'Right There Behind You’: Virus Claims Couple Just Seconds Apart

ACROSS AMERICA — Good morning! It’s Wednesday, Sept. 29, and as the month comes to a close, we hope you’re imagining all the ways you plan to enjoy the 2021 fall season. Before you head out to indulge in some autumn decorating or decide to bake the perfect pumpkin pie, here are the stories we’re following today:

• After receiving tips from across the globe, experts believe Brian Laundrie may be on the Appalachian Trail.
• A “Guardians of the Galaxy” actor is offering a reward to find the person responsible for abusing a 3-month-old puppy.
• The man who killed five people at the Annapolis Capital Gazette in 2018 was sentenced Tuesday.
• A New Jersey teacher is accused of faking a doctor’s note to get out of wearing masks in school.

'Til Death Do Us Part

Cal and Linda Dunham of Grand Rapids, Michigan, did everything together. That continued right up until their deaths, when COVID-19 claimed the couple within one minute of each other.

Both Cal and Linda had been vaccinated and were among the rare breakthrough coronavirus cases that have ended in COVID-19 deaths. The two were taken off ventilators Sunday after they were wheeled into the same room. Cal died at 11:07 a.m.; Linda followed at 11:08.

"She always joked and said, 'Well, you're going to go before I am, I'll be right there behind you, I promise,’" daughter Sarah Dunham told FOX 17 in Grand Rapids. "And she really was, like she really was right there behind him." » Vaccinated Married Couple Die Of Coronavirus 1-Minute Apart, via Grand Rapids Patch

Bounty Hunter Joins Laundrie Search

The manhunt for Brian Laundrie, the fiance of 22-year-old Gabby Petito — who was found dead in a Wyoming national park over a week ago — has led to tips pouring in from across the globe, leading authorities to look into reports of sightings in Alabama, northern Florida, Canada, the Bahamas, Mexico and other locations.

Some experts, including Duane Chapman, known as Dog the Bounty Hunter, and John Walsh of "Unsolved Mysteries" fame, have both joined the search for Laundrie. Both have said multiple leads are pointing them to the Appalachian Trail. » Brian Laundrie's Parents Deny Helping Him, Attorney Says: Report, via Sarasota Patch

Actor Adopts Abused Puppy

While he may resemble an immovable force of nature in the wrestling ring, those who know WWE star and actor Dave Bautista will tell you he's a total pushover where animals are concerned. It's that soft spot that led the “Guardians Of The Galaxy” actor, who lives in Port Tampa, Florida, to offer a $5,000 reward to find the person responsible for abusing a 3-month-old puppy found with a metal chain embedded in her neck. It’s also what drove him to take the puppy home.

"I just came across her story, and it crushed me," Bautista said in an interview. "To me, there's nothing more innocent and pure than a puppy. And for someone who can abuse a puppy has got to be the lowest form of human being.” » Dave Bautista Adopts Puppy Found With Chain Embedded In Neck, via Tampa Patch

Capital Gazette Shooter Sentenced

A judge on Tuesday sentenced the man responsible for killing five people at the Annapolis Capital Gazette to five consecutive life sentences without the chance of parole. The gunman, 41-year Jarrod Ramos of Laurel, previously admitted to fatally shooting the newspaper employees on June 28, 2018. » Capital Gazette Shooter Gets 5 Life Sentences: Report, via Annapolis, Maryland, Patch

An Unexpected Win

An Illinois man unexpectedly won the Quad Cities Marathon this weekend when the two Kenyan runners who had far outpaced him were disqualified after being diverted off the course by a race volunteer bicyclist. » Illinois Man Wins Marathon After Leading Runners Take Wrong Route, via Chicago Patch

House Porn

Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher are still trying to sell their Beverly Hills mansion, but now they've settled on a more "realistic" price. For $12.25 million, this 7,300-square-foot stone house could be yours.

This Day In History

In 1988, the shuttle Discovery launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, two years after NASA's space shuttle program was suspended following the Challenger explosion.

Around ‘The Patch’

• Pfizer, BioNTech Submit Vaccine Trial Data For Kids Ages 5-11, via Across America Patch
• Sex Assault Case Against Lance Armstrong's Son Dropped, via Austin, Texas, Patch
• Teacher Accused Of Faking Doctor's Note To Avoid Masks In School, via Toms River, New Jersey, Patch
• Is ‘Making A Murderer 3’ Preoccupying Wisconsin's Supreme Court? via Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Patch
• Dozens Of Hospital Workers Suspended For Anti-Vaccine Stance, via Rockville Centre, New York, Patch
• Wisconsin Assembly Passes Critical Race Theory Ban, via Across Wisconsin Patch
• Jan. 6 Trials Slowed By Growing Evidence In U.S. Capitol Riot, via Across America Patch

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