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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Officials are trying to locate an endangered missing child whose father allegedly abducted her from Southern California and may have brought her to Lake County.
Three-year-old Ava Rian Riggle was abducted from her home in Phelan in San Bernardino County May 6, according to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
She was allegedly taken by her noncustodial father, Nicholas Ryan Riggle, 22. The center reported that she and her father also may be accompanied by a woman, Marcy Gearhart Riggle.
Officials said the investigation into the child's abduction has revealed that Nicholas Riggle had been in Lake County as recently as March, and that he may have brought the child back to the area. He may also be traveling to Canada.
Riggle, the woman and the child may be traveling in a 28-foot 1989 Ford Coachmen motorhome with the California license plates 2PWF894.
The vehicle is off-white with blue and burgundy stripes on the cab and “Leprechaun” painted on the door and military-type stickers on the back, according to a missing person's flyer posted on Child Quest's Facebook page.
Ava Riggle is described as a white female, with light brown hair and brown eyes, standing 3 feet 3 inches tall and weighing 50 pounds.
Her father is a white male standing 6 feet tall, with a slim build and weighing 150 pounds. He has brown hair and blue eyes, and has multiple tattoos on his neck and arms.
Marcy Riggle is described as a white female adult, with dark blonde hair that is in dreadlocks.
They also are reportedly traveling with a German short-haired dog.
If the child, her father or the vehicle are spotted in the Lake County area, call 911.
Information on the case also can be submitted to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, 800-843-5678.
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LUCERNE, Calif. – Firefighters quickly knocked out a fire on Tuesday morning that threatened several structures.
The fire – initially reported as two different incidents – was located on 14th Avenue at Foothill Drive in Lucerne, according to radio reports.
It was dispatched just before 11 a.m.
Structures were threatened but a quick response by firefighters knocked the fire out before it did any harm. The size of the fire was estimated at one-half acre, based on reports from the scene.
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UPPER LAKE, Calif. – A single-vehicle collision Monday evening claimed the life of a local man.
Carlos Eddie Narvaes, 29, of Nice, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, which occurred just after 5 p.m. on Elk Mountain Road approximately 2.2 miles north of Pitney Lane, according to the California Highway Patrol.
According to a report from CHP Officer Brendan Bach, Narvaes was driving a 1991 Toyota Previa minivan southbound on Elk Mountain Road, accompanied by two small boys, ages 2 and 4.
The 4-year-old was seated in the middle seat of the second row of seats, while the 2-year-old male was seated in the left side of the third row of seats. Bach said only the 4-year-old was not wearing a seat belt.
Narvaes lost control of the minivan as it traveled into the opposing lane of traffic, exiting the west road edge and colliding with an uphill embankment, causing it to overturn, Bach said.
The minivan continued south and came to rest on its right side in the northbound lane of Elk Mountain Road and partially on the shoulder.
Narvaes was not wearing a seat belt, according to Bach.
Bach said passersby helped extricate the two little boys from the wreck.
The children, who both sustained moderate injuries, were transported out-of-county via CalStar air ambulance for medical care, Bach said.
The 2-year-old went to UC Davis Medical Center and the 4-year-old was taken to Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland, he said.
Bach said the crash's cause is still under investigation.
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Composed of both civil and criminal enforcement teams, the Mortgage Fraud Strike Force will monitor and prosecute violations at every step of the mortgage process, from the origination of mortgage loans to the marketing of mortgage-backed securities to the investing public.
“Californians in search of the American dream all too often found a protracted personal and legal nightmare,” said Harris. “Families are losing their homes, while those who perpetrated crimes and frauds against them walk free.”
At her announcement of the new mortgage fraud unit, Attorney General Harris was joined by Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa, representatives from U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Center for Responsible Lending, as well as homeowners harmed by unlawful lending, servicing and foreclosure practices.
“We will work to safeguard the homeowner at every step of the process - from origination of a loan to its securitization, and we will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law those who take advantage of trusting California families,” said Harris. “We are setting a high bar for other states and we insist that homeowners be protected, respected, and informed.”
The Mortgage Fraud Strike Force will operate out of Department of Justice offices in Los Angeles, Fresno, San Francisco and Sacramento.
Twenty-five attorneys and investigators will work together in three teams.
The consumer enforcement team will target scams in the consumer arena, including predatory lending, unfair business practices in originating loans, deceptive marketing, and loan modification and foreclosure consultant scams.
The criminal enforcement team will prosecute criminal frauds associated with the epidemic of mortgage scams, including fraudulent investment and money laundering schemes related to mortgage lending or foreclosure relief.
The corporate fraud team will target misconduct involving investments and securities tied to subprime mortgages, as well as false or fraudulent claims made to the state with respect to these securities.
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa offered his support of the new strike force. “With nearly 10,000 foreclosures in the City of Los Angeles last year,” he said, “this strike force is certain to help countless residents and families from becoming victimized.”
“The Attorney General's authority and attention to this issue brings a critical law enforcement component to the table that will help stop the practice of predatory lending once and for all,” said Villaraigosa. “I applaud Attorney General Harris for her dedication to employing swift justice to the scam artists who prey on the residents of some of our most economically vulnerable neighborhoods.”
California has been hit hard by the foreclosure crisis, and by predators who seek to profit from the millions of Californians who are underwater in their mortgages, in foreclosure, or at risk of entering foreclosure.
Last year alone, there were foreclosure filings against 546,669 California homes. It is projected that between 2009 and 2012, a total of 2 million California homes will enter the foreclosure process. In the last year, the California Department of Justice has received thousands of complaints related to foreclosure scams, mortgage fraud, and mortgage servicing practices.
“The fingerprints of illegal activity are all over the foreclosure crisis,” said Paul Leonard, director of the California Office, Center for Responsible Lending. “The Attorney General's effort marries the need to punish bad actors for the practices that brought our economy to the brink with the need to eliminate the scam artists who have since attempted to profit from it. Given the economic damage wreaked by foreclosures in California, this initiative is very welcome news.”
Attorney General Harris has long been dedicated to prosecuting mortgage fraud. In 2009, as District Attorney of San Francisco, she launched the first stand-alone district attorney's mortgage fraud unit in California with $1.1 million from the U.S. Department of Justice.
If you are a homeowner who has been scammed, you can learn more or file a complaint online with the Attorney General's Office at http://oag.ca.gov/consumers.
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McKenzie Paine of Velocity Video Online (www.velocityvideoonline.com) shot the video of the event, held in the square in front of the Old Courthouse Square in downtown Lakeport last Friday.
The event featured music, historical readings, a proclamation in honor of the event, and local food and community booths.
The video segments can be viewed below. They also can be found on YouTube at Velocity Video's channel, www.youtube.com/user/velocityvideo.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
The latest report from the California Employment Development Department put Lake County's unemployment rate at 18.2 percent, down 1.3 percent over March and down 0.2 percent from April 2010. That's the lowest local rate since October 2010.
California's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 11.7 percent, down 0.6 percent from March, according to Dennis Mullins of the Employment Development Department's Labor Market Information Division. The April 2010 unemployment rate was 12.4 percent.
The number of people unemployed in California was 2,143,000 – down by 33,000 over the month, and down by 111,000 compared with April of last year, according to the report.
Nonfarm payroll jobs increased by 8,900 in March, according to data from two separate surveys the Employment Development Department uses to compile the report.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics said the unemployment rate increased in April, rising from 8.8 percent to 9.0 percent. During that month, the agency said 39 states reported unemployment rate decreases, three states and the District of Columbia registered rate increases, and eight states had no rate change. The national unemployment rate was 9.8 percent in April 2010.
Lake's unemployment rate ranked it No. 52 among the state's 58 counties. It was ranked No. 49 in March.
The labor force in April included 24,270 people, with 4,410 unemployed. In March the workforce had 24,510 people in it 4,780 people out of work, according to state statistics.
Statewide, Marin had the lowest unemployment, 7.6 percent, and Imperial the highest, with 27.9 percent, the report showed.
Lake's neighboring counties registered the following unemployment rates and statewide ranks: Colusa, 21.1 percent, No. 56; Glenn, 16.5 percent, No. 43; Yolo, 12.8 percent, No. 26; Mendocino, 11.6 percent, No. 19; Napa, 9.6 percent, No. 8; and Sonoma, 9.8 percent, No. 10.
Among local cities and communities, Clearlake Oaks had the highest unemployment, 26.7 percent, followed by Nice, 26.1 percent; the city of Clearlake, 25.7 percent; Lucerne, 19.2 percent; Kelseyville, 18.4 percent; Middletown, 18.5 percent; city of Lakeport, 17.5 percent; Cobb, 16.2 percent; Lower Lake, 15.2 percent; Hidden Valley Lake, 15.1 percent; and north Lakeport, 14.4 percent. Upper Lake had the lowest unemployment rate, 9.5 percent.
Mullins said Lake County's industry employment increased by 130, ending the month-over period with 12,310 jobs. That's compared to just 10 jobs added in March.
Overall, Mullins said eight sectors gained or were unchanged over the month and three declined. Government employment remained down 150 jobs over the year.
He said month-over job growth occurred in manufacturing, 10; Trade, transportation and utilities, 30; leisure and hospitality, 130; other services, 10; government, 40.
Industries that reported job losses for the month included farm, 100; financial activities, 10; and professional and business services, 10, according to Mullins.
No changes were reported in mining, logging and construction; information; and private educational and health services, Mullins said.
State, federal surveys show job growth in April
Across California, nonfarm jobs in April totaled 14,054,900, an increase of 8,900 jobs over the month, according to a survey of 42,000 businesses that is larger and less variable statistically and used to measure jobs in the economy. The state said the year-over-year change – April 2010 to April 2011 – showed a 1 percent, increase or 144,400 jobs.
The federal survey of households, done with a smaller sample than the survey of employers, showed an increase in the number of employed people. That survey estimated the number of Californians holding jobs in April was 15,939,000, an increase of 37,000 from March, but down 21,000 from the employment total in April of last year.
The Employment Development Department reported that payroll employment – wage and salary jobs – in the state's nonfarm industries totaled 14,054,900 in April, a net gain of 8,900 jobs since the March survey. In March there was a loss of 14,900 jobs.
The state said six categories – mining and logging; manufacturing; trade, transportation and utilities; educational and health services; leisure and hospitality; and other services – added jobs over the month, gaining 31,400 jobs. Leisure and hospitality posted the largest increase over the month, adding 12,400 jobs.
Five categories – construction; information; financial activities; professional and business services; and government – reported job declines over the month, down 22,500 jobs. Government posted the largest decrease over the month, down 11,200 jobs, the Employment Development Department said.
The Employment Development Department said that eight industry divisions – mining and logging; construction; manufacturing; trade, transportation and utilities; information; professional and business services; educational and health services; and leisure and hospitality – posted job gains over the year, adding 210,300 jobs.
Professional and business services posted the largest gain on a numerical basis, adding 58,800 jobs, up 2.9 percent. Information posted the largest gain on a percentage basis, up by 7 percent, an increase of 29,200 jobs, the state said.
Three categories – financial activities, other services and government – posted job declines over the year, down 65,900 jobs, the state said. Of those categories, government posted the largest decline on
both a numerical and percentage basis, down by 59,200 jobs, or 2.4 percent.
The Employment Development Department reported that there were 584,141 people receiving regular
unemployment insurance benefits during the April survey week, compared with 630,829 last month and 729,211 last year.
The state said new unemployment claims edged up slightly in April, to 63,739, compared with 61,076 in March and 83,896 in April of last year.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at