BASTROP COUNTY

The court-appointed watchdogs expressed concern after learning that a caretaker accused of exploiting children at a state-licensed facility in Bastrop had been previously fired from a state juvenile justice facility for misconduct.

Reed has long professed his innocence in the 1996 murder for which he faces execution. Key evidence in the case has not been tested for DNA, including the ligature used to strangle 19-year-old Stacey Stites.

U.S. District Judge Janis Jack said she is seeking a federal criminal investigation into allegations that children were sexually abused and trafficked at The Refuge, a state-licensed foster care shelter for victims of sex trafficking.

Nine employees at a Bastrop County facility that cares for young victims of sex trafficking have been accused of trafficking those same girls, according to the Austin American-Statesman.One employee o[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]

A man suspected of shooting and injuring a Texas deputy has been apprehended after a lengthy manhunt.

Advocates say emergency communications have not improved much since last year, and people experiencing homelessness were less likely to seek help this year because of new state and local policies targeting them.

Last week’s fire took place in a remote part of Bastrop State Park, caused 250 homes to be evacuated, and burned an estimated 812 acres.

Emergency crews monitored the fire in light of incoming weather.

Controlled burns, used to prevent catastrophic wildfires, are typically safe and rarely get out of control. Experts warn that burns gone awry can scare residents and compromise the critical fire management tool.

AUSTIN, Texas — More than 250 families in the path of the Rolling Pines fire in Bastrop County were asked to flee their homes Tuesday night, but local officials said no homes had been damaged so far. Bastrop County and local fire management officials told reporters Tuesday night that while it was too early to conclusively determine the cause of the fire, it was likely linked to the planned 150-acre prescribed burn in Bastrop County State Park. The Texas parks department initiated the prescribed burn at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Smith said. It’s the second prescribed burn in Bastrop County State Park since the Bastrop Complex wildfire of 2011 that burned more than 34,000 acres and destroyed nearly 1,700 homes. Bastrop county officials had previously warned local residents about wildfire risks, but Bastrop County Judge Paul Pape said fire management officials followed the criteria for prescribed burns.

According to the Bastrop County Office of Emergency Management, the fire started near the 100 block of Park Road 1A road near the entrance to Bastrop State Park.

Zero is contained at this time.

A search is underway after a 76-year-old man disappeared in Bastrop County, according to the Travis County Sheriff’s Office.

Doubts over Reed’s guilt in the 1996 murder of Stacey Stites have lingered for more than 20 years and gained international attention. But a judge decided against recommending a new trial.

Three dinosaur statues that were stolen from The Dinosaur Park in Bastrop County last week were found at a fraternity house at the University of Texas at Austin.

A person of interest in a “questionable death investigation” in La Grange over the weekend has been charged with murder, according to the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office.

A Bastrop assistant fire chief was struck and a police sergeant was dragged by a DWI suspect’s vehicle during a crash investigation Thursday night, city officials said.

On this day in 2011, three separate fires merged to create the worst wildfire in Texas History in Bastrop County.