Operation Small Fry Pairs Deputies with Kids for Fishing

The Clay County Sheriff’s Office is pairing children with deputies and Sheriff’s Office professional staff for a day of fishing and fun on Saturday.  

Operation Small Fry will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. May 31 at the County Pond located at 16616 NE 116th St., Kearney, Mo.

Counselors and social workers from school districts across Clay County nominated students to participate who could benefit from positive one-on-one interaction with law enforcement. About 25 children will be provided with fishing poles and all the gear needed to catch fish. They will be paired with a deputy or Sheriff’s Office staff member as they attempt to reel one in. The biggest catches of the day will get trophies. Participants also will enjoy a grilled lunch.

Operation Small Fry started in 1996 as the brainchild of Sergeant John T. Wright at Smithville Lake. Sergeant Wright wanted to help provide male role models to children who did not have one in their lives. The event grew, eventually moving to the County-owned pond. Sergeant Wright passed away in 2007, and the Sheriff’s Office memorialized him with a shelter house at the pond. The event was on hiatus for about 10 years, and it returned last year.

KPGZ News - Sarah Boyd contributed to this story.

Deputies Honored for Heroic Rescue of Twin Toddlers

Six Clay County deputies received the Distinguished Service Medal—the Sheriff’s Office’s second-highest honor—and 16 others were awarded the Meritorious Service Award at a ceremony Friday, May 2, for their roles in rescuing twin toddlers from a hostage situation last fall.

The incident unfolded on the evening of October 28, 2024, when Pleasant Valley Police responded to a 6:18 pm call reporting a domestic disturbance in the 7100 block of Fulton Road. Officers arriving on scene spoke with a woman who said her partner had assaulted her and remained inside the home with a firearm. She had managed to get some of her children out of the house safely.

When the man refused to come out, Pleasant Valley Police called for assistance from the Clay County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies arriving on scene learned that the couple’s 1-year-old twin toddlers were still inside the house, and the man was refusing to release them.

The Sheriff’s Special Tactics and Response (STAR) Team and the Negotiations Team were activated, while nearby townhomes were evacuated as a precaution. Negotiators worked through the night to de-escalate the situation, gathering intelligence from family members, witnesses, and law enforcement databases to build a detailed profile of the suspect and the home’s layout, including the potential locations of firearms.

Shortly after midnight, following hours of failed negotiations, deputies entered the home. They encountered the suspect armed with a handgun, which they were able to wrestle away before taking him into custody. The twin toddlers were rescued unharmed and reunited with their mother. Two deputies sustained injuries entering the home through a broken window.

The suspect has been charged with felony domestic assault and remains in custody awaiting trial.

Clay County Sheriff Will Akin commended the deputies’ bravery and professionalism. “Their courage and teamwork under extreme pressure brought two innocent children to safety. These awards are a small token of the immense gratitude we feel for their dedication,” he said during the ceremony.

KPGZ News – Brian Watts contributed to this story.

Clay County K9 Golf Tournament Set for June 27

The Clay County Sheriff's Office will host its annual K9 Golf Tournament on Friday, June 27, 2025, at Paradise Pointe Golf Complex in Smithville. The tournament will support the health, safety, and continued operations of the department’s K9 Unit.

The event will begin at 8 am and wrap up by 2 pm, featuring a four-person scramble format. Registration is $400 per team or $100 per individual player. Lunch will be provided, and all players will receive a free raffle ticket. The tournament will also include contests, prizes, and more.

Proceeds from the event will go toward sustaining the department's current K9 Unit, as well as purchasing additional canines. The Clay County Sheriff’s Office K9 teams play a vital role in the community by locating missing persons, detecting dangerous drugs, finding evidence, and assisting other law enforcement agencies across the region.

Sponsorship opportunities are available at levels ranging from $100 to $500. Interested participants and sponsors can download and complete the appropriate forms and mail them, along with payment, to:

Clay County Sheriff's Office K-9 Unit

12 S. Water St.

Liberty, MO 64068

Payments should be made payable to: Clay County Sheriff K-9 Fund.

For more information and to access registration or sponsorship forms, visit the Clay County Sheriff's Office website. https://www.sheriffclayco.org/news-events/events/2025-k9-golf-tournament/

KPGZ News – Brian Watts contributed to this story.

Smithville Woman Arrested for Possession of Child Pornography

A four-month-investigation culminated with the arrest of a Smithville woman yesterday for possession of child sexual abuse material.

Sheriff’s Office deputies and detectives served a search warrant yesterday at the residence of 44-year-old Melissa Bottom. She has been charged with two class B felony counts of possession of child pornography. The Court set her bond at $25,000. The investigation is ongoing, and more charges may be warranted as analysis of evidence seized from the home progresses.

Sheriff’s Office investigators received an Internet Crimes Against Children tip in this case in December 2024. They have worked through several legal processes over the last several months to gather evidence in the case, culminating yesterday in Bottom’s arrest and the search warrant of her house in the 14100 block of Lora Street, Smithville.

The Clay County Sheriff’s Office is part of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program. It is a network of 61 coordinated task forces, representing more than 5,400 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, dedicated to investigating, prosecuting and developing effective responses to internet crimes against children.

This case was a result of a tip to the Cyber Tipline, the nation’s centralized reporting system for the online exploitation of children. It is operated by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The Sheriff’s Office encourages anyone with information about suspected online enticement of children for sexual acts, child sexual molestation, child sexual abuse material, child sex tourism, child sex trafficking or unsolicited obscene materials sent to a child to report that to the Cyber Tipline online or by calling 1-800-THE-LOST. Those tips are routed to local law enforcement like the Clay County Sheriff’s Office for investigation.

KPGZ News – Sarah Boyd contributed to this story.

Sheriff’s Office Releases 2024 Annual Report

The Clay County Sheriff’s Office has released its 2024 annual report, which shows significant increases in impaired-driving crashes, inmate population and civil orders served.

The Traffic Safety Unit investigated 22 crashes in which a driver was impaired, a 69% increase from 2023. Overall traffic crashes investigated were 299, an 8% jump.

The Detention Center’s average daily population increased by 16% from last year, from 250 to 289. One of the reasons for that change was the completion of technology upgrade projects that shut down parts of the jail in 2023. Detention Center staff also saved numerous lives, intervening in 122 inmate suicide attempts in 2024.

Civil court orders served jumped by almost 10% to 9,973, with the biggest increases in ex parte (no contact) orders.

These are some of the many statistics and accomplishments available in the report. From budget allocation to reported crimes in the County to staffing statistics, the report provides a transparent look into all aspects of the Sheriff’s Office, including those that aren’t often in the public eye like the Transportation and Professional Standards units.

You can read the full Sheriff's Office report HERE.

KPGZ News – Sarah Boyd contributed to this story.