A teenage girl died after falling through the ice on a lake in Highland County and an ODNR officer responding to the situation also died.

Authorities say it happened around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Rocky Fork State Park.

A teenage boy was able to rescue himself from the ice and was taken to the hospital.

The 16-year-old girl was recovered by divers unresponsive and later pronounced deceased.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources says Natural Resource Officer Jason Lagore died while responding to the call.

The ODNR says the 15-year veteran of the ODNR suffered a medical emergency during the search.

“Our hearts are with the family and loved ones of Officer Jason Lagore, who died in the line of duty last night,” said Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Director Mary Mertz.

“Our law enforcement officers and their families carry a unique and challenging burden of responsibilities, and we are deeply grateful for their service.”

Governor Mike DeWine has ordered flags flown at half-staff in remembrance of the more than 500,000 Americans who have died due to COVID-19, including nearly 17,000 Ohioans.

All United States and State of Ohio flags on public buildings and grounds will be flown at half-staff until sunset on Friday.

This order was issued on Tuesday in accordance with the order issued by the President of the United States.

Click here for the latest data on COVID cases and deaths and click here for the state’s vaccination dashboard. 

(the picture above is the flag outside the Hancock County Courthouse)

Somebody is using the name and logo of the Ohio Department of Transportation to try and scam people.

ODOT said on Tuesday that it has been made aware of suspicious emails that appear to be from ODOT requesting that people update their driver license information.

ODOT does not issue driver licenses in Ohio.

ODOT said, while the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles does issue driver licenses, the BMV is not requesting this information from anyone either.

Governor Mike DeWine and his wife Fran received their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday.

The governor’s Twitter account posted a picture of the two getting the shot in Greene County.

In the tweet, the governor reiterated that anyone 65 and older is eligible for the vaccine in Ohio.

The governor urges people to go to vaccine.coronavirus.ohio.gov to find a nearby provider.

Hancock County this week is still vaccinating those 70 and older and hopes to get to the 65 and up age group next week.

The state’s COVID-19 vaccination dashboard shows that more than 1.4 million Ohioans, or around 12 percent of the population, have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

The dashboard shows that around 8,600 Hancock County residents, around 11 percent of the population, have received the vaccine.

Governor Mike DeWine says outdoor sports could be allowed 30-percent capacity as a “starting point” this year.

Ohio is asking for teams to provide a plan to safely host games, which includes mandatory masking and social distancing.

Currently, only about 15-percent attendance is permitted at certain games.

Teams like the Cleveland Indians, Cincinnati Reds, Dayton Dragons, FC Cincinnati and Columbus Crew would be impacted by this decision.

The capacity of Progressive Field is around 35,000, meaning a 30 percent capacity would allow for around 10,500 fans.

But the governor cautioned that that could all change in a month if a variant of the virus becomes dominant.

If that happens, that would change whether fans will be allowed into stadiums.

DeWine said a decision is likely to be announced on Thursday.

(picture courtesy of Columbus Wired)

Findlay High School has hired Stefan Adams to be the next head football coach of the Findlay Trojans.

Adams takes over from Matt Pees who left after one season as head coach to return to the NFL.

Adams, a school counselor for Findlay City Schools, was an assistant coach for the Trojans from 2017-2019.

“Stefan’s relationships with our student-athletes and community will provide a seamless transition honoring our ‘Tradition of Excellence’ at Findlay High School,” said Athletic Director Nate Weihrauch.

“We are blessed to have Stefan return to our football program where he is currently a school counselor. His experience and genuine care and concern for our youth has been inspirational.”

Weihrauch added that Stefan’s enthusiasm and commitment to their ‘Culture of Champions’ will continue to drive the goals and mission of Findlay City Schools.

He says Stefan believes in education-based athletics and is looking forward to enhancing the fundamental development of youth athletics and Trojan Pride within the community.

From Findlay City Schools:

Stefan resides in Findlay with his wife Kresana and has spent the last six years as a school counselor within the Findlay City School District. Stefan played college football at Bloomsburg University where he received both his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Communication Studies and School Counseling. From 2014 through 2017 he was an assistant football coach with the Oilers at the University of Findlay and from 2010-2014 was an assistant coach at Bloomsburg University. The Findlay Athletic Department and Findlay City Schools welcome Coach Stefan Adams back to Findlay Trojan Football and Friday Night Lights at Donnell Stadium. Go Trojans!

Last week was a big week for Findlay Trojans football standout Luke Montgomery as even more college football offers came in, and one in particular stood out among the rest.

The two-way lineman (#97 in the pic above) received offers to play for Miami, Pittsburgh, Florida State and…Ohio State.

Luke, who is an athletic six feet five 260 pounds, tells WFIN that wherever he decides to play college football, he’s going to show up ready to compete.

Luke wouldn’t tip his hand about which way he might be leaning but did say he enjoyed the atmosphere in Ohio Stadium during a visit in 2019.

He says basketball is actually his favorite sport and he looks forward to hooping it up next season for the Trojans.

Luke is only a sophomore so he has two more seasons left with the Trojans and expects big things next season.

“I really believe in this team. I think this next year’s gonna be a really huge year for us.”

Customs authorities in Ohio say they intercepted a shipment of cereal earlier this month with a special “frosting”.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Cincinnati reported finding more than 40 pounds of cocaine-coated corn flakes that was being shipped from South America to a private residence in Hong Kong.

Officials said a drug sniffing K9 named Bico was checking out incoming freight from Peru on February 13 when he alerted officers to the package.

Officers found that the cereal contained white powder and the flakes were coated with a grayish substance, and both tested positive for cocaine.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said shipment contained about 44 pounds of cocaine-coated corn flakes, which could have a street value of up to $2,822,400.

Coast Guard and fire department personnel rescued 10 people who were stranded on ice floes on Lake Erie in Cleveland.

Coast Guard Great Lakes said in a Twitter post that an ice rescue team and local agencies responded at about 4:30 Sunday afternoon to a report of 10 people stranded on two separate ice floes near Edgewater Park.

A helicopter was dispatched from Detroit for support.

The Coast Guard said six people were rescued via an ice skiff and fire department rescuers escorted the other four people off the ice.

The ODNR says people need to be very cautious of ice conditions this week with warming temperatures whether you are at Lake Erie or at an inland lake.

The National Weather Service in Cleveland says dangerous ice conditions continue on Lake Erie and people should stay off the ice.

The ice along the shore is expected to drift toward open water. Anyone on the ice risk drifting from shore and place themselves and first responders in danger.

Three people were injured in a single-vehicle crash east of McComb.

The crash happened at 9:24 Sunday night at 7744 State Route 613 in Portage Township.

The Hancock County Sheriff’s Office says Trina Valentine, 53, of Fostoria, was westbound when she drove over a snow-drifted portion of the roadway and lost control.

Her car went off the left side of the road, overturned and came to rest on its side.

Valentine, along with passengers Alysha Enright, 18, of Fostoria, and Miranda Coleman, 23, of Fostoria, were injured and transported to Blanchard Valley Hospital.

Valentine was cited for Failure to Control.

Assisting at the scene was the McComb Fire Department, Hanco EMS and BG Towing.