as he turns the screen back to me," Rath said.

When the customer, Nicholas, turned the screen around, Rath noticed his $2,000 tip.

"And I was like that's wrong, you put too much of a tip in there. And he goes 'if you don't hit OK, I'm going to reach around and hit OK,'" Rath said.

"You hear about these things in big cities and you see it on the internet, but you never think it's going to happen at your business," owner Michelle Kaiser said.

Kaiser said the money will be dispersed between hourly employees only, no managers.

"He knew that it had been a rough time with COVID, he knew that people were struggling in general. He noticed our staff was working really, really hard," Kaiser said.

Rath hopes the kindness that Nicholas showed doesn't stop with him.

"You don't have to give random strangers $2,000 but even just saying 'have a good day' can help somebody go from a zero to a 10," he said.

Watch the full story in the video above.

Oh, you can already imagine the smell of Thanksgiving dinner.

But retailers such as Rob Toy at Leon's Gourmet Grocer in Nebraska said, if you want to be carving a turkey in three weeks, you may want to start planning to get that bird in hand now.

"Get your orders in early and buy early if you're going to buy frozen, get the items that you want now. Buy them early because some availability as it gets further down may not be there," Toy said.

Toy said they've already taken about 60 orders for fresh birds.

He said they'll sell about 600.

"I think this is gonna probably be the first holiday everybody's going to get back together since all this the pandemic and I think that people are going to buy bigger, more. They're going to have a big holiday dinner," Toy said.

Last year, there was a shortage, especially of smaller birds.

It's unclear if that could occur again.

A spokesperson for the National Turkey Federation said the industry is working to provide turkeys.

"The turkey industry is working every day to mitigate any lingering effects of the pandemic on the supply chain," said Beth Breeding, of the National Turkey Federation.

"Turkey is the centerpiece of the Thanksgiving meal, and Americans can rest assured that there will be turkeys available this holiday season," Breeding said.

However, prices could be higher according to Jennifer Ryan, the chair of the Department of Supply Chain Management and Analytics at the University of Nebraska Lincoln Business College.

"Substantially higher like, 25 to 50% higher," Ryan said.

Ryan attributes the higher prices to increased grower costs, processing slowdowns, transportation costs and labor costs.

"Increased costs across the board are leading to higher prices for turkeys as well as everything else on the table," Ryan said.

Ryan said consumers should be aware there supply chain uncertainties for other holiday items as well.

"You want to make sure you have all of those ingredients, all those foods you want for your holiday dinners, you want to make sure you have them, so if you see them in the store, you might stock up now," Ryan said.

Toy said they are trying to absorb some of the increases for customers but he recommends buying now.

"There might be a time," Toy said. "Just prepare early and buy early,"

Watch the video above for the full story.

Greg Schroeter's bout with COVID-19 was relatively mild.

But the other problems it triggered left him hospitalized for nearly three months.

The 51-year-old from rural Humphrey, Nebraska, said his recovery has been long and emotional.

"I went from basically being bedridden, and one of my physical therapists stood me up," he said. "And I looked him eye to eye and I knew I was gonna walk again."

Schroeter documented all his milestones at Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals-Lincoln Campus: the first time standing, walking on a robotic treadmill called a Lokomat, and using a walker and walking on his own.

"It's three and a half hours a day of pure hell, but it's worth everything because I'm going to walk out there," Schroeter said.

In November 2020, his wife Kimberly Schroeter, a registered nurse, tested positive for COVID-19. Her symptoms were mild. They wore masks and slept in separate bedrooms.

"I guess I thought I was out of the woods. I was on day 10 of quarantine," Schroeter said.

He was working outside when suddenly he felt pain in his legs. A couple of days later, he could barely move. On Nov. 23, he was taken to Methodist Hospital in Omaha, Nebraska.

Doctors told him he developed Guillain-Barre syndrome, a neurological disorder that attacks the spinal cord causing paralysis. It was apparently triggered by his exposure to the coronavirus.

"I never would have gotten Guillain-Barre if it wasn't for COVID," he said.

The disease soon began affecting his breathing.

"This is the most painful thing I've ever experienced in my life, and I wouldn't wish it on anybody or my worst enemy," Schroeter said. "It is absolutely awful."

Kimberly Schroeter said she was thankful Greg didn't have to go on a ventilator.

"For some reason, he escaped that twice and that was pretty amazing," she said.

Schroeter also developed a pancreatic cyst that doctors operated on. On Jan. 8, he was well enough to be taken to Madonna.

"I was basically helpless," Schroeter said. "No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't move."

Courtesy Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital

Dr. Paul Krabbenhoft, Madonna's Spinal Cord Injury Program medical director, said Schroeter's case is not unique.

Since the pandemic began, Madonna staff in Lincoln and Omaha have treated 105 patients for post-COVID-19, many with severe side effects.

Krabbenhoft said they have also treated other Guillain-Barre patients. "Something that causes the immune system to respond and then it gets out of kilter and it starts acting on and attacking the central nervous system," Krabbenhoft said.

Schroeter is grateful for all the support from family, friends and co-workers.

"I feel like the prayers that were given to me and the Methodist Hospital team and the Madonna Hospital team, I believe they saved my life," Schroeter said.

Related video: Some COVID-19 survivors experience long-term symptoms

For every milestone Schroeter recorded, his wife would send him a text.

"I would say, my heart is fluttering," she said. "Fluttering was like my word to him every time he did something so amazing."

Schroeter will soon reach another amazing milestone: going home two weeks ahead of schedule.

"He's my hero," Kimberly said. "Everything he's been through and he just never ever gave up. I guess I could say that I think I fell in love with my husband all over again."

Hearing the word "cancer" is scary for anyone, especially when you're just 9 years old. Sammy Strawn can call himself a survivor, and one heck of a baseball player too.

You don't have to be around Sammy for long to know he's anything but quiet on the field.

"My dad taught me when I was like maybe 3 or 4, so baseball's life to me," Sammy said.

But last October, he wasn't feeling like his normal self.

"We first found out after he had a prolonged headache at school and had to come home from school," his dad Joe said.

That long headache turned out to be caused by a brain tumor.

"It was a pilocytic astrocytoma," Joe said.

But baseball stayed on Sammy's mind. So when his parents told him what was going on, Joe said Sammy had just two questions: "First one: 'Am I going to live?' The second one: 'Am I going to play baseball again?'"

Joe and his wife Sarah Wemhoff-Strawn say they caught the tumor early on.

"(It was) not genetic, it was just a formulation of bad cells," Sarah said.

Between October and November, Sammy had two surgeries within weeks of each other. And just three days later, he was back to playing catch again.

"I didn't want to lie to him and say 'you will play baseball again,'" Joe said. "That was never a guarantee," Sarah chimed in.

Joe said he "was hoping by April he would be playing baseball and even that, I wasn't sure it was going to happen."

Sammy's impact inspired his parents so much that they started Sammy Strong, a foundation aiming to provide resources for families and everyone else involved in the life of a child facing what Sammy did.

Meanwhile, Sammy hasn't missed a single game or practice since his surgery.

He's grateful for his teammates.

"It's like they didn't even notice that I had cancer, and I was just a normal kid on the baseball team," Sammy said.

"I think grateful is the biggest understatement in the world," Sarah said.

Joe and Sarah say it's unlikely that the tumor will come back. But Sammy gets a check-up every three months to make sure everything is alright.

For more about the Sammy Strong foundation, go here.

Omaha police say an officer responding to a shoplifting call was shot Friday afternoon at Westroads Mall in Omaha, Nebraska.

According to Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer, two officers responded to the JCPenney at Westroads Mall when a struggle happened and a shoplifting suspect shot an officer.

First responders rushed the officer who was shot to Nebraska Medicine in critical condition.

The incident happened around 4 p.m.

Witnesses said the officer was shot in the head. Schmaderer did not confirm where the officer was shot but did say that multiple shots were fired.

Omaha police said Friday night that their injured officer is stable and the suspect is in custody after a pursuit with Nebraska State Patrol.

Lt. Sherie Thomas of Omaha police said the suspect was arrested following a high-speed chase.

She said the pursuit began around 5:20 p.m. Thomas added that the suspect was taken into custody around 20 minutes later without any incident.

A gun was found at the scene where the suspect was taken into custody, according to Thomas.

Thomas explained that the officer who was injured in the shooting is alert and will need surgery.

Witnesses told KETV it was a frightening situation.

"So then all of us were just kind of freaking out," Ashley Heisler said. "Our hands were shaking."

Ashley Heisler and her older sister Kaitlyn Heisler were inside the mall when the shots were fired.

"We were inside of Claire's, and next thing, we're getting ready to leave, and next thing I know, we see a bunch of people getting pushed into the store," Kaitlyn Heisler said.

They called their father, Dan Heisler, who rushed to the scene.

"My daughter called up and said there was a shooting, and they had to be taken into a store and then I freaked out at that point," Dan Heisler said. "Talked to mom and we called some friends and ended up coming here."

Other witnesses like Austin Shellenberger were also inside when the crowd began to panic.

"Next thing you know, bottom floor is starting to run around, then we get pulled by two security guards rushing down the hall," Shellenberger said. "They pulled us into a foot locker where we had been positioned at the back of the shop."

Shellenberger described the shooting as terrifying.

"Terrifying because you see two security guards and you see everyone else running around you, pulling people, and I mean literally pulling people into stores and you just shut down," Shellenberger said.

Dan Heisler is just thankful his daughters are ok.

"It's scary," Dan Heisler said. "It's scary. Not something you want to be driving someplace for but it's scary. But they're okay, so, all good."

PAPILLION, Neb. (KMTV) -- Matt Feldmann, Josh Bodine and Matt Bodine estimate it took about 25,000 LEGO bricks to make their version of the Imperial Star Destroyer.

LEGO made a set for about $130 and another for $700.

"It was just kinda disappointing, the LEGO set was, because they kinda hyped it up for a long time and then they released the pictures and it looked kinda small," said Josh Bodine.

He and his friend Matt thought they could do better. Josh's younger brother joined in the effort since they'd done builds together before.

"I was just kinda asked, 'Do you want to come with us?' I decided sure, why not," said Matthew Bodine.

They took some breaks while waiting for brick deliveries and after some collapse setbacks. They said it took a year and a half.

"Once COVID hit, we were like, 'Man, we have a ton of free time.' So then we started building a lot more than we were able to before that," said Feldmann.

They used a lot of bricks they had, but Matt Feldmann said he still put in about $1,700 to buy the best pieces.

They designed it themselves and admit their creation doesn't meet LEGO stability standards, but they prefer to follow their creativity instead of instructions.

"We can build whatever we want, have whatever details we want, make it as accurate as we want, make it as big as want, so it's way more fun to actually take those creative liberties," said Josh Bodine. Matt Feldmann added with a laugh, "yeah if we were LEGO designers, we'd definitely get fired from this."

They'll be showing off their creation at Brick Days-Omaha. They're a little worried about transporting it but think they can re-piece it together if any problems arise.

You can check it out at Brick Days on July 24 and 25 at Mid-America Center.

Watch the construction process from Bodine's Youtube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=videoseries

This story originally reported by Jennifer Griswold on 3NewsNow.com.

Sam Boje knows a thing or two about flags.

He noticed that the flag pole in his neighbor, Barbara Miller's yard hadn't flown a flag in a few years.

"The flag pole has really, basically for the last three years or so just been a flag pole there and I didn't know how to take it down or want to take it down," Miller said. "We've always had a flag there until he passed away four years ago...and I wasn't really wanting to mess with putting the flag up and down every day."

Taking matters into his own hands, Sam started to raise a flag for Miller every morning.

Sam's interest in flags really sparked when he started learning about them towards the end of his 5th-grade year. And that's when he started sharing what he learned with Miller.

While nothing can bring Russ back, Miller knows his memory will always be honored, all thanks to Sam.

"Russ would be so tickled that the flag is flying again because he just loved it," she said.

"If you know your neighbor, then you know someone that will help you out if something happens," Sam said.

Eventually, Sam said he wants to collect a flag from every country.

Missing for 3 weeks: What we know about the disappearance of Ryan Larsen

Updated: 2:21 PM EDT Jun 8, 2021

Hide Transcript
Show Transcript

Department wanted to give you an update after the Memorial Day weekend on the search for Ryan Larson. Over the weekend, we were back out at walnut Creek. We had divers from Utan and Platt smith and Bennington Valley and waterloo. Again, we had a cadaver dog that uh, hit in that area. We've been concentrating efforts down there. Um, and again, we came up empty. Walnut Creek is a very dense uh, body of water with a lot of sludge in it. Um, the uh, search and rescue people had to be pulled by ropes out of the mud to get it. Uh, we had sonar out there and we really, we didn't come up with anything along the creek. Today, we focused our efforts back to what we call Ground zero. Ground Zero for us is where Ryan was last seen, Which was in the area of 83rd Harrison by the latest Aquino. We had about 80 law enforcement personnel from all over the metro area, including Red Oak, Iowa, I believe. Um, come and they were assigned different sectors, um, north of Harrison Street, we concentrated, uh, roughly from 74 Street west to about 90th north towards Ralston Avenue. Um, there's a lot of wooded area in there. There's a lot of apartments, there's a lot of tree lines, um, there's water and there's just about everything over there. We searched that area to begin with right after we started the search for Ryan. Uh, but we really didn't do a complete, uh, say, forensic type search that as we did today with all the boots on the ground. They were going door to door with flyers and, and asking people if they've seen anything what we're looking for, really. Um, is any little small piece of anything that will give us a lead to keep searching in a different area. Um, leads have been few and far between in this case. And really we're we're doing the best we can to to try to find him and uh, without really knowing where he went or where he's at. Um one thing that uh, this has brought up is the number of missing kids across the country. Again, there's a search taking place right now in the middle of Iowa for a missing 11 year old boy. We talked about the uh incident in uh in indiana last week. Uh, there was a body of uh 8 to 12 year old Hispanic male that was found in uh outside of las Vegas. Uh, it wasn't wasn't are missing missing child, but it was somebody's missing child. But it really brings to light the number of kids that are out there um that are missing. Um, and I guess as our day to day life goes by, we don't think about that. Um our day to day life does go on. We talked about, our officers are still taking calls, responding to calls for service. We have about half the department working on this case right now. The other half has to do what we do to protect and serve the citizens La vista in conjunction with our law enforcement partners from around the county. Um speaking of community partners, um Hi vis brought lunch today ivy from 96 and queue for all the rescuer or the searchers today. Again, we had about 80 of them from everywhere today. Um we take a responsibility, we have to keep those people hydrated and we kind of, we owe them for coming down to help our community out. Our community is very strong, they're taking this personally. Uh Ryan is one of our own. Um La vista is a different community from maybe some of the larger metropolitan areas where, um, it's, uh, it's a bedroom community, but it's really close knit and we're all feeling the pain of this. Um, with that, I'll take any questions that you got. Yeah. Say is that another? There's earlier, it was, it was the same dog we brought. We've used three different cadaver dogs in the area of walnut creek and the same dog has hit several times. Uh, actually, all three dogs have hit, but they've hit several times out there for another time. Yes, yes, on saturday. What about any rewards for brian Larson? Is that something that you and, you know, I think we'll probably have to go down that road. Um, crimestoppers offers rewards for arrest and conviction of, of information leading to somebody if he, uh, there was a nefarious intent here. We don't have anything criminal yet. Uh, so we're not going to utilize crimestoppers, but we have had some citizens reach out with information leading reward information leading towards, uh, finding Ryan. But we haven't formalized anything yet. Is there a threshold of when this becomes a recovery effort? Um, again, we're two weeks out now and uh, if Ryan is out there, um, I don't know. It's, it's been two weeks. We hold out hope that maybe he, he holed himself up somewhere or he's with somebody. But if he's out there alone, um, It very well could be a recovery effort. Is this kind of case precedent where you have this much effort? 50? So officers going out two weeks after he's perfectly missing. Um, it's precedent for us in La vista and I think in the metropolitan area, kids don't go missing like this. This is unusual. It doesn't happen when it does. It's an all hands on deck effort. We would do this if if the child was missing in Omaha or Bellevue or anywhere. You said you were amazing is the investigation. Looking in that direction, We've taken all angles from day one. We have a missing child and endangered missing child. We have to look at all possible uh scenarios. Uh We really don't have anything that shows that there was an abduction or there was any type of criminal intent right now. Um It's uh he was here at one point and he's gone. He also said leads her that's surprising when it when it gets to the point where nobody's seen him. We have him on video um at roughly 1 40 in the afternoon on monday May 17th and we don't see him after that and nobody's seen him. Um It's it's it's I don't know what to say. Mhm. Video that was taken little message, right? We've we've showed the video to his mother. She believes it's him. We believe it's him. Uh That has been sent to Quantico. I mentioned that last week for uh the specialist to enhance that video. Um to see what they can if they can pick, select that better. And so we're waiting on those results. It's a bit more about what the neighbor said that spotted right conflicts. I know we've all said that he's been spotted. But what do the neighbors say? We had? A neighbor said that they saw him walking westbound about 10 minutes to two on monday May 17th. And he walked back towards a dumpster and then he walked back towards his apartment. Was focused. No nothing nothing out of the ordinary according to the neighbor. So with the video at 1 40 the neighbors seeing Ryan at roughly 1 50 that's that's the last time we seen him and he was by his apartment missing. Yes. 12 with the police fairly when the right area. Mhm. On monday He left school at roughly 1152. The police responded about 1220. When they were notified, they immediately saturated the area. The officers are familiar with Ryan, several the officers that responded to know him and they were in the apartment complex in that area between La Vista West and the apartment complex almost immediately. So here's what I really want resolving. There were police in the area searching for him. Yes. Yes. Are you guys going to go back to wall and created I I don't know um if something would come up and I said that before and you know, we've gone back at this point. I really don't know the difficulty in searching it. Um And we had a dog go back again and we're not gonna go back every day with a dog because if a if a if a cadaver hit or smell is there, it's always gonna be there. So there's something in walnut creek but again it's just such a um pile I guess underneath with everything that's in there, you haven't found any of his belongings, anything. We found nothing in what we believe. Uh He had we we have no idea what he had with him, we know what he had when he left school, which was an umbrella. So right now will not create really is your best. And one of your walnut creek was one of our only leads per se because he had been there before and the mother works in that area. Um and we had a cadaver dog hit in that area. Um And other than that we're back to ground zero again. Um centering in on you know where he was last seen. And let's go back and um you know dig deeper and see what we can find. Um It's been close in the same area, it's kind of in the northeast area of walnut Creek. Um The current is gone differently in the last two weeks, the water temperature. If there's anything in there, we had thought that it may have risen to the surface by now. Um But uh have you heard nothing from this ground search yet? And how long will they be? I believe they're probably gonna wrap up captain three o'clock About 3:00. They'll wrap up again. We had around 70 people, 80 people actually uh from all over the area searching. I have not heard anything back on what they found. No. What's next next steps? Uh we're gonna see what we found from today. Uh If we found additional video that we would have to go through. There's additional witnesses that were re canvassing the same area that we started with with Ryan to see uh if somebody, if there's something that we missed. Is there is there a zura clue? Is that is that strange to you that considering the theory is that Ryan walked all over this neighborhood And No one has any video? Is that strange to you? Yeah, I would I would think somebody had to have seen something. I really do. So what does that mean to you? I don't know. It's it's puzzling. At what point do you stop? How so many people from, other agencies help me? I am this camp every single day. It was that's that's a good point. Um We're too we're two weeks into this and we're still turning over every stone that we can um If we get to a point where we have no workable information to go forward, then you probably have to start dialing it back. I don't believe we're there yet. We'll see what happens. By the end of this week, you mentioned right working, he's indiana and you mentioned today there's other in other cases, are you reaching out to them for tips? And maybe some we have and we've reached out to the behavioral analysis unit of the FBI, uh in Washington um to get an idea. Um all the information we got, we have some interviews that we've had, we've sent them information to help develop a profile of uh where Ryan may have been based on some of the information we're getting. So yeah, we're we're reaching out to whatever agencies we can that know what they're doing and have done this before. Do you feel like me video? Um, well, we're not blazing. So it's not hot. Um, but I don't believe it's cold right now for purposes of a cold case. Um, again, we're only two weeks into this. Um, no, just considering how many all want this just to reassure the public. What does that mean for those calls? Maybe for a car? We, we have officers from Omaha, Sarpy county Papillion, Ralston, Bellevue, uh, Douglas County Sheriff, uh, council bluffs, Red oak, Iowa. So they sent in the other ones Nebraska State Patrol, the ones that we've missed Papillion. Uh, they sent officers here that they could get away from some of their duties. I don't believe that we took away from the street officers that are answering the 911 calls for service. You just what? Okay. Actually seen on the kino video, the kino video shows a shot between Kentucky fried chicken and the kino. Um There's some light poles right there and it shows a figure wearing dark clothing, um kind of dancing around a little bit and hiding behind the pole. Uh We believe we see a cruiser drive by in the, in the back of the video. Uh then the figure moves to another poll. Uh that's in the parking lot. Um, and then that's about it. Then it moves out after about a minute. So what you have been saying earlier in the search that Ryan solve exactly could have been, I don't know. That's an assumption. Um, he could have been or he could have just been swinging on the pole. I don't know you think that behavior, personally, I believe is right in the videos showing. Mhm. I don't know. I don't know what his usual behavior is. No. How heavy is this way on you and every single officer that's here helping that. There's this frantic city. You guys haven't been able to resolve. You know, there's a frustrating part because we like to have conclusion. Um we like to have facts and we like to figure out what we're doing and solve it. Um These men and women have put in hours over the last two weeks, and you mentioned about uh manpower and taking other calls. We have other things that we had to put to the side to focus on this And We're Department of 40. Um, it's uh it's taken a lot of toll it's taken away from their personal life. We we kind of did a split crew over the holiday here, um, to have some people uh reenergize at home to get some resilience. Um but they're professionals and so this is what they decided they wanted to do for a job and we expect them to do this and we put a lot into these people. There's another scene case for an Iowa boy. 10 years old. 11, 11, 11. Um What does that mean? These cases look very similar. And are you getting any information on? You know what I understand? That's a very small community. It's kinda in the same area where Malik tibbets disappeared or was kidnapped. Um That's a child over there. I believe there's an all out intensive search over there that's actually in the same division of the Omaha FBI that is helping us. Um So, it's it's another uh you know, I don't know. We're still getting the same same effort from our partners that we had from the beginning. All right. Thank you. Right.

Missing for 3 weeks: What we know about the disappearance of Ryan Larsen

Updated: 2:21 PM EDT Jun 8, 2021

ABOVE: Officials gave a briefing on June 1. This was the last press conferenceMonday marked three weeks since 11-year-old Ryan Larsen went missing in La Vista, Nebraska. Larsen, who has autism, vanished after walking out of school May 17. Authorities said a search of the family’s computer showed searches Larsen made regarding, "hiding from the police," "hiding underground" and "how to avoid being spotted."Investigators have announced FBI experts in Omaha and in Quantico, Virginia, are analyzing surveillance video and working to enhance it. The videos have not been made public. "These are not available for public release, and we are not providing additional comment on the nature of those videos; these are part of our investigation," the release states.Officials clarified that the last confirmed sightings of Ryan were on May 17. La Vista Keno captured him on video around 1:30 p.m. and a resident at Southfield Apartments witnessed him in that area soon after.Police to concentrate on searching areas closer to Ryan's homeLast week, La Vista Police Chief Bob Lausten said officers are moving back to “ground zero," referring to the search in the neighborhood around Ryan's home. "Leads have been few and far between," he said.He said three different cadaver dogs all hit again on Saturday at Walnut Creek Lake."Over and over, and difficult searching it in. We had a dog back again, we're not going to go back every day with a dog because, if a cadaver hits or smell something there, it's always going to be there. So there's something in Walnut Creek, but again it's just such a pile," he said.Lausten said of a reward, "we'll probably need to go down that road." But, he said, they have not formalized anything yet.He said there is still no reason to suspect there is a criminal element to the investigation yet.Asked when the investigation turns to recovery, Lausten said, "Again we're two weeks out now, if Ryan is out there, I don't know-- it's been two weeks.""When it gets to the point where nobody's seen him. We have him on video roughly 1:40 in the afternoon Monday, May 17, and we don't see him after that. Nobody's seen him-- I don't know what to say about that," he said.Lausten said they are not dialing back search efforts yet. 'Please be kind': Ryan's sister says mom is 'barely getting by,' calls criticism hurtfulThe sister of Ryan Larsen took to social media last week to defend her family and tell the public that criticism has been hurtful.She began the post by thanking those supporting the search effort, but quickly moved on to a message for those criticizing the family."I don't think some people realize how bad it hurts to read these posts and comments about us. For those criticizing our choices, I hope this is something that never happens to your family. We have been told since day one to stay out of the media and off social media. I didn’t get why at first, but now I see how mean people's words can be and how easily our words can be twisted," Taylor Larsen wrote on a public Facebook group. "The things you say is just like kicking someone when they are down. Trust me, we are doing everything we possibly can to bring Ryan home."Taylor said that it feels like the family has to post something to prove they care."Of course we care for Ryan. My mom is broken right now because Ryan is her life. She shouldn’t have to be in the media and on social media apps to prove that she needs him. She is barely getting by. So please before you decide to post something, think about how you would feel if this happened to someone you loved. Please be kind. Thank you for all the prayers and don’t give up on Ryan. He is strong and he will come home," she wrote.Rumors and unconfirmed social media posts have plagued the search for Ryan.On May 25, La Vista Police Chief Bob Lausten said he is aware of rumors swirling on social media. He said these are false and "disgusting.""There has been some chatter on social media from some keyboard warriors in basements talking about, 'We have an arrest, we found Ryan,' that is absolutely false. Any information that's going to come about this case is going to come from the La Vista police department," he said. "We continue to search."Lausten said Larsen's family "has been nothing but cooperative."Several days later, a release stated, "We ask all to continue to respect the privacy of Ryan’s family and loved ones. We are updating them frequently on our search for Ryan, and they are understandably fearful and concerned. Please be understanding of their decision regarding public comments or lack thereof."On Tuesday, Taylor posted a heartbreaking note for his 12th birthday on Facebook:"Happy birthday to the funniest and kindness kid I know. I miss you so much Ryan. You are so strong and loved by so many. Please come home soon so you can celebrate your birthday with us. Happy 12th birthday, I love you," the post said.La Vista police examining missing person case in Indiana similar to Ryan'sLausten also said La Vista police are examining the case of a missing 12-year-old boy with autism from Hammond, Indiana. Kyrin Carter's body was found after he was missing for more than a week.Lausten said investigators are sharing notes and comparing the cases to see if there is anything in that case that could help them find Ryan. He noted bodies in the water usually surface after three or four days but the boy in Hammond was found later. He said the water temperature, only 65 degrees, kept the body under longer.Lausten said the water temperature in Walnut Creek Lake is 65 degrees as well.He said there's an underwater drone-type device that investigators in Hammond told them about and they may try to use that.Lausten asked that people refrain from calling in tips that they got "from their friend on Facebook," or from a "psychic from Detroit.""We've come across a lot of tips. A lot of people are out there giving us information. Some of it's good, but honestly, if you heard it from a friend who saw it on Facebook-- we are getting a lot of stuff that's really taking us in some wild directions, we really need to narrow it back," he said.

LA VISTA, Neb. —

ABOVE: Officials gave a briefing on June 1. This was the last press conference

Monday marked three weeks since 11-year-old Ryan Larsen went missing in La Vista, Nebraska.

Larsen, who has autism, vanished after walking out of school May 17. Authorities said a search of the family’s computer showed searches Larsen made regarding, "hiding from the police," "hiding underground" and "how to avoid being spotted."

Investigators have announced FBI experts in Omaha and in Quantico, Virginia, are analyzing surveillance video and working to enhance it. The videos have not been made public.

"These are not available for public release, and we are not providing additional comment on the nature of those videos; these are part of our investigation," the release states.

Officials clarified that the last confirmed sightings of Ryan were on May 17. La Vista Keno captured him on video around 1:30 p.m. and a resident at Southfield Apartments witnessed him in that area soon after.

Police to concentrate on searching areas closer to Ryan's home

Last week, La Vista Police Chief Bob Lausten said officers are moving back to “ground zero," referring to the search in the neighborhood around Ryan's home.

"Leads have been few and far between," he said.

He said three different cadaver dogs all hit again on Saturday at Walnut Creek Lake.

"Over and over, and difficult searching it in. We had a dog back again, we're not going to go back every day with a dog because, if a cadaver hits or smell something there, it's always going to be there. So there's something in Walnut Creek, but again it's just such a pile," he said.

Lausten said of a reward, "we'll probably need to go down that road." But, he said, they have not formalized anything yet.

He said there is still no reason to suspect there is a criminal element to the investigation yet.

Asked when the investigation turns to recovery, Lausten said, "Again we're two weeks out now, if Ryan is out there, I don't know-- it's been two weeks."

"When it gets to the point where nobody's seen him. We have him on video roughly 1:40 in the afternoon Monday, May 17, and we don't see him after that. Nobody's seen him-- I don't know what to say about that," he said.

Lausten said they are not dialing back search efforts yet.

'Please be kind': Ryan's sister says mom is 'barely getting by,' calls criticism hurtful

The sister of Ryan Larsen took to social media last week to defend her family and tell the public that criticism has been hurtful.

She began the post by thanking those supporting the search effort, but quickly moved on to a message for those criticizing the family.

"I don't think some people realize how bad it hurts to read these posts and comments about us. For those criticizing our choices, I hope this is something that never happens to your family. We have been told since day one to stay out of the media and off social media. I didn’t get why at first, but now I see how mean people's words can be and how easily our words can be twisted," Taylor Larsen wrote on a public Facebook group. "The things you say is just like kicking someone when they are down. Trust me, we are doing everything we possibly can to bring Ryan home."

Taylor said that it feels like the family has to post something to prove they care.

"Of course we care for Ryan. My mom is broken right now because Ryan is her life. She shouldn’t have to be in the media and on social media apps to prove that she needs him. She is barely getting by. So please before you decide to post something, think about how you would feel if this happened to someone you loved. Please be kind. Thank you for all the prayers and don’t give up on Ryan. He is strong and he will come home," she wrote.

Rumors and unconfirmed social media posts have plagued the search for Ryan.

On May 25, La Vista Police Chief Bob Lausten said he is aware of rumors swirling on social media. He said these are false and "disgusting."

"There has been some chatter on social media from some keyboard warriors in basements talking about, 'We have an arrest, we found Ryan,' that is absolutely false. Any information that's going to come about this case is going to come from the La Vista police department," he said. "We continue to search."

Lausten said Larsen's family "has been nothing but cooperative."

Several days later, a release stated, "We ask all to continue to respect the privacy of Ryan’s family and loved ones. We are updating them frequently on our search for Ryan, and they are understandably fearful and concerned. Please be understanding of their decision regarding public comments or lack thereof."

On Tuesday, Taylor posted a heartbreaking note for his 12th birthday on Facebook:

"Happy birthday to the funniest and kindness kid I know. I miss you so much Ryan. You are so strong and loved by so many. Please come home soon so you can celebrate your birthday with us. Happy 12th birthday, I love you," the post said.

La Vista police examining missing person case in Indiana similar to Ryan's

Lausten also said La Vista police are examining the case of a missing 12-year-old boy with autism from Hammond, Indiana. Kyrin Carter's body was found after he was missing for more than a week.

Lausten said investigators are sharing notes and comparing the cases to see if there is anything in that case that could help them find Ryan. He noted bodies in the water usually surface after three or four days but the boy in Hammond was found later. He said the water temperature, only 65 degrees, kept the body under longer.

Lausten said the water temperature in Walnut Creek Lake is 65 degrees as well.

He said there's an underwater drone-type device that investigators in Hammond told them about and they may try to use that.

Lausten asked that people refrain from calling in tips that they got "from their friend on Facebook," or from a "psychic from Detroit."

"We've come across a lot of tips. A lot of people are out there giving us information. Some of it's good, but honestly, if you heard it from a friend who saw it on Facebook-- we are getting a lot of stuff that's really taking us in some wild directions, we really need to narrow it back," he said.