2018 either flew by or lasted 84 years for some. KTVB has covered news across the state and the nation and here is our year in review of the most viewed web stories on KTVB.COM this year.
Back in June, nine people at the Wylie Street Station apartment complex in Boise were sent to the hospital after a mass stabbing at a child’s birthday party. The 3-year-old girl who was celebrating her birthday died in the attack, leaving many in the Treasure Valley reeling from the random act of violence against the children. The attacker, Timmy Earl Kinner was ruled incompetent to stand trial in December.
Fourteen staff members at the Middleton School District who donned caricatured outfits depicting Mexican people and a border wall emblazoned with "Make America Great Again" were placed on paid administrative leave in early November. The story soon went viral across the country, with people on both sides of the issue creating petitions to either fire or reinstate the staff members. The staff would be later reinstated a week after the incident.
The FBI raided a Boise home in August and arrested the residents on felony charges in connection to what prosecutors describe as an international multi-million counterfeiting scheme that stretches back more than a decade. The 10 defendants - went to court to answer charges including wire fraud, mail fraud, conspiracy to traffic counterfeit trademark goods, trafficking in counterfeit goods and money laundering. Investigators say the group bought counterfeit iPhone and Samsung cellphones, chargers, earbuds, smartwatches and other accessories in bulk from Hong Kong, bringing them back to the Treasure Valley.
In one of the Treasure Valley's most unusual moments of 2018, over a hundred goats swarmed a Boise neighborhood in August. The hungry herd moved from lawn to lawn, chewing down grass, munching on rosebushes and stripping low-hanging branches bare. The army of goats soon went viral online and across the country as a quirky Boise moment.
In a bizarre situation in March, a biology teacher at Preston Junior High in Preston, Idaho, made national headlines when he fed a puppy to a snapping turtle during one of his classes. Robert Crosland would later be charged with a misdemeanor count of animal cruelty in June.
Two men found a true monster-sized fish in the Snake River in April. A Caldwell man and his friend from Twin Falls hauled in the big sturgeon while kayak fishing on the Snake River. Steve Carroll - who also goes by nickname "Sturgeon Steve" - wrangled the fish in, and later said that they were in the water for just a few minutes when they encountered the sturgeon, but it took almost an hour to reel it in.
Jacob Cartwright, a 22-year-old La Grande, Oregon man who was reported missing during a truck-driving run from Portland to Nyssa, Oregon, was found alive after going missing in April. Cartwright went missing after putting in the wrong address into his GPS and going down a U.S. Forest Service road that became impassable. Once he was found, his parents said they were grateful that he was found alive.
Police uncovered and removed at least three skimmer devices used to steal people's credit card information at a Meridian gas station in November. The crooks stole thousands from unsuspecting victims who visited the Jackson's Chevron on Eagle Road and Goldstone Drive. The devices used to steal credit card information are becoming almost impossible for people to notice. In December, three men were charged for tampering with gas pumps at the same Meridian gas station. Investigators say a search of the men’s van revealed stolen credit cards and devices used to steal card information from customers.
Our sister station in Spokane, KREM, covered the disappearance of 19-year-old Kathryn “Katie” Ogle, who went missing during a hiking trip in northern Idaho in November. Ogle was from Hayden, Idaho and went missing on Nov. 1. Over 60 crews attempted to find the missing team, with help from K-9 units and aircraft. Fifteen-year-old Ryle Gordon and his stepdad Chris Trumbich found Ogle near their cabin, huddled up against a tree and a small fire. She was then quickly taken to the command center that search and rescue crews worked from.
A Boise woman was attacked by an unknown man during a morning run in November. She was choked unconscious during the attack, and investigators say evidence suggests the woman had been sexually assaulted while she was unconscious. The woman was found unconscious when someone driving on Brogan Street saw the woman in the road and stopped to help her. The woman was taken to a local hospital for treatment. So far, no arrests have been made in the case.
This top ten list was based on most individual views to each of the web stories.