Most dermatologists recommend using a sunscreen that delivers an SPF, or sun protection factor, of 30 of higher. The SPF indicates the amount of protection you get from the sun’s UVB rays, which cause sunburn and increase the risk of skin cancer.

Consumer Reports tested 34 lotions and sprays to see whether they deliver what they claim.

Technicians applied sunscreen to panelists’ backs and had them soak in a tub for 40 or 80 minutes, depending on the product’s water-resistance claim. Then the area was exposed to UVB light. The next day, the test area was examined for redness.

Almost a third of the sunscreens tested had SFP's below what was promised. For example, the maker of Banana Boat Sport Spray claims it has an SPF of more than 50, but it had an SPF of only 24, on average. And the company that makes Yes to Cucumbers Natural claims it has an SPF 30, but it had only 14, on average.

You want a sunscreen that’s also effective against UVA rays, which are linked to skin damage and cancer. Sunscreens sold as “broad spectrum” should provide both UVA and UVB protection.

But in Consumer Reports’ lab tests, some of the sunscreens didn’t adequately guard against UVA rays. The worst was Aloe Gator Gel.

Consumer Reports did find 15 sunscreens to recommend, and these were named Best Buys:

• No-Ad Sport SPF 50 lotion for $10
• Equate Sport Continuous Spray SPF 30 for $8 from Walmart
• Equate Ultra Protection lotion SPF 50 for $9 from Walmart

Consumer Reports included several sunscreens that contain minerals as their active ingredients — either zinc oxide or titanium dioxide. None of the five are recommended. They didn’t deliver adequate broad-spectrum protection.

One of the most famous figures in the world hasn’t vegged out in front of the television in 25 years.

In a recent interview with Argentinian news source La Voz Del Pueblo, Pope Francis admitted he hasn’t tuned into TV since 1990.

Francis told the Spanish-language news source that he doesn't hold anything against TV, just “it's not for me” and that he gave it up in July of 1990 after making a vow to the Virgin of Carmen.

The Pontiff hasn’t even seen his beloved San Lorenzo soccer team play, he told the paper. But Argetinian does keep up on the Buenos Aries-based team thanks to a Swiss Guard bodyguard who updates him on how the team Francis has loved his whole life is doing.

The Pope is headed to Philadelphia for the World Meeting of Families in September. No word yet if he will break his rule and watch TV while in town.

Hundreds gathered across San Diego County Monday to honor members of the armed service that made the ultimate sacrifice. 

At Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery and Mount Soledad National Veterans Memorial, some 2,000 people attended ceremonies to honor the fallen. 

A ceremony at the Mount Soledad National Veterans Memorial featured a dedication plaque honoring First Lt.Nathan Krissoff. 

The Marine died in an explosion near Fallujah, Iraq in 2006. After his death near Fallujah his father, a doctor, then joined the service.

Major General Larry Nicholson the Commanding General, 1st Marine Division, Camp Pendleton, said he had nothing but the deepest respect for service members post 9-11 and all service members. 

“What I have seen the over the last 12 to 13 years is a kind of an emergence of the second greatest generation young men and women that needed need to go into the Marine Corps or the Service," said Nicholson. "Nate Krissoff is a good example.”

They did not need the military, Nicholson said, the military needed them. 

At Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, hundreds gathered for the inspiring ceremony under a light drizzle.

Wreaths were presented at a symbolic Tomb of the Unknown. During the ceremony, Gold Star families sat in the front row and were presented with flags. 

Commanding Officer of the Coast Guard in San Diego, Capt. John Spaner spoke about remembering those in the military who have bravely responded to the call.

Manny Martinez’s son Michael  was among them. Michael died while in combat in Iraq when he was in the Army. 

“I think it is really important that we don't forget about all these soldiers," Martinez said. "Not only Michael. They gave up their lives for our freedoms that we have."

People continued to pay tribute throughout the day at both locations until sunset on Memorial Day.

They're not just another drone company.

That is one of the first things Chad Amonn will tell you. He's part of a small San Diego-based startup named Inova Drone.

The company, less than a year old, designs drones with first responders in mind.

"Our goal is to really save lives with this technology," said Amonn.

The unmanned aircraft are each equipped with infrared cameras that Amonn says are ideal for search and rescue operations and the heat sensing cameras would also give firefighters an advantage. 

"They can see through fog and smoke, and be able to spot people through the tree canopy from above," he said.

The drones can also map search patterns to help in a search and rescue and Amonn says the aircraft are able to continue flying even if one of the motors were to fail.

"These aircraft have to fly in some of the harshest conditions you can image," he said.

He said Inova Drone has started talks with local branches of FEMA as well as local fire and police departments to bring their products to first responders.

While the FAA wrestles with how to regulate the issue of drones in general, the government has put in place a system for law enforcement and public safety agencies to get authorization to use drones.

San Diego County Sheriffs spokeswoman Jan Caldwell told NBC 7 the department is not currently using drones but that the department does have an exploratory committee looking into the issue.

San Diego police are also not using drones, but a spokesman said it's a cost effective issue that will likely be considered in the future.

An obvious question is how much would the system cost.

Amonn did not want to give a specific dollar amount, but said they believe it will be competitive. He said some similar setups can cost between $40,000 to $70,000 each.

A 46-year-old man died while canoeing in Loon Lake in the northern suburbs of Illinois Memorial Day weekend after he jumped in the water to try and save a cat.

Officials with the Lake County Sheriff's office were called to the scene a little after 7:30 p.m. in the 2300 block of Lake Shore Drive in Antioch. The man was in a canoe with another man and woman on Loon Lake when a cat, also in the canoe, jumped into the water, police said. 

The man tried to save the cat but went under the water, according to authorities. His body was recovered shortly after midnight Monday.

The identification of the man, who police say is from Ingleside, had not been released as of Monday morning.

Police said alcohol is believed to have been a factor in the incident. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources is investigating the death. 

Officials from Plains All American Pipeline say they hope the broken section of a pipeline that spilled oil along the California Coast can be removed for investigation by Tuesday.

Senior Safety Director Patrick Hodgins said Monday four other locations in the pipeline that ruptured during last week's Santa Barbara spill have been identified with potential issues.

The discovery was made after an "expedited" review of data gathered by an in-line probe that was sent through the pipeline earlier this month, before the spill, Plains' Senior Safety Director Patrick Hodgins said. It is hoped examination of the pipe will reveal why and how it failed.

Hodgins declined to discuss the specifics of what the probe detected, but said it could be such things as a change in pipe thickness or a dent.

"We will go out and do confirmation digs, and once we have that information, we will work with our integrity management program to find corrective actions, if necessary," Hodgins said.

The concern is the potential for additional spillage if more sections were to fail when the 12 mile long pipeline is purged of the oil that remains inside after it was shut down following the spill.  

At the behest of federal regulators, Plains will be completing excavation and removing the section of 24-inch diameter pipe that leaked 101,000 gallons of oil last Tuesday along a section of the coastline between the city of Santa Barbara and Point Concepcion. 

The company on Monday downgraded the amount of oil that may have spilled from 105,000 to new estimate of 101,000 gallons (382,300 liters). That's about 4,200 gallons (15,900 liters) less than previously thought.

Staffing of the cleanup operation has grown to 800, said Coast Guard Capt. Charlene Downey at a Monday's briefing.

The first batch of 100 citizen volunteers took part in a four-hour training program Monday in preparation to assist in the clean-up effort. California's Office of Spill Prevention and Response is planning to hold two more classes later in the week to train a total of 300 people.

"I just wanted to help," said Andrea Fisher, who drove more than an hour from her home in Camarillo, where she and her husband have a physical therapy business.  "He can run the business while I do this," she said. "Cause the more people that help, the faster it'll get cleaned up."

The cleanup is moving into a new phase, involving more handwork to remove oil from rocks and other objects, said Yvonvve Addassi, deputy administrator for the state's Spill Prevention and Response Agency.

In expressing appreciation to the volunteers, Addassi made clear that the "complicated" work is left to the professionals.

Among those attending the first training session was Nakia Zavala, cultural director for the Chumash Tribe, which has concerns for historical sites along the coast.

"We want to make sure everything is being taken care of carefully," Zavala said.

It's expected the first group of 20 volunteers could be put to work as soon as Tuesday, according to Addassi.

Through affiliated organizations, some 150 volunteers have already been assisting, Addassi said. 

Also at Monday's briefing it was disclosed that a second oil slick, farther offshore, was detected during a flyover Sunday, and a day later appeared to have stretched out to a length of as much as 10 miles, according to Jordan Stout of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

It was not certain whether this slick is connected to last week's spill, or has a different origin. Natural oil seepage does occur in the Santa Barbara Channel.

Since Tuesday, the deaths of 17 birds and sea mammals have been attributed to the spill. An additional 10 birds and six mammals have required oil removal and other care, said Santos Cabral of the California Dept. of Fish and Wildlife.

Two state beaches near ground zero for the spill, Refugio and El Capitan, remain closed to the public, an acrid oil smell still hanging in the air, though not as strong as last week.

The beaches and adjacent campgrounds are expected to remain closed until June 4th, said Eric Hjelstrom of state parks.

The oil spill is California's worst since more than 50,000 gallons leaked into San Francisco Bay from the container ship Cosco Busan after it struck a supporting tower of the Bay Bridge in 2007.

A Southern California clothing firm has removed a T-shirt bearing an upside-down American flag from its shelves after it stirred a Memorial Day backlash.

In a Facebook statement Monday, apparel giant PacSun said it had decided to immediately stop selling the garment "out of respect" for members of the armed forces.

The announcement came after images of the garment were repeatedly posted to the Anaheim company's page on the social networking website, with people calling it "disgusting" and "disrespectful." It also trended on Twitter due to the  #BoycottPacSun hashtag.

"Out of respect for those who have put their lives on the line for our country, we have decided to stop selling the licensed flag t-shirt and are removing it from our stores and website immediately," the statement said. "We thank the men and women in uniform for their extraordinary service."

However, reaction to the decision was split, with some saying the company should not have sold the t-shirt in the first place.

"You put this shirt in your window on Memorial day? Shame on you for not having better sense than this," a customer named Amy Hudgins Wisdom wrote. "This is trashy, thoughtless behavior which insults the veterans who have given their all to protect this great country."

"Dear Pac Sun, go f-yourself, As a long time customer… I will more than gladly stop shopping at your anti-American store," Huntington Beach resident Rich Avila said.

"As a young United States Marine. I'm disgusted that it was put up for sale in your stores and website in the first place, " Californian Angel Robles wrote. "You've lost all my respect as a brand and retail store. What were you thinking?"

Casino star James Woods was also angry about the T-shirt, and urged his 227,000 Twitter followers to boycott the store.

"Please, every follower of mine, please #BoycottPacSun. Disgusting trashing of American Flag on Memorial Day," he tweeted.

Others were unhappy the company withdrew the item, complaining the decision violated free speech.

"PacSun has the right to sell whatever it believes will make it money," Eric Gang wrote. "Our Bill of Rights protects this t-shirt as much as it protects my right to disagree. Pulling the shirt protects no one. Not even veterans."

It is widely considered that flags are flown upside down in instances of immediate danger to life or property.

The father of a 3-year-old boy found dead in a park swing last week, just days after the father filed for sole custody, wonders if the legal system is to blame.

James Lee said he went to court before his son Ji-Aire was found dead while being pushed in the swing by his mother. Lee was concerned the mother, Romechia Simms, was suffering from mental illness. He said he did not want to keep Ji-Aire’s mother out of his life forever; he just wanted her to get help. He believed he was the better parent at the time. A judge disagreed.

“He deemed her, at that moment, a fit parent,” Lee said. “I'm not saying she isn't, but in this situation, he just didn't pay attention to the signs."

Soon after, Simms took Ji-Aire to a motel in Waldorf, near where her mother lives. Two days before Ji-Aire was found dead, Simms called Lee, telling him he needed to pick her and their son up immediately. But by the time he was done with work, Simms stopped answering Lee’s calls. On Friday, Simms’ mother called Lee, telling him his son was dead.

“It came out of nowhere for me,” Lee said.

On Monday, an autopsy for Ji-Aire was completed, but no cause of death was determined. Police are working to establish a timeline of the days before Ji-Aire’s death, Charles County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Diane Richardson said. They believe Simms may have pushed Ji-Aire in the La Plata park swing for hours before they were discovered.

Lee thinks things could’ve turned out differently had the court granted him sole custody. But the system is designed to benefit mothers, not the fitter parent, he said.

“Women get slapped on the wrist,” he said. “Men get grinded into dog meat.”

Simms has been hospitalized since Friday. Ji-Aire’s death remains under investigation.

Firefighters responded to a house fire that spread to the attic and other parts of the house, fire officials said. 

The fire broke out shortly before 2 p.m. Monday on the 1900 block of Valinda Way in Vista and was put out at 3:12 p.m. 

Two adults that lived in the home were displaced and the American Red Cross was called to help them. 

As firefighters arrived, they reported seeing smoke in the area, according to the Vista Fire Department.

Crews said they found a single story house with flames coming out.

They asked San Diego Sheriff's deputies for traffic control. 

Fire crews are cleaning up, 

A high-speed pursuit ended in San Diego after officers attempted to pull over a possible drunk driver, the California Highway Patrol said. 

The pursuit started in Riverside at approximately 11:43 a.m. when police tried to pull over a potential drunk driver. 

The driver kept driving after the initial pursuit, police said, and drove south at sppeds ranging from 35 to 70 miles per hour. 

At one point in the pursuit, the suspect crashed into the center divide but kept driving. 

When the car reached San Diego County, CHP officers released spike strips. The car stopped on southbound Interstate 15, just south of Deer Springs. 

Officers took the suspect into custody at 12:24 p.m. Monday, they said. That person was the only person in the dark green honda pickup, police said. 

A witness reported seeing officers breaking the window of the car to remove the suspect. 

The San Diego Sheriff's helicopter ASTREA was helping the CHP. 

Have you been wishing on a 'lucky star'? Well, like a prayer, you've been heard and answered!

The Queen of Pop herself -- Madonna -- is coming to San Diego! We know, we know -- to paraphrase Madge herself from "Borderline": It feels like we're going to lose our minds!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, on Oct. 29, 2015, the Material Girl is returning to America's Finest City on her worldwide Rebel Heart tour with a show at Valley View Casino Center. The last time the pop megastar performed in San Diego, it was nearly eight years ago at our downtown stadium, Petco Park. And even though we love our ballpark, being able to see Madonna at a slightly more intimate venue is definitely a plus.

For those who can cease expressing themselves long enough to get on the Internet, tickets go on sale to the general public on June 1 at 10 a.m. Prepare to "open your heart" and open your wallets: Tickets will range between $35 and $350. Be early, be patient and be steadfast -- they're guaranteed to sell quickly.

Feel like you're "burning up"? Don't worry, we feel you. We've been fans of Madonna before papa started preaching. If for some reason you've been living in Superman's Fortress of Solitude or perhaps manning the International Space Ttation your whole life, Madonna is kind of a big deal. She's truly a one-of-a-kind singer/songwriter/dancer/entertainer who somehow reinvents herself and her sound for nearly every record (and there's 13 of 'em).

She got her start between 1982-83 with the single "Everybody," and it's been spotlights, awards, movies and platinum records ever since. Some of her biggest hits include "Papa Don't Preach," "Express Yourself," "Like a Virgin," "Vogue," "Frozen," "Justify My Love" and "Take a Bow," among many others. She's the best-selling female recording artist of all time, with more than 300 million records sold worldwide, and the top touring female artist of all time to boot. In other words, people love what she does and they want to see her do it live.

So all the more reason to be stoked she's coming back to San Diego -- we've been jonesing for her to return and when we got the news about her Oct. 29 show, it was music to our ears. Bottom line? Madonna, we're "crazy for you."

See you there.

A Maryland teenager shot in the head by a friend in January over a video game argument is relearning how to walk, talk and understand his mother.

Doctors had to remove half of Turan Caudle’s skull after the shooting. The 17-year-old can only respond to questions with one-word answers.

“He was in ICU,” his mother Sherita Caudle said. “The doctors said he wouldn't make it through that night. If he did make it, he wouldn't be able to walk and talk.”

Delano Dunmore, 16, shot Turan and another friend inside Dunmore's house in Clinton, Maryland, over an argument about a video game, investigators said. He allegedly turned the gun on himself, as well. He and the other teen also survived.

“I never could imagine that could happen with them just playing a video game,” Turan’s mother said.

All three of the teens were on the Frederick Douglass High School football team and the won the Division II state championships a few weeks before the shooting.

Delano was facing attempted murder charges as an adult, but Sherita Caudle said the charge has been downgraded to assault. He's awaiting trial.

Sherita Caudle drives her son from Upper Marlboro to a rehabilitation center in Baltimore every day. A GoFundMe page has been created to help with the medical expenses.

San Diego’s unemployment rate fell to 4.8 percent in April, the lowest since December 2007, according to California Employment Development Department figures released on April 22, below the California unemployment rate of 6.3 percent and the national rate of 5.1 percent.

Last month, there were 74,300 unemployed San Diegans out of a workforce of 1.55 million. About 5,000 fewer people were unemployed in April than in March, when the unemployment rate was 5.1 percent. The rate was 6.1 percent last April, which is not seasonally adjusted.

Financial services, hospitality and professional services made up the bulk of those additional San Diego jobs, adding 1,600 each. The construction industry lost 700 jobs in April.

Statewide, the unemployment rate fell from March’s 6.5 percent and last year’s 7.2 percent. Nonfarm payroll jobs increased by nearly 30,000. Since the economic recovery began in early 2010, the state added almost 1.9 million jobs, according to the EDD.
 

Sonya Baumstein is about to attempt something no other woman has ever done: She is going to try and cross the Pacific Ocean – non-stop, from Japan to San Francisco – in a row boat.

NBC Bay Area’s Mark Matthews spoke with Baumstein on Monday via Skype. She's on Japan’s east coast, about to embark on her voyage, which she hopes will end with her rowing under the Golden Gate Bridge.

"I’m afraid of losing my boat because I spent three years creating this thing,” Baumstein said when asked what she fears most about the challenge. Her boat is a 23-foot floating data collector that every 30 minutes will beam back ocean temperatures, salinity, current and weather information to scientists studying the affects of global warming.

Baumstein, from Port Townsend, Washington, is only 30, but she’s got some expeditions already logged. She rowed across the Atlantic. She kayaked from Seattle to Juneau.

“I’ve also paddle boarded the Bering Strait prior to doing this,” she said.

The highlight reel Baumstein put together for the Pacific crossing shows off some of those earlier trips. But this one is four-to-six months long, spent alone on a boat with with only seven feet of deck space, crossing the world’s biggest ocean.

“It all depends on how you want to use the moments that you have in your left,” Baumstein said, “and this is the moment in my life right now.”

Baumstein said she intends to spend her free time at sea collecting data on global warming. 

All of the information will be beamed to a satellite and tracked by scientists at Earth & Space Research (ESR), a Seattle-based, nonprofit institute specializing in oceanographic research.

“And that’s all that I’m doing," Baumstein said. "I’m a community member that is helping to get data back.” She said she hopes to “contribute to the body of knowledge” so “we can help solve these major problems that we have on earth right now.”

There have been three crossings of the Pacific in a rowboat, but no woman has ever done it.

To follow Baumstein’s progress, and see the data she’s collecting, go to expeditionpacific.com.

Mike Sutter was out four wheeling with a group of friends in a remote and rocky area near Warner Springs Sunday when he spotted it.

He saw a sedan far from paved roads.

“The driver of our lead vehicle came down and said you will not believe what's down there...and then he said bring water,” Sutter said.

Down the rocky dirt road, approximately 50 miles away from Valley Center, Sutter and his friends found a white Hyundai Sonata out of place.

“I’m very glad we got there when we did,” he said.

Soon after the discovery, he realized the people he had found were a couple that had been missing for two weeks, ever since their Mother’s Day trip to a Casino. Dianna Bedwell and Cecil Knutson were last seen leaving Valley View Casino on Mother's Day.

Knutson was found dead and Dianna was found dehydrated in serious condition. She was later taken to a hospital.

“Had we been there two days earlier maybe the old guy would be alive...had we been here two days later...maybe both of them would be dead,” Sutter said.

He said he found Bedwell in the passenger seat, talking, but dehydrated.

“She was a little confused at the time didn’t know if he was dead or not...was asking us to check him,” Sutter said.

After finally tracking down authorities in the remote area, medics took Bedwell to Palomar Hospital. 

Sutter said he is happy he found the couple and that Bedwell is alive, but sad Knutson is dead.

“It's sad all the way around...I’m hoping she's going to make a full recovery but...she's going to do it alone,” Sutter said.

He said Bedwell was singing praises to Knutson, telling them he fought to get them out of there while working to keep her comfortable.

He even put cups on their car to catch rain for water.

Officials said Bedwell is in serious condition.

Two men were arrested in National City after allegedly forcing their way into a couple’s home and stealing a television at gunpoint while threatening to put a victim in the trunk of their car, police confirmed.

The home invasion happened around 11:50 p.m. Monday at a home in the 600 block of Rachel Avenue. The National City Police Department said a victim heard someone knocking on his front door. When he opened the door, he was confronted by two armed men who then forced their way into the home.

Holding a gun to the victim’s head, the two men moved the victim throughout the home demanding money. They then allegedly threatened to tie him up and put him in the truck of their car. The men stole a large flat screen TV and eventually fled the home, police said.

Meanwhile, as they threatened the victim, the victim’s wife called 911 from a back bedroom.

When a police officer arrived on scene, he saw a suspicious car fleeing the area and called for other officers in the area to stop the driver.

Officers pulled the car over near East Plaza Boulevard and Interstate 805. Two men inside were detained and the stolen television was found in the back seat of the car.

Police said both men were positively identified in a curbside lineup. They were then booked into jail on multiple felonies including burglary, kidnapping, false imprisonment with violence and conspiracy to commit a crime.

The National City Police Department said both home invasion suspects are documented National City gang members with a criminal history.

The suspects were identified by officials as Emmanuel Montufar, 31, and Lamberto Urias, 30. They are both scheduled to appear in court Thursday.

The investigation is ongoing but at this time, police said it does not appear that the suspects knew the victim.
 

A couple that went missing after a Mother's Day trip may have tried to survive by drinking rainwater and eating pie while they were stranded in a remote desert area east of San Diego.

"It looks like they were surviving on rain water," said Chief Sossaman with the Los Coyotes Police. "There was cups around, they were drinking rainwater as it rained ... they'd been out there for all indications since around May 10."

On Sunday, multiple law enforcement agencies responded to a rescue call where one person was reported dead and another dehydrated. Later that evening, Sheriff's officials confirmed the dead body belonged to Cecil "Paul" Knutson, 79, and his girlfriend Dianna Bedwell, 67, who was airlifted to a nearby hospital. Bedwell remains in serious condition at Palomar Hospital. 

The Fullerton, California, residents were last seen leaving Valley View Casino in north San Diego on May 10 at around 2 p.m. in their white 2014 Hyundai Sonata. 

After leaving the casino, the couple headed to their son's house in La Quinta and tried to take a shortcut several miles from the main road, San Diego Sheriff Department Lt. Ken Nelson said at a news conference. The couple ended up stuck on boulders in rugged terrain, Nelson added.

Officials said they did not suspect foul play and they believe the couple went the wrong way and got lost. 

Cups placed around the car indicated the couple collected rain water to drink and survived a part of the time on oranges and pie, Nelson said.

Their Sonata was found by a man four wheeling in a remote and rocky area near Warner Springs along Highway 79, approximately 47 miles from the casino where they were last seen.

The couple had not been heard from in two weeks, despite the efforts of family members, a search-and-rescue crew and San Diego County Sheriff’s Department investigators. Dozens of volunteers and a sheriff's search-and-rescue crew scoured several areas between north San Diego and Riverside counties to no avail.

The man that found the couple said Bedwell was singing praises of her companion, telling him Knutson fought to get them out of there while working to keep her comfortable. He was the one that put cups for water around the car. 

Officials are investigating the death of a 54-year-old woman at a Santee motel they said occurred under "suspicious circumstances."

At around 12 p.m. Monday, a citizen flagged down an officer to report a person down at the Roadway Inn in the 10100 block of Mission Gorge Road in Santee.

When a deputy went inside a room on the backside of the motel, he discovered the body of a woman in her mid-50s.

A few hours later, San Diego County Sheriff's Department Lt. Jeffrey Duckworth said the investigation was still a death investigation and not a confirmed homicide. A sheriff’s Sergeant on scene also told NBC 7 officials would not confirm it was a homicide but said there were suspicious circumstances surrounding the body they found.

The San Diego County Sheriff's Department homicide detail, deputies and the sheriff's crime laboratory were all working on the investigation together.

NBC 7 spoke to a young couple who were staying at the Roadway Inn. They said they saw a very suspicious man at the motel Sunday night, possibly armed with a gun.

“There was a guy that just swung the door open really quickly and he had a cigarette hanging from his mouth and a really crazy look in his eyes – like he was on drugs,” Tierney Atkinson recalled.

Atkinson said she and her boyfriend were alarmed by the man and ran into their motel room. At first, they did not report what they saw. However, when they came by the motel again Monday afternoon and learned a woman had died in one of the rooms, they spoke with investigators, Atkinson said.

Investigators could not confirm if the man the couple saw is connected to the woman’s death.

Like other motel guests, Atkinson said she and her boyfriend were shaken up. She said she regrets not reporting the suspicious man earlier.

“I feel like we made a mistake, like we should’ve said something,” she lamented.

“It’s sad. It’s terrible to see this happen. I can say you wouldn’t expect it here,” added Micah Alexander.

The investigation into what happened at the motel is ongoing. Officials are asking anyone with information to contact authorities.

The woman’s name has not yet been released.