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Mark Schnyder, NBC 5 News
As Saginaw Police continue to track leads in the killing of Alanna Gallagher, people in Saginaw tied purple ribbons around objects to keep her memory alive.
Saginaw Goes Purple for...
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Investigation of 6-Year-Old's Slaying Continues
Investigators were back out in the neighborhood of a 6-year-old Saginaw girl whose body was found in a street a mile away from her home. Businesses and residents plan to wear purple ribbons starting this weekend in remembrance of Alanna Gallagher.
Saginaw Child Found in Tarp Identified
The FBI, Texas Rangers and local authorities are trying to reconstruct the last hours of life for 6-year-old Alanna Gallagher. She was found dead and wrapped in a tarp on Monday. The medical examiner is still working to determine the cause of her death.
As Saginaw Police and the FBI continue to track leads and investigate new tips, people in Saginaw do their part to keep hope and a memory alive. Around trees, around light poles, even around dogs necks, purple ribbons reveal a community in mourning.
"We're all tight around here," said Mark Valdov, who walked his dogs Watson and Anna down the street by the memorial to Alanna Gallagher near where the six-year-old's body was found. Both dogs had purple ribbons around their necks.
"Everybody talks and once we found out this [the effort to get everyone to don purple] was going on and the folks at the child care were passing out the purple ribbons. We stopped by with I don't know how many other people last night to show our support for the family and the little girl."
Takisha James wore a purple shirt while running Saturday errands. She too is thinking about her city's loss and believes the purple is a way to keep people talking about the girl's unsolved murder.
"I do believe it's good to keep the word out there because actually it's made me aware," said James. "I'm seeing red trucks everywhere and I'm like 'okay, is this the truck they've been talking about' so you know it makes you more aware."
Some area businesses are getting behind the effort, too. Every cashier at the Walmart was wearing a purple shirt or a purple ribbon in memory of Alanna Gallagher.
The woman responsible for this effort, Rachel Monk, stopped to buy more purple ribbons and purple shirts for herself and her children. Monk says she gets a warm feeling seeing all the purple around town.
"It makes me happy to see that Saginaw is actually the community I thought we were," said Monk.
"We're not going to shut ourselves in our house and shy away from tragedy. We're actually going to come out. We're going to show our support, we're going to be there, we're going to help."
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Chris Van Horne, NBC 5 News
Airlines at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport report eight flights that were scheduled to depart DFW for SFO Friday afternoon or evening have been canceled. Asiana Airlines has cargo flights to/from DFW International Airport.
Asiana Airlines Crash Impacts DFW...
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The crash of Asiana Airlines Flight 214 at San Francisco International Airport, that left two dead and 181 injured Saturday, shut down operations at SFO causing a ripple effect at airports across the country.
Airlines at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport report eight flights that were scheduled to depart DFW for SFO Saturday afternoon or evening have been canceled, according to DFW Airport spokesman David Magaña.
Magaña said five flights scheduled to arrive Saturday evening from San Francisco have also been canceled.
Each week, five Asiana Airline cargo flights arrive from Incheon Airport, originating in Seoul, South Korea. The next flight is scheduled to arrive around 11:30 Saturday night. Asiana began service to DFW Airport in September 2012.
Asiana Airlines does not fly passenger traffic in/out of DFW airport. It is part of the United Airlines Star Alliance group.
More: Two Dead, 181 Injured in Asiana Airlines Crash at SFO
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Mosely Family Photo
Guide dog Sidney was found after going missing Wednesday.
A 5-year-old guide dog that went missing after earlier this week has been found and reunited with his owner.
A facebook profile dedicated to the missing dog posted this message:
Sidney has been found! Thank you to Lesa who posted about a found dog sign on our facebook page and left the number!!! Sidney is doing well and has been in a wonderful home since Thursday morning.
The black Labrador belonged to Caroline Mosely of Southeast Dallas. Mosely is legally blind. They have been together for four years. The animal ran away after being spooked by fireworks.
"We're trained to pay attention to him, and he's trained to pay attention to me," Mosely told NBCDFW on Friday. "He's trained to show me the steps. He's trained to stop at every entry doorway, so he lets me know I'm at a door."
A press release sent to NBCDFW from Guide Dogs for the Blind said Mosely and Sidney have been reunited.
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Saturday's deadly plane crash of an Asiana Airlines flight at San Francisco International Airport has had ripple effects on North Texas.
The flight packed with more than 300 people slammed into the runway while landing at San Francisco airport Saturday. At least two people died in the crash, while another 181 people were taken to hospitals, most with minor injuries, authorities said.
DFW International Airport reported at least eight departure flights being cancelled, and others delayed, by SFO's closure and then limited runway availability.
And at least five other flights set to arrive from San Francisco were also cancelled.
One of those flights unable to get out would have brought a vacationing North Texan back home. Steve Embury, who runs a blinds business in Collin County, was waiting for his Virgin American flight to board when he looked up to see the aftermath of Asiana flight 214's crash.
"All of a sudden I heard a little bit of commotion and I looked up and there's a big giant ball of dust, the plane went into the dirt," Embury told NBC 5 by phone on Saturday.
Embury is booked to return to DFW on Sunday and is staying at a hotel across from the airport where he can still see the remnants of the Asiana Boeing 777.
The crash at SFO forced Dallas-based Southwest Airlines to suspend its operations at the airport for the day. The airline said it hoped to get its final scheduled flights into the airport on Saturday night. Southwest has been busing passengers to other Bay Area airports and adding more flights to Oakland and San Jose .
Asiana doesn't fly passenger flights into DFW but does have a presence at the airport. Asiana Cargo has flown into DFW since September 2012.
The website flight mapper.net says six cargo flights from Incheon Airport in Seoul, South Korea arrive at DFW each week.
Embury, meantime, hopes to get home on Sunday but isn't overly worried about his flight or surprised to see an accident like what he witnesses on Saturday.
"I was thinking of that the other day, I'm surprised they don't have more accidents," he said, mentioning how close to the water you fly when landing.
Most airlines including Fort Worth based American Airlines and Dallas based Southwest Airlines have instituted special re-booking policies because of the crash. Those policies impact any flights on Saturday and Sunday.
The search for a missing woman at Possum Kingdom Lake canceled an annual fireworks display at the popular recreation area.
Mark Engebretson with Palo Pinto Emergency Management confirmed to NBC DFW that search crews and dive teams with the Brazos River Authority and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department are searching the Possum Kingdom Lake area for a missing 27-year-old white female. Her name or description has not been released.
Engebretson said she went missing around 9:20 p.m. Saturday right before the "Hell's Gate Fireworks" show was to begin.
The fireworks display was delayed and then later canceled.
Possum Kingdom Lake is in Palo Pinto County, about 70 miles west of Fort Worth.
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RAW VIDEO: Eyewitness Description of Plane Crash
Eyewitness Brian Piper describes what he saw when an Asiana Airlines plane crash landed at SFO.
Two people were killed and 182 were hospitalized after Asiana Airlines Flight 214 from Seoul, South Korea, crashed and burst into flames at San Francisco International Airport, forcing passengers to jump down the emergency inflatable slides to safety.
The Boeing 777 with 307 people on board crashed as it was landing on Runway 28 Left at SFO at 11:27 a.m. PDT.
Two people who were found outside the wreckage died in the crash, both Chinese female teenagers seated at the back of the plane, the President of Asiana Airline said in a press conference in Seoul. Autopsies will be performed today on both victims.
SFO officials said 182 people were transported to area hospitals, 49 of those with critical injuries. Initially, 60 people were considered unaccounted for, but San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee confirmed at a 7:45 p.m. press conference that every one on board the plane had been accounted for.
"This could have been much worse," Lee said. "We are very lucky that we have so many survivors, but there are many who are critically injured. Our thoughts and prayers go out to them."
Federal investigators said it was too early to determine a cause. A representative of the National Transportation Safety Board arrived on scene late Saturday and took control of the investigation.
The sources who spoke with NBC News said the pilot did not make a distress call before landing. The plane crashed in favorable weather — partly cloudy skies and light wind.
SFO officials said a total of 307 people were on board, 291 passengers and 16 crew members. Asiana Airlines reports the passengers included 77 Koreans, 141 "of Chinese descent," 61 U.S. citizens, three from India, one Japanese, one from Vietnam, and seven of unknown origin.
"It was a bit surreal," said Flight 214 passenger Benjamin Levy, "a lot of people screaming, not believing what was happening. I couldn't believe it either."
Helicopter video of the scene showed a large plane with severe burn damage to its midsection. The tail section was detached. Runway No. 28 was strewn with debris. The line of debris stretched to the bay.
An eyewitness on the ground described what she saw: "I was sitting on the 4th floor of at my room at the Marriot, overlooks the runway, saw the plane tumbling, nose was down, tail in the air, flipped over and landed, couldn't tell if it was upside down or right side up."
A firewoman was onboard the plane before all the passengers were evacuated, Levy said.
At least two passengers came out of the water -- although the plane was not in the water -- when firefighters arrived on the scene. It is possible they sought out the water to deal with flames or burns.
Nine Bay Area hospitals attended to victims of the crash.
San Francisco General Hospital received 52 patients from the crash, a hospital spokeswoman said. The hospital received four waves of patients, including an initial wave of 10 critical patients, hospital spokeswoman Rachel Kagan said. Of those initial 10, two were children.
Stanford's Lucile Packard Children's Hospital treated 45 patients. Sixteen of those were admitted. Three of those were in critical condition and 10 were in serious condition as of a 7:45 p.m. update.
Flights in and out of SFO were suspended for about four hours. Two of the airport's four runways were reopened by 3:30 p.m., allowing limited service, according to SFO. Airport spokesman Doug Yakel said the airport's other two runways will not reopen until NTSB investigators give approval.
Arriving flights were being diverted to Oakland, San Jose, Sacramento and Los Angeles. Extra staff and shuttle buses were on hand at Mineta San Jose International Airport to handle the 27 planes that were rerouted there from SFO.
The flight, which originated from Shanghai, China, left Seoul's Incheon International Airport 10 hours and 23 minutes before its crash landing, according to FlightAware, a website that tracks air traffic control. The website reports a total of 242 flights originating at SFO and 186 scheduled to land at SFO were canceled.
NBC Bay Area spoke with passenger Levy shortly after the crash: "We were approaching perfectly well, but we were too low, when the pilot realized it, he put some more gas to correct it, but it was too late, so we hit the runway pretty bad, and we started going up in the air again, and we landed pretty hard." NBC Bay Area's full interview with Levy is posted below.
Federal sources told NBC News that there was no indication of terrorism. President Barack Obama has been made aware of the situation, according to White House officials.
U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and Federal Aviation Administrator Michael P. Huerta released a joint statement in response to the crash: "The Department of Transportation and the FAA are working closely to assist the NTSB with its investigation. Our thanks go to today's first responders and our thoughts and prayers go out to the passengers and crew of Asiana Flight 214 and their families."
National Transportation Safety Board investigators arrived on the scene in San Francisco late Saturday night, according to NTSB's Twitter feed.
"Our thoughts are with everyone affected by today's incident at SFO," Boeing said on its Twitter account. "We stand ready to assist the NTSB."
"The 777 has a fantastic record," said Tom Haueter, who retired last year from the National Transportation Safety Board, where he was the head of aviation accident investigations.
In a statement, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said, "Our city is immeasurably grateful for the swift response of the flight crew who quickly evacuated passengers; for the air traffic controllers who effectively diverted traffic; for the brave first responders and the hospital staff who are ensuring the swift recovery of the injured. Their actions are a testament to the strength, courage, and selflessness that defines the Bay Area."
"We are grateful for the courage and swift response of the first responders whose actions surely prevented an even greater tragedy," said California Governor Jerry Brown in his own statement.
Last year, SFO saw 317,000 takeoffs and landings of commercial airplanes, all without a fatality. There had not been a fatal accident at SFO in the past 75 years, until Saturday, NBC Bay Area's Stephen Stock reported.
Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg was supposed to be on the flight, but chose United instead.
She posted the following on Facebook:
Taking a minute to be thankful and explain what happened. My family, colleagues Debbie Frost, Charlton Gholson and Kelly Hoffman and I were originally going to take the Asiana flight that just crash-landed. We switched to United so we could use miles for my family's tickets. Our flight was scheduled to come in at the same time, but we were early and landed about 20 minutes before the crash.
Our friend Dave David Eun was on the Asiana flight and he is fine.
Thank you to everyone who is reaching out - and sorry if we worried anyone.
Serious moment to give thanks.
Nothing seemed amiss aboard Asiana Airlines Flight 214 from Seoul, South Korea, as it approached San Francisco International Airport just before noon Saturday: the plane was on time, the sky was clear, and everyone, including the crew, was getting ready to land.
Benjamin Levy, a businessman seated in the Boeing 777 jetliner's 32nd row, watched through the window. A world traveler, he'd flown into the airport many times. He knew what to expect. So, as the plan approached a runway along the San Francisco Bay, he saw right away that it was too low. It didn't look like the plane was going to make the runway.
The pilot must have seen the same thing, because the plane suddenly lurched upward with a sudden jolt of power, Levy said.
"When he realized that, he put more gas to try to correct the plane again and it was too late," Levy recalled in a phone interview with NBC Bay Area. "So we hit the runway pretty bad and then we starting going back up in the air again. And then we landed again pretty hard."
Levy added: "It felt like the guy missed the runway quite completely. He tried to correct, which probably helped. We would have hit the rocks."
Now the plane was on the ground, but panic was just starting to set in.
"It was surreal," Levy said. "A lot of people screaming and not really believing what has happening to them. I wasn't believing it either."
Many of the 291 passengers were hurt, but Levy wasn't in too bad of shape. He looked out the window again. A piece of a wing was gone. There was debris all over the place. He got up, helped to open an emergency exit and started ushering people through the opening.
"People were pushing each other out," Levy said. "The hostess was trying to help as well. There was a lot of commotion going on."
Firefighters were climbing aboard. Smoke was starting to appear. Soon the plane would catch fire.
Someone told Levy to get out of there. So he did, making it into one of the first ambulances to San Francisco General Hospital. He was pretty lucky: some cuts and bruises and maybe a broken rib.
"I am (in pain), but not too bad compared to other people," Levy said.
Officials confirmed two people were found dead outside the wreckage, female Chinese teenagers who were seated at the back of the plane. 182 people were taken to one of nine Bay Area hospitals, including 49 with serious injuries including burns and fractures.
The NTSB arrived on the scene Saturday to lead the investigation into the crash.
Levy said he felt terrible for the people injured worse than he was. But "it could have been a lot, lot worse," he said.
Suzanne Lunsford
Joe Pool Lake at Cedar Hill State Park. This photos is right when the police showed up before rescue arrived.
A 7-year-old Mesquite boy drowned Saturday night while swimming in Joe Pool Lake.
Ivan Salinas was swimming with his mother when she saw him slip beneath the water surface. He was not wearing a life jacket.
The boy was underwater for at least five minutes before a bystander pulled him to shore.
CPR was performed. But Salinas was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Salinas is the second boy to drown at Joe Pool Lake this year.
On May 27, 8-year-old Aaron Starks drowned at a public swimming area of Joe Pool Lake at Cedar Hill State Park in Grand Prairie.
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