Merriam: Burglary suspect found hiding in 50-foot tree

There were no gifts under this evergreen tree, but it yielded a post-Christmas bonus for police looking for some burglary suspects.

Officers using search dogs tracked down two men who had climbed into the 50-foot fir tree after a van police had chased crashed into a parked car early Thursday.

The officers looked up into the tree and saw the two men “about halfway up, clinging to branches,” said Merriam Police Sgt. Randy Davis.

Police think the men stole a van, other equipment and cash from Cedarvale Junior Academy in Raytown, Mo., then took electronics items from the Southpark Church of God in Overland Park.

The two, an 18-year-old Kansas City man and a 39-year-old man from Blue Springs, Mo., are also suspected of breaking windows at three businesses in Merriam.

Police said they chased the van but stopped pursuit before it crashed into the parked car. The tree where the two men were discovered hiding was about two blocks away.

Kansas City, Mo.: Victim’s identity sought after fatal jump

Authorities are trying to identify a man who apparently leapt from an overpass and was struck and killed by by a vehicle on Interstate 70.

The man was not carrying identification when he jumped around 7 p.m. Tuesday. The victim, identified as a white man, was wearing a long-sleeved, button-up blue shirt, blue jeans and a black belt, said police Sgt. Randy Sims.