Pike County, Ky – A recent missing person’s case in Eastern Kentucky has ended with good news. Kentucky State Police say Bariah Cooley, of Summersville, West Virginia, has been found safe after being reported missing. Troopers say Cooley was last seen on April 22 walking along the shoulder of U.S. 119 near the 7‑Eleven gas station in Pike County and had been the focus of a multi‑day search involving law enforcement and local agencies. KSP thanked the public for sharing information and assisting in the investigation.

Pike County, Ky – A Tennessee man has been returned to Pike County to face multiple rape and incest charges. Forty‑three‑year‑old Leonard Dale Baisden Jr., of Kodak, Tennessee, was indicted in February and arrested April 16 in Somerset before being brought back to Pike County. He is charged with three counts of first‑degree rape, including two counts involving victims younger than 12, along with multiple counts of incest involving victims younger than 18, first‑degree sodomy, and retaliating against a participant in the legal process. The alleged crimes occurred between October 2014 and September 2023, and the charges involving victims younger than 12 carry a possible sentence of 20 to 50 years or life in prison. Baisden is being held in the Pike County jail on a $500,000 full cash bond.

Rowan County, Ky – A man charged with killing a Morehead mother and her 13‑year‑old daughter will spend life behind bars. Joshua Cottrell appeared in court for a change‑of‑plea hearing and admitted to stabbing and killing 32‑year‑old Kayla Blake and her 13‑year‑old daughter, Kennedi McWhorter, inside their Rowan County home last September. Cottrell was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after pleading guilty to two counts of murder and received an additional five‑year sentence for tampering with physical evidence. Blake’s friends also pointed to his criminal history, noting Cottrell previously served time in a 2003 case in which he admitted to killing a man and stuffing his body in a suitcase. They say that while justice still doesn’t feel like enough, knowing he will never be free again brings some peace that he cannot hurt anyone else.

Boyd County, Ky – Two women have died after an early‑morning house fire in Ashland, according to the Boyd County Coroner’s Office. Emergency crews were called around 6:52 a.m. Sunday to a home on Garfield Avenue, where Ashland Fire Chief Steve Alley says firefighters were able to knock down the flames within 20 to 30 minutes but remained on scene investigating until about 11:30 a.m. He says they believe the fire had been burning for some time before crews arrived. Firefighters found two adult women inside the residence within minutes, and both were taken to UK King’s Daughters Medical Center, where they were pronounced dead after resuscitation efforts failed. Officials say toxicology tests have been sent for analysis, the victims’ names are being withheld until family can be notified, and more information will be released as it becomes available.