A group traveled thousands of miles to San Diego, searching for the person who threw a fatal punch and killed a man in the Gaslamp Quarter last month.

On Friday, friends of Eric Galen Hatcher visited the scene where he died: at 4th Avenue and G Street.

Not much is known about what happened in the early morning of Dec. 14, but right now, Hatcher’s friends -- who knew him by his middle name, Galen -- don't need every detail.

They just want to help find the person or people responsible for killing Galen Hatcher.

"It breaks you up. Everyone has been torn up about this and we want justice for him,” said Hatcher’s friend Ben Bartel.

Bartel and four other friends are walking around the Gaslamp, posting fliers, asking people who might know anything to call police.

"He was one of a kind. An incredible person. I never met anybody and no one will say they met anybody like Galen,” said friend Aaron Maggy.

"He was loved by everybody. He never had an enemy. He hated confrontation,” said friend Aaron Allardyce.

San Diego Police have released surveillance video of the moments after the fight that killed Galen. They believe the person who delivered the fatal blow is seen running away with another man and woman.

"Someone had to see those individuals,” said Allardyce.

So with every step they take in the Gaslamp and with every flier they post, the friends are hoping someone will be able to bring what they all desperately need.

"We need to figure out what happened, find the person who did it, figure out so we can know what happened, what really took place. So that the family and friend scan just get some closure on this whole deal,” said Maggy.

If you have any information about the fight or the individuals seen in the surveillance video, you are asked to call Crime Stoppers. There is now a $1,000 reward. Friends have also posted a video on YouTube with more information.

A Miami woman was arrested after police say she beat her 8-year-old son and killed her family's pet puppy in front of her kids.

Charlotte Wonjah, 26, is facing aggravated child abuse and cruelty to animals charges following her arrest Tuesday, according to a Miami Police arrest report.

Wonjah told a judge in bond court Friday that she is four months pregnant.

Wonjah's ex-boyfriend of seven years told NBC 6 he had gone to her house to bring some clothes. That's when he said she turned violent.

"It was a nightmare," he said. "She came out of nowhere. Became violent. Punching me, beating me, scratching me."

Officers responding to the ex-boyfriend's 911 call then discovered Wonjah had beaten her son on several occasions. The boy had bruises, welts and markings throughout his body and at different stages of healing, the report said.

Officers also found that Wonjah had killed the one-month-old puppy by slamming it against the floor while her kids watched, the report said.

Wonjah told officers she has anger issues and lost control and beat her son with a rope. She also admitted to killing the dog because she didn't want to clean up after it, the report said.

Prosecutors told the bond judge Wonjah had just completed probation for misdemeanor battery against her ex-boyfriend in April of 2013.

Wonjah is being held on $50,000 bond. It is unclear if she has an attorney.

A magnitude 2.5 earthquake shook the Inland Empire early Saturday.

The quake, which was 8.5 miles deep, struck 4 miles east of Banning in the Inland Empire at 1:49 am, UGS says.

A 2.5 is considered a minor tremble on the Richter Scale, is only felt slightly by some people, and causes no damage to buildings.

An airline has apologized after a New Jersey family battled with a flight crew for an hour over how to accommodate their child with special needs in a seat.

Elit Kirschenbaum and her family, of Short Hills were heading back to Newark from the Dominican Republic on a United Airlines flight Tuesday, and a flight attendant became "visibly upset" when Kirschenbaum tried to hold her 3-year-old daughter Ivy in her lap, the mother of four said. 

Ivy has a debilitating condition in which she is unable to move her arms and legs, or to hold her head up on her own, after suffering a stroke in utero, according to her mother. 

"I would do anything to have Ivy sit up by herself, but she just can't do it," said Kirschenbaum. 

FAA regulations require anyone over the age of 24 months to sit in his or her own seat for taxi, takeoff and landing, according to United Airlines. There is no exception in the regulations or in the United Airlines flight attendant manual that allows a lap child over the age of 2 under any circumstances. 

Kirschenbaum said she didn't know those rules, and she wasn't stopped on her way to the Dominican Republic.

"The rules should be that she should be able to sit in a seat," she said. "Unfortunately, life doesn't play by the rules sometimes." 

The hourlong emotional episode on the plane caused a stir. 

"I just couldn't understand why this person was showing us so little compassion," she said. 

The pilot finally came up with a solution, with the help of Kirschenbaum's husband. They decided to buckle Ivy in at the waist and have her lay across her father's lap next to her. 

They all made it home safely, and Kirschenbaum said she'll use a safety seat offering additional head support for Ivy on future flights. But she doesn't regret what happened on the plane. 

"I was given an opportunity to advocate for my child. I did not back down from it, I did not take the easy road," she said. "And the lesson I hope my own children get out of it is that I will always stand beside them." 

United Airlines called Kirschenbaum Thursday to apologize for the incident, but did not say whether it took any disciplinary action against the flight attendant. 

San Diego County Sheriff's Deputies searched a Vista neighborhood Saturday for a mountain lion spotted in a residential neighborhood.

A homeowner called officials around 2:30 a.m. Saturday reporting a mountain lion in her backyard.

When deputies arrived to the Connecticut Avenue home, they saw the mountain lion in a nearby tree.

They immediately set up a perimeter of the home and called in officials from the California Department of Fish and Game.

By the time the wardens arrived, the animal had escaped.

The location is a residential area in the center of Vista and just a couple of blocks away from an elementary school.

Deputies are no longer searching for the animal.

A broken water pipe caused a sinkhole in one Pacific Beach neighborhood early Saturday.

San Diego City water crews were working to repair a water main break that occurred just after 3:30 a.m. at Thomas and Ingraham streets.

The flooding caused a sinkhole that officials worried may swallow two cars parked on the street.

They were able to find the vehicles' owners in time to have the cars moved.

Despite the damage, there were no road closures, San Diego Police said.

San Diego Police are searching for the suspect who robbed a Cold Stone Creamery Store in Pacific Beach Friday night.

Around 9:30 p.m., a man in his late 20s walked into the store in the 4400 block of Mission Boulvard with a weapon, according to police. He forced the clerk to get money out of the safe before getting away.

Witnesses say there may have been a second suspect waiting for the man outside. They were both last seen near Felspar Street.

The man seen robbing the store is described as tall with a shaved head.

There were no reports of injuries.

Two people were trapped in a two-car rollover crash in Encinitas Friday night.

The two vehicles collided just before midnight on northbound Interstate 5 at the Manchester exit, according to the California Highway Patrol. Both vehicles overtuned in the middle lanes, leading to the closure of several lanes.

Firefighters managed to rescue both trapped drivers in about 10 to 15 minutes. Both drivers suffered tramatic injuries. One was taken to Scripps La Jolla Hospital and the other to Sharp Memorial Hospital.

The cause of the accident has not been released.

The fears of Shane Montgomery's parents became a reality Saturday afternoon when crews pulled the body of the missing West Chester University student from the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia's Manayunk neighborhood.

"Today we have done what we promised," Shane's mother, Karen Montgomery said as she choked back tears. "We found and brought Shane home."

Authorities have not yet confirmed the identity of the man found, however, Shane's family confirmed to NBC10 the body is the Roxborough native.

Shane's father, Kevin, stood alongside his wife in the frigid rain outside the Manayunk Brewery as she tearfully thanked all those who helped in the search efforts.

As the parents concluded their remarks, they asked for the public to respect their privacy at this time.

"We need time to mourn together as a family," said Karen, her voice cracking as she looked up from the paper in her hands for the first time. Her full statement has been posted to the Help Find Shane Montgomery Facebook page.

Shane's uncle Kevin Verbrugghe told NBC10 he texted his nephew "come home" Saturday morning.

Hours later, Shane's body was found. His parents stood a short distance from the river at the time.

Garden State Underwater Recovery Unit divers discovered the body in the water behind the Manayunk Brewery, located near Main Street and Shurs Lane in Manayunk, around 12:15 p.m., Philadelphia Police said.

The discovery occurred in the same portion of the Schuylkill River where divers concentrated their search for Shane in the five weeks since he was reported missing.

His body was found at the bottom of the Schuylkill, about 10-feet away from the bank of the river, according to a member of the dive team. Police sources told NBC10 he was wearing the same clothes his family remembered him wearing the night of his disappearance.

Surveillance video captured Shane walking early Thanksgiving morning toward the Schuylkill River after leaving Kildare's Irish Pub around 1:45 a.m. 

Searches by ground, air and water ensued and gained nationwide attention. A reward for information leading to Montgomery's whereabouts climbed to $65,000, but as the days crept on, hope of finding him alive faded.

Federal agents operated on the theory that the Roman Catholic High School alum was in the Schuylkill River since early on in their search efforts. Three weeks after Shane went missing, a group of volunteer divers found Montgomery's keys in the river next to a parking lot.

Karen said late last month finding her son, even by pulling his body from the river, would bring closure to the family.

A group of Mummers honored Shane by wearing special ribbons during their annual New Year's Day parade in Philadelphia. The ribbons' color — green — is Shane's favorite and is also associated with missing children.

The Medical Examiner will officially identify the body Monday. Shane's family has not yet released information on funeral arrangements.

You might get an unwelcome surprise during your next trip to the grocery store: prices of some of Southern California's most popular foods are expected to rise in 2015.

Among the items that will probably trigger sticker shock:

• Avocados: Their growing popularity, combined with the California drought, has farmers warning of an upcoming shortage. Growing a pound of avocados requires more than 70 gallons of water, and a whopping 95% of the avocados grown in the U.S. are from California farms. The bottom line: your guacamole could soon come at a higher price.
• Olive Oil: Drought conditions in Europe are expected to push up the price of this popular pantry item. Producers in Span have just weathered a very dry year, while it Italy, the olive crops have been hit by a fly infestation. The double whammy has lowered the olive oil supply, while the demand has risen by 50% over the past two decades.
• Eggs: A happy development for California's chickens is about to mean pricier eggs for you. A new state law requiring farmers to release hens from small cages so they can move around and stretch their wings went into effect January 1. That means farmers have had to build new accommodations, or reduce the size of their flock, which has already made the cost of eggs surge — and even higher prices are expected.
• Girl Scout Cookies: The Los Angeles and Orange County chapters of the Girl Scouts have decided to boost their prices to $5 a box — a dollar more than last year. But there's a bright side: starting January 25, for the first time ever, you'll be able to buy Girl Scout Cookies online.

After more than 40 years and 500 miles, an amazing reunion took place Friday in the Bay Area. 

Leticia Bustos was 8 years old when she came from Tijuana to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1969 to have surgery.

Pat Sherman and her family in Palo Alto took Bustos in to recover.

"They needed families to take the children before and after the surgeries," Sherman said of ReSurge International. The company, formerly Interplast, provides reconstructive surgical care for children and adults who lack access.

"How can they be so lovable with someone they didn't even know," Bustos said of the Sherman family's love and affection Friday.

"And I thought I'm gonna love this kid for the rest of my life," Sherman said.

But after several hospital visits and bonding with the people she called her second family, Bustos went back to Tijuana and lost touch with the Shermans.

"It broke my heart ... I thought about her for years," Sherman said.

Bustos and the Shermans were able to reunite after more than 40 years of losing contact with each other thanks to Facebook.

"I said 'oh my god that's her," Sherman said of the moment she found Bustos on the social network."It was the happiest moment of my life."

On Friday, Sherman and Bustos looked through old pictures and introduced new family members by starting where they had once left off.

"I was just thinking that after 43 years I could never imagine we could be together again," Bustos said. "I cried a lot."

Bustos' surgery and the Sherman's decision to take her in helped launch the once-called Interplast, which has Stanford roots. ReSurge International has since provided more than 100,000 surgeries for people in developing countries.

A 14-year-old boy died after it appears he was shot to death in the parking lot of an apartment complex in suburban Rosemont Friday night.

The Rosemont 911 Center received a call about a disturbance in the 10400 block of Carol Court on Friday at about 8:55 p.m. Several 911 calls followed reporting the sound of gunshots in the area.

When Rosemont Public Safety Patrol units arrived on the scene, they found the teen lying on the ground with an apparent gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead on the scene.

Police have not confirmed the victim died from gunshot wounds, but Raul Menchata, a witness and resident of the apartment complex, said he heard four gunshots.

The victim is identified as Patrick Boswell, of the 1600 block of Morse Avenue in Des Plaines, according to Rosemont police. Boswell was an eighth grade student at Iroquois Community School in Des Plaines.

Residents of the apartment complex where Boswell was found said it was not uncommon to see the boy skateboarding in the area.

"During this terrible loss, please keep the Iroquois families and staff and the Des Plaines community in your toughts and prayers," Mindy Ward, the director of communtiy relations in District 62, said in a statement. "We are a strong and determined community. Supporting each other is very important now and in the future."

Counselors will be available at the school and across the district for students and staff, Ward said.

"It's just sad to see it," Emmanuele Asccencio, a close friend of Boswell's, said. "He was a good kid, a lovely person. He was really nice, always had a smile on his face."

Rosemont detectives and the Major Case Assistance Team are continuing the investigation.

A woman stuck and injured in a Riverside County chimney had to be rescued Saturday morning, fire officials said.

The Woodcrest rescue took about two hours, a Riverside County Fire Department news release said, after which she was taken to a hospital with minor to moderate injuries.

The victim's identity and age weren't released.

She was stuck above a 12-by-12-foot brick fireplace, which she entered from the roof, officials said. Firefighters were called at 4:58 a.m. to the home, in the 15800 block of Rancho Viejo Drive.

The homeowner told NBC4 the woman is the mother of his children but that they were not married. He said the woman does not live in the house.

A dryer catches fire, causing a garage to become engulfed in flames at an apartment complex in Mission Valley, according to San Diego Fire.

Firefighters were called to the scene Saturday around 4 p.m. on the 2800 block of Escala Circle. Upon arrival, smoke and fire were seen coming out of the garage.

Crews managed to put out the fire within minutes. No injuries were reported.

Terror suspect Abu Anas al-Libi has died from health complications while awaiting trial in New York on charges he helped plot the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, according to court filings made Saturday.

The Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office notified the trial judge overnight that al-Libi, 50, had died after being moved from the Metropolitan Correctional Center in lower Manhattan to a nearby hospital.

Al-Libi, who said his full name was Nazih Abdul-Hamed al-Ruqai, was believed to have been a onetime associate of Osama bin Laden. His family had said the terror suspect had been in bad condition, suffering liver disease as a result of hepatitis C.

Prosecutors wrote Judge Lewis Kaplan that "despite the care provided at the hospital, his condition deteriorated rapidly, and al Libi passed away yesterday evening," according to the court filing.

In October 2013, U.S. special operations forces, along with FBI and CIA agents, helped capture al-Libi and send him to New York for trial. Al-Libi had had a $5 million reward out for his arrest. Prior to his capture, he was on the FBI's list of most wanted terrorists.

Lawyers for al-Libi had asked Kaplan to dismiss the charges because of al-Libi's "forcible abduction" and the "inhumane treatment" of al-Libi while he was interrogated aboard a U.S. Navy ship, but Kaplan upheld the charges. Visibly ill in court even then, he pleaded not guilty to the charges through a lawyer.

More than 4,500 people were injured and more than 200 died in the truck bomb attack on the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, including 12 Americans. In Dar es Salaam, 10 Tanzanians who worked at the embassy died. Al-Libi was charged in New York with having played a major role in organizing and conducting surveillance for the bombing operation.

His attorney, Bernard Kleinman, had recently said his client's health was deteriorating. Kleinman did not immediately return a call for comment Saturday morning about al-Libi's death.

Prosecutors said al-Libi's lawyer and an imam were at his hospital bedside when he died.

A spokesman for U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara declined comment. An FBI spokesman did not immediately return a request for comment.

In their letter to the judge, prosecutors said they will soon formally file paperwork to end this case since al-Libi is dead.

Six other al Qaida operatives have already been convicted in New York. Osama bin Laden himself was also charged in the embassy bombings case until he was killed in a raid in Pakistan by U.S. forces.

One person died and a second person was injured when a car broke through two barriers and plunged more than 30 feet over a cliff in Ocean Beach Saturday.

It was just after midnight when the driver of a black Chevy Tahoe lost control before busting through a chain link fence and a guard rail eand crashing on the rocks blow, San Diego police said.

The San Diego Urban Search and Rescue Team used a ladder to get down to the crash scene.

Once there, they helped extricate the driver, described as a 28-year-old man. He had been killed upon impact, officials said.

A second victim, a 24-year-old woman, survived the crash. Medics airlifted the passenger to a nearby hospital for treatment of serious injuries, police said.

Stan Bolle told NBC 7 crashes happen in the area from time to time but  this was one of the worst crashes he has seen in his time living in the neighborhood.

“It’s a shame that somebody had to die in this situation,” Bolle said.

San Diego Police are investigating what caused the driver to lose control.

Neither victim was identified by officials.

A pursuit suspect is now in custody after hiding out in a room at the Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel on Market Street in downtown San Diego, San Diego Police said.

A second suspect was already in custody after the two led San Diego Sheriff's deputies on a pursuit that ended downtown.

It started when deputies attempted to stop a blue Honda SUV near Otay Mesa shortly after 10 a.m. Saturday morning. The car pursuit ended in downtown San Diego with both suspects taking off on foot. The passenger was quickly taken into custody while the driver was seen entering the Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel.

No injuries were reported.

Check back for updates on this developing story.

Police have identified a limo driver who was shot and killed during a robbery in West Philadelphia Saturday night.

Mijael Rodriguez-Ramirez, 24, who just started working for La Primera Car Inc. a week ago, picked up two passengers in his 2007 silver Chrysler 300 on the 3200 block of 7th Street in North Philadelphia.

Rodriguez-Ramirez, who lived in Kensington, dropped one passenger off in North Philly and then took the second to the 5400 block of Delancey Street in West Philly around 7:10 p.m.

Without warning, the second passenger pulled out a gun and opened fire, striking Rodriguez-Ramirez in the face, according to the car service co-owner. The passenger then stole a cell phone as well as cash before fleeing the scene.

The co-owner said the company realized something was wrong when Rodriguez-Ramirez no longer responded to any calls and his GPS location remained the same. They then called police who responded to the scene.

Police found Rodriguez-Ramirez slumped over inside the vehicle with a gunshot wound in the back of his head. He was pronounced dead at 7:24 p.m.

The co-owner told NBC10 Rodriguez-Ramirez's girlfriend was in the passenger seat and witnessed the shooting but was not harmed. She was interviewed by detectives Saturday.

Officials have not yet released a description of the suspect. A $20,000 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction.

La Primera Car Inc. is based in North Philadelphia and is made up of about 90 drivers and vehicles, mostly Chrysler 300s and Lincoln Town cars.

Rodriguez-Ramirez's death marks the third homicide in Philadelphia in 2015.
 

A man was killed and a woman injured when they were struck by an SUV livery cab in Manhattan, police said.

The 27-year-old man and 30-year-old woman were crossing East 62nd Street between Lexington and Third avenues shortly after 7 p.m. Saturday when an SUV struck them, police said. The driver stayed on the scene and was issued a summons.

The two pedestrians were taken to New York-Presbyterian Hospital, where the man was pronounced dead. The woman sustained a head injury and was listed in stable condition. 

A four-year-old boy is in critical condition after nearly drowning in a cruise ship pool, according to the Broward Sheriff's Office.

Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas had just left Port Everglades in Broward County, Florida, Saturday afternoon when BSO detectives said the child wandered away from his mother on the 15th deck. The mother searched for her child but did not see him enter the ship's wave pool, where he was swept under water.

A passenger spotted the child submerged in the pool. BSO spokesman Mike Jachles said bystanders pulled the unconcious boy from the pool and began CPR.

"Somehow he was swept under and was in the water anywhere from five to ten minutes," Jachles said. "He was not breathing, did not have a pulse."

Jachles also said the boy was in full cardiac arrest. The on-board medical team revived the boy and determined that he required additional medical attention.  The ship altered its course and returned to Fort Lauderdale.

The child was transported to Broward Health Medical Center, where he is in intensive care. Officials said he is in a medically-induced coma.

Authorities have not identified the child. A spokesperson with Royal Caribbean said the family was on vacation from Italy.

"Royal Caribbean's Care Team is providing support to the guest's family and our thoughts and prayers are with them," the company said in a statement.

Oasis of the Seas was cleared to once again leave Port Everglades after the on-board investigation was finished Saturday night.