EMILY HITE

The biggest fundraiser for Special Olympics in Southwest Virginia takes place on Saturday, and hundreds of people are ready to be freezin' for a reason for a great cause.

RADFORD, Va – A Radford man has been charged with murder nearly five months after the death of a 2-year-old child earlier this year. A grand jury indicted Andrew Byrd on a first-degree murder charge as well as charges for aggravated and malicious wounding and preventing someone from calling 911. The child’s mother Amanda Mitchell has also been indicted and faces six child abuse charges. Sergeant Emily Hite with the Radford City Police Department said this has not been an easy case for investigators, but the new charges help bring justice for the child’s family. Both Byrd and Mitchell have their next court appearances in Radford on October 5.

RADFORD, Va. As cities across the nation work to improve relationships between police departments and the people they are sworn to serve, the City of Radford has a familiar face working on it full time. Police Chief Jeff Dodson says the death of George Floyd sparked important conversations within the Radford City Police Department. Emily Hite spend 40 hours a week dedicated to improving and coming up with new ideas for community policing. Just concentrating on the community and being transparent, we need to build trust and to do that they need to know what were doing in house, Sgt. Police Chief Dodson hosts a virtual chat with the community each Wednesday, email policeinfo@radfordva.gov to reserve a spot.