BTK killer’s house: What’s your bid?
Park City, Kan. The suburban house where Dennis Rader quietly raised his family while terrorizing Wichita as the BTK serial killer is up for auction.
The Web site of the company auctioning the home does not mention the case, but the site has drawn thousands of hits.
The home’s assessed value is $56,700, and the auction was open only to bidders with $2,500 in certified funds, said Lonny McCurdy, owner of McCurdy Auction Service. “We are not encouraging sightseers,” he said.
Rader’s wife has made no public statement since her husband’s arrest, and the couple’s two grown children live in other states.
The three-bedroom home, built in 1954, does not stand out among others on the street, but McCurdy said the house is well-maintained. “It shows good evidence of pride of ownership,” he said.
Quarantine lifted on Texas ranch
Lubbock, Texas Texas officials lifted a quarantine Monday on the ranch that produced the first native case of mad cow disease, saying tests on 67 animals from the herd came back negative.
Federal officials now plan to focus on checking market documents to trace animals of the same age that may have left the ranch, said Larry Cooper, spokesman for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
The quarantine had gone into effect June 10 after U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns announced he was sending samples to England for further testing. Lifting it allows animals to come and go from the ranch.
The location of the ranch has not been disclosed.
World War II-era singer Langford dies
Miami Frances Langford, whose steamy rendition of “I’m in the Mood for Love” captivated soldiers when she was part of Bob Hope’s USO tours during World War II, died Monday at the age of 92.
Langford had been ill with congestive heart failure and died at her home in Jensen Beach, said her lawyer, Evans Crary Jr.
Langford, a recording artist, radio star and actress from the 1930s to 1950s, joined Hope’s troupe to boost wartime morale at military bases and hospitals in Great Britain, Italy, North Africa and the South Pacific. She also entertained new generations of soldiers in Korea and Vietnam.
Even with her hair swept up in a bandanna, the 5-foot-1 singer was a glamorous vision of home and became known as the “Sweetheart of the Fighting Fronts.”
She is survived by her husband. She had no children.
Kids missing after grandparents slain
Queen Creek, Ariz. Arizona authorities were searching Monday for two young children missing from a home where their grandparents and an uncle were found slain the night before.
Eighteen-month-old Bryan Cervantes and his 3-year-old sister, Jennifer, were believed to be with their father, Rodrigo Cervantes Zavala, who may have been headed for Mexico, officials with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office said. Authorities described Cervantes Zavala, 34, as an “investigative lead” rather than a suspect.