A 12-year-old boy from Normal Heights has been reunited with his family, nearly 24 hours after he was reported missing.

Police say he was at a friend’s house.

The pre-teen was last spotted around 5:30 p.m. Friday on Hawley Street near Adams Elementary School. His mother told NBC 7 he had never gone missing like this before.

“It’s completely abnormal. He’s not the type to do this at all,” she said.

Family and friends spent Saturday passing out fliers around the neighborhood. Police set up a command center at 35th Street and Madison Avenue and brought in search dogs.

The boy was reunited with his family around 3:45 p.m.
 

Former Sweetwater Board President John McCann retook the lead in the razor-close Chula Vista race for city council against former mayor Steve Padilla.

McCann is now ahead of Padilla by two votes, with 18,448 votes for McCann and 18,446 for Padilla.

On Friday, County Registrar of Voters Michael Vu said all the ballots have been adjudicated and there are no other ballots to consider. However, he has repeatedly cautioned that nothing is final until he certifies the election on Dec. 2.

"We have led in the vote count for almost the entire election and we've never been behind," McCann said. "We're hoping that we'll get certified as the new council member on Tuesday." 

The race was deadlocked in an exact tie last week.

Friday, Padilla said he thinks the election is far from over with an eye toward a recount.

"You know, I think we'll examine all those options once we know where we are with the certification," he said. "I think the process is not over. I don't think this election is decided."

The recount process could take more than a week, and Vu estimates it will cost more than $40,000. Overturning an election on a recount is not common, according to Vu, but he cautions that his assessment is based on races with margins much larger than two votes.

Recount or not, if McCann is officially victorious Tuesday, he will be sworn in as the city council representative on Dec. 9, according to the city clerk. 

"We want to get back to business at the city of Chula Vista as soon as possible, and so it would be a shame that he wouldn't just concede," McCann said.

Padilla said this race cements how much every vote matters.

"In recent days, I've been thinking, you know, you're sitting there brushing your teeth in the morning and you're thinking to yourself, 'Two votes. Who do I know that maybe could have voted and didn't or should have?''" Padilla said. "It really underscores just how important it is, and how we take for granted so much our ability to pick our own leaders. We're just so used to it." 

The last recount in San Diego County was the memorable 2010 40th state Senate District, pitting U.S. Rep Juan Vargas (D- San Diego) against then-Assemblywoman, now-Chula Vista Mayor-elect of Mary Salas. Salas stopped the recount on the third day, so Vargas won that seat by 22 votes and then went onto Congress.

This is indeed the closest race in the history of Chula Vista, according to a review of Election Day results between 1911 and 2012. City Clerk Donna Norris confirmed this election is the closest in recent history, going back to John Moot's 14-vote victory over Dennis Rowley in 1996. With Norris' help, NBC7 reviewed those election results and confirmed two votes is as close as it gets, if that margin holds.

The next closest race was in 1936 when Jerome Tucbeck came in third in an "elect-two" system, losing out to Claude Brown by just seven votes.

In 1920, there was an exact tie between L.B. Barnes and E.G. Noyes, but it was an "elect-two" system, and they were the only two candidates running, capturing exactly 69 votes each.

With the holiday shopping season in full swing, federal investigators sent a warning to consumers Friday and urged them to be aware of counterfeit products that cost U.S. retailers an estimated $200 to $250 billion a year in lost revenue, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

"Back in the day when counterfeit goods came in these big shipping containers, they were easier to target," said Claude Arnold, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations for Los Angeles.

But the emergence of "copycat" websites that mimic established brands has made it increasingly difficult for consumers to know when they're being ripped off by knockoffs, said Arnold, who also warned of potential health dangers.

"Often when we test these, we find carcinogens in these products in perfume and cosmetics," he said. "Often we find things like animal urine in perfume."

The counterfeiters have also become savvier by selling better quality products, which they sell at a higher price point, Arnold said.

"We're seeing a lot of counterfeiters which have a product of higher quality or they're selling on a website that looks legitimate," said Arnold. "That does a couple of things: it tricks the consumer into thinking they're buying genuine thing and it increases their profit margin. So it's a win-win for them."

Last year, Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized more than 24,000 counterfeit items nationwide, which is up seven percent compared to the previous year.

A priest led more than 200 people at a Philadelphia church in prayer Saturday morning before the group resumed their search for 21-year-old Shane Montgomery -- a West Chester University student who went missing while out with friends the night before Thanksgiving.

"We pray that all those who are about to undertake this search have clear eyes and listening ears," the priest said.

Montgomery was last seen Thanksgiving Eve around 1:45 a.m. as he was leaving Kildare's bar along Main Street in the city's Manayunk neighborhood.

Several hundred people volunteered Friday -- the day after Shane's family spent Thanksgiving without their youngest son.

"My heart is broken," said Shane's mother, Karen Montgomery.

"We're waiting for him to walk in the door, but you realize that each hour goes... it's just harder and harder," added Shane's father, Kevin Montgomery.

The ongoing search efforts have led the Manayunk Development Corporation to cancel a Christmas tree lighting ceremony and caroling activities. Instead the organization held a candlelight vigil at the Canal View Park, located at Main and Connaroe streets, to call for Shane's safe return. The vigil began at 5 p.m.

The West Chester University senior and Roman Catholic High School alum had spent the night of Thanksgiving Eve -- an evening many friends reunite while home for the holiday -- barhopping with a few friends, Karen said.

She filed a police report after the Roxborough native didn’t return home.

Philadelphia Police do not suspect foul play, although his disappearance is considered suspicious. Authorities have used K-9s, helicopters and marine units to search Manayunk and Roxborough, as well as the Schuylkill River, which borders Main Street.

Family and friends have been unable to reach Shane on his cell phone, which was picked up by a cell phone tower in Lower Merion Township Thursday morning.

The search party, which ballooned Saturday morning, met for the second consecutive day at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church on Rector Street. Officials split the group into 12 teams, who then fanned out across the northwest Philadelphia neighborhood.

Shane, who weighs about 140 pounds and stands 5-foot-11-inches tall, was wearing a buttoned- down gray shirt, gray hoodie and jeans when he left the bar. He also has a unique Celtic cross tattoo on his shoulder.

A $10,000 reward was being offered for reliable information leading to Shane’s safe return. Montgomery asked that anyone who sees him call her at 215-920-2569. Anyone with information is also urged to contact Philadelphia Police Det. Valentino at 215-686-3353/54.

The church, which is serving as the search party's staging area, is holding a mass at 6 p.m. for volunteers.

A San Diego maintenance worker is on the run after police say he repeatedly ran over his estranged wife with his pickup truck, killing her.

Police believe the suspect, 37-year-old Cesar Castillo, may have fled to Mexico.

Witnesses told police they heard screaming before seeing a white pickup truck hit a woman in Chula Vista, California, just before 7 p.m. Friday. The driver then circled back and struck her again, according to Chula Vista Police Sgt. Rustin Rea.

Police said the woman, who has not been identified, died at the scene from head and internal injuries.

A neighbor told NBC 7 he walked out of his house as soon as he heard the truck crash through a fence in a yard. He came out in time to spot the vehicle driving up on the sidewalk and away.

"I called 911 as soon as I saw that," he said. "I wish I had taken video tape or pictures or something. It was brutal."

Investigators believe Castillo intentionally ran over his estranged wife, who was standing in a front yard. The truck also hit two fences and a vehicle in the yards.

"I feel bad that it happened, especially after Thanksgiving, and it was horrific," the neighbor said.

The suspect is employed as a maintenance worker in the Mission Bay area, according to police officials.

Police say Castillo is driving a white 1998 Chevy Silverardo with California license plate 6H89420 and right front-end damage.

Police called in a helicopter to help with the search Friday night. Anyone with information on Castillo's whereabouts is asked to call them at 619-585-5665.

The driver of an SUV that drove into the water near Lake Shore Drive has died,  according to the Cook County Medical Examiner.

Randy Brittman, 51, drove his vehicle into the water at around 3 p.m. near Lake Shore Drive and Balbo Avenue, according to Chicago Police News Affairs Officer Veejay Zala. Brittman was pronounced dead at 8:23 p.m.

Witnesses near the scene said a vehicle was traveling in reverse when it went across six lanes of traffic, through a fence and into the water.

"I saw a car traveling in reverse in front of me, slammed on the brakes, saw him continue through the fence right about here, right into the water about 20 feet out," said witness Kevin Shanken. "The door was wide open and he’s kind of out of the car, seemed like he was completely out of control."

Ron Dorneker, the Deputy District Chief of the Chicago Fire Department's Marine & Dive Operations, said rescuers pulled a victim from the water.

"Divers had limited visibility," he said, noting that debris made the search difficult.

The victim was transported to Northwestern Memorial Hospital where their condition was not immediately known. Dorneker said the victim was underwater for roughly 20 minutes and was unresponsive at the scene, but could survive.

Earlier Friday, a Chicago Park District truck slid into Lake Michigan near Oak Street. Dorneker said the driver was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital as a precaution.

You see it all the time, people who don't clear their cars of snow and ice before they hit the roads. Failing to properly clear vehicles can have deadly consequences. One New Hampshire family had a very close call.

Just before 11 a.m. Saturday, 35-year-old Lisa Beauchemin was driving a Volvo wagon with her two young daughters on Route 111 near the Windham town line. A sheet of snow and ice flew off another vehicle, shattering the Volvo's windshield.

Beauchemin was able to safely pull off to the side of the road. The driver of the other vehicle did not pull over.

Officers from the Hudson Police Department responded to the accident.

Beauchemin and her daughters weren't injured.

Officials say they'd like to remind motorists of the importance of completely clearing vehicles after storms. Drivers who have snow or ice come off their vehicle and hit another is responsible for any injuries or damages it causes.

A plane crash landed on the Hartford to New Britain busway in West Hartford, Connecticut, on Saturday afternoon.

Will Hall fly again?

"Yes, I love flying," he said.

A woman is dead and three others are injured after a shooting at a New Jersey bar, authorities said.

Shots were fired at around 11:30 p.m. Saturday at the Oasis 93 bar in Newark, killing 36-year-old Lisa Parker, of Orange, authorities said. The three surviving victims were in stable condition at University Hospital.

It wasn't clear if Parker and the other victims were the intended targets.

A few hours earlier, Newark police found 23-year-old Zaire Williams shot dead on South 20th Street. It's not clear whether the shootings were related, according to the Essex County Prosecutor's Office. 

While you're out doing your Christmas shopping, small businesses across San Diego are encouraging you to consider them.

Fifty small businesses in North Park showed off their uniqueness during Small Business Saturday, including Oh My Dog! Photography. They specialize in photographing you four-legged family members.

 “Many years ago, we were family portrait photographers, and we just found it to be more fun and satisfying when people brought their pets along,” said business owner Tee Taylor.

Last year, customers spent around $5.7 billion at independent stores across the country on Small Business Saturday.

“I think it's important to support small businesses because it keeps our economy in the community,” Taylor said. ”I think that the big advantage for shopping small businesses is really for the shopper. It's so great to be able to tell a story to somebody's who receiving the gift about where that gift came from."

It's a gift that comes in many forms for Rob Millar and his dog Kayla. She's 11 years old and may be on her last paws.

“She's older. She's got arthritis, and we're going for a hip replacement surgery in the next couple of weeks," Millar said.

Oh My Dog photographers used everything from treats to special noises to bring out the puppy in Kayla, capturing a special memory Millar won't soon forget.

“I think it's great to have some of the moments in some of the photos that we wouldn't be able to capture on our own," he said.

Heavy rain moved into western Los Angeles County Sunady, dumping about 1.4 inches of rain on the western end of Malibu and marooning about a dozen vehicles on Pacific Coast Highway west of Zuma Beach.

California Highway Patrol officers report that 10-15 vehicles are marooned at Sycamore Cove, west of Zuma Beach, by mudslides and rockslides blocking Route 1 both east and west of them.

Ventura County firefighters say at least two cars had punctured gas tanks as rocks fell -- or as vehicles drove over fallen rocks -- on PCH west of Malibu. The drivers walked out of the danger area unassisted, said Mike Lindbery, a spokesman for the Ventura County Fire Department.

Two to three feet of mud and debris was reported on Pacific Coast Highway at Mugu Rock, and east to Deer Creek Road. This is where cliffs above the road were denuded by the Springs Fire.

California State Parks rangers reported that sharp rocks had wrecked wheels on vehicles traversing between Ventura County and Malibu on PCH.

Once debris and rocks began flowing across the highway, it was closed, at 2 p.m.

Heavy rain was limited to the west end of the county, but the LA basin was wetted in places by hit and miss storms.

Winnetka, at the west end of the San Fernando Valley, got .28 inches. Unofficial totals included just .06 in Santa Monica, and downtown LA was nearly dry.

The biggest biggest rain clouds of this week, however, were still swirling across the Pacific and threatening to storm ashore Tuesday.

The National Weather Service refined its forecast. The center of the storm might hit the Central California coast, instead of Los Angeles, but 6-8 hours of intense rain was still expected by the federal government, to fall during the day on Tuesday.

As the low pressure system crosses L.A. and heads towards Las Vegas, its tailing quarter will use winds out of the southwest to pump in a large amount of subtropical atmospheric moisture, the NWS said.

This flow "will entrain a large plume of subtropical moisture and aim it right at Southern California," the NWS said.

Rain amounts on Tuesday were still expected to range from 1-2 inches at the coast and in the valleys to 2-5 inches in the foothills and mountains near Los Angeles.

Inland areas will get substantially less rain, the NWS said.

A Marine Corps veteran has come home to Camp Pendleton after traveling across the country entirely on horseback.

Matt Littrell is riding to raise awareness for veterans dealing with mental, emotional and physical pain.

After two combat tours in Iraq, coming home was one of the darkest parts of Littrell’s journey -- until he got on his horse to ride 2,600 miles to fight for his brothers in arms going through the same thing.

“One step at a time. One mile at a time. It’s a journey you’ll take and you’ll find it,” Littrell said.

Coming home from the battlefield, Littrelll’s new war began as he struggled with PTSD and thoughts of suicide.

“It was a feeling of just isolation. There was nobody who understood, nobody who got it and you can’t know unless you’ve been there. A big part of this was going out and saying, we’re still out here, we’re still fighting,” he said.

It's a problem that claims the lives 22 veterans a day, and Littrell wanted to show the world why they are worth riding for.

“Guys come back and they do feel forgotten,” He said. “They feel like they don’t have a purpose, they don’t have meaning.”

He travel led from North Carolina to Camp Pendelton, stopping for folks willing to hear his story.

“At 20 years old, you know carrying a fully automatic weapon and you’re in charge of peoples’ lives,” Littrell said. “Making life and death decisions every day, and they need to find a way to matter.”

As this part of his journey ends, a new one begins.

“We actually got engaged on the trail, and we do plan to get married when we get home,” said Littrell’s fiancé Kristen Fuhrmann. “I fell in love with the honesty and the person.”

Every mile along the way, he’ll keep fighting.

“I told these guys we’d ride for them and we will and we did,” Littrell said.

So far, he has raised $82,000 for the Semper Fi Fund.
 

One man was killed and another was injured in a fight on a bike path Saturday evening in Santee.

Now, San Diego County Sheriff’s deputies are trying to determine who from a group of people is responsible.

The altercation happened around 5:20 p.m. in the 9300 block of Mission Gorge Road, under State Route 52.

Both victims, who were transients, suffered trauma to their upper torsos, according to deputies. They have not been identified.

Deputies detained five people for questioning. One is a minor and none are transients themselves, according to officials.

Investigators are now trying to figure out each person’s role. As of Saturday night, no arrests had been made.

Deputies have not released a motive and could not say if alcohol, drugs or gangs were involved.

Check back for updates.
 

The Chargers scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, capping a wild rally to beat the Ravens, 34-33, in Baltimore on Sunday.

Philip Rivers hit Eddie Royal on a 1-yard TD pass with just 38 seconds left to complete the comeback.

The Bolts (8-4) trailed 30-20 midway through the fourth quarter before Rivers found Keenan Allen for his second score of the day with 3:14 remaining. After holding the Ravens (7-5) to a field goal, Rivers drove the Chargers 80 yards for the winning score.

He had a tremendous day, completing 34 of 45 passes for 383 yards.

Allen had a game-high 121 receiving yards to go with his pair of score.

Ryan Mathews ran for just 38 yards, but 14 of them came on a touchdown run early in the fourth quarter.

Joe Flacco threw for 225 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He also added a rushing score for the Ravens. Justin Forsett had 24 carries for 106 yards.

The teams combined for 189 penalty yards in a flag-fillied game, many of them costly. Chargers safety Eric Weddle got a roughing the passer penalty on a key third-down that led to a Ravens touchdown. Shareece Wright got called for pass interference in the end zone to set up another Ravens fourth-quarter score.

But the Ravens were given a controversial pass interference penalty in the end zone on the final drive that led to Royal's winning score.

A death investigation is underway in unincorporated El Cajon.

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department responded to the 8000 block of Rockview Drive off Pepper Drive around 4:30 p.m. Friday after receiving a call about a suicide.

However, when deputies arrived, they discovered “unusual circumstances” surrounding the man’s death and called homicide investigators, according to the sheriff’s department.

Officials have not released the man’s name or further details about how he died.

Anyone with information can call the Homicide Detail at 858-974-2321 or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477 to remain anonymous.
 

A 22-year-old Point Loma man accused of killing his parents in cold blood struggled with paranoid schizophrenia, his sister told NBC 7.

Lissa and David Haynes were shot dead inside their Tarento Boulevard home early Friday morning. The neighborhood was on lockdown until Peter Haynes was found and arrested on two counts of first-degree murder. Police say he had a semi-automatic handgun in his pocket.

San Diego psychotherapist David Peters, MFT, says a small percentage of people with mental illness have schizophrenia.

“It's marked by delusions, or misperceptions of reality,” Peters said. “Some of the times those are very minor ones, like perceiving you have special clairvoyant powers."

In other cases, Peters says it can be severe as believing the devil is speaking to you. He says it’s hard to predict any sort of outburst.

"This is an illness that looks very different over the population, so the individual characteristics are unique from one to the other," he said.

It is important to note Peters is not Haynes’ therapist, nor have officials confirmed schizophrenia played a part in the murders. However, Peters says most people with severe mental illness are more often the victim than the perpetrator.

“The vast majority of people with severe mental illness are of no risk to the general population at all,” he said. “The percentage of people with schizophrenia who are convicted of violent crime is very small compared to the percentage of the general population."

After situations like this, people often bring up the mental health system, or lack thereof. Peters says proper funding for mental health programs is important.

With healthcare privacy laws, the public may never fully know what happened.

Haynes is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday.

Autopsies are scheduled for Monday in the deaths of a man and woman in New Hampshire in what police say appears to be a murder-suicide.

Police in Nashua, New Hampshire, say a man likely died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after he killed his longtime girlfriend. Around 11 p.m. Saturday, police responded to a report of a deceased female on the Baldwin Street Bridge in Nashua. Investigators say she appears to be a homicide victim. 

Shortly after the discovery of the body, police responded to a residence at 1 Hutchinson St. in Nashua. According to police, the man was inside the residence, alone, with multiple firearms. After a standoff, the Nashua SWAT team entered the home and found the man deceased from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

"It's a quiet neighborhood," said neighbor Scott Michaelwicz. "There's never any trouble."

The couple had been out earlier in the evening with friends, but those friends became suspicious when they returned to the house.

"They became concerned when the female wasn't there and the male was there," said Senior Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Strelzin. "When they saw him, saw his appearance and based on some of the things he said, they became concerned he had done something to her."

He then pulled out a gun, according to investigators. The friends got away and alerted police. Then, a tense standoff with officers lasted through the night.

"This morning, about 6 o'clock, we woke up to some loud bangs," said Michaelwicz.

No officers fired their weapons during the incident; however, officers used tear gas. Some nearby residents were evacuated from their homes as public safety concerns grew.

The couple was not married, but the man and woman each had grown children. The entire ordeal was a shock to those who knew them.

The names of those involved are being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

Nearly 700 customers were without power in Oceanside early Monday morning after a woman crashed a vehicle into a power pole.

The crash happened at about 3:30 a.m. on southbound El Camino Real at Vista Oceana. Arriving fire crews were called to a single vehicle accident and discovered that the vehicle had left the road and hit the pole on the driver’s side, Oceanside fire officials said.

The driver was trapped inside the vehicle, which was perched on the edge of a steep embankment with a several-hundred-foot drop, officials said.

Crews worked to free the driver, a woman in her 40s, from the vehicle and she was taken by Mercy Air helicopter to Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla. Her condition Monday morning wasn’t immediately available.

Southbound El Camino Real from Mission Avenue to Mesa Drive was shut down for several hours as crews worked to replace the damaged pole.

Power was restored to the hundreds of customers several hours later.

A former California Marine is asking for the public’s help to find her dog that helps ease her post-traumatic stress disorder.

Alexandra Melnick’s dog, Kai, disappeared from her Vista home on Friday. Kai is a 1-year-old, tri-colored German Shepherd.

Melnick has been canvassing North County with fliers in hopes of finding Kai, which has brought her comfort.

“He was never used for the military, but he does help with PTSD-related aspects for me as a service dog,” she said. “I would really like for him to come home.”

She said Kai is micro-chipped and does not have a collar. Anyone who finds Kai can return him to the nearest animal shelter, she said.