people are getting together. they are hoping the conversation during the season might provide them with a key clue to close this case. they have the sketch. they have the website. they have the billboards. they have dna evidence. a full court press by law enforcement to find the man they call the potomac river rapist. >> these acts occurred throughout the region, horrible and deskikable acts. so many victims and families. it's time to bring the matter to closure. >> reporter: he's responsible for eight rapes between 1991 and 1997. he's linked to the 1998 rape and murder of a 29-year-old woman dragged into the woods off canal road, sexually assaulted and killed there. >> with your help, we can identify, apprehend and bring to

justice the potomac river rapist. >> reporter: what do we know about the guy? he's strong. in some cases he would literally scale up the side of the building to get to his victims. if someone resisted, he responded with violence. one woman fought back and he beat her in the head with a boom box and fractured her skull. here in the woods off canal road he picked up a boulder and dropped it on her head. this man is vicious. he is heartless. they say he has a number of id owe sin kra sis. >> the victim heard him leave the house. as soon as he went outside, he let out a war scream or a war type of thing. >> reporter: now this is the same sort of blitz that led to the arrest of the east coast rapist. the fbi believes they can do it

again, if they just get the right call. >> criminals talk to other criminals. they talk to people. family members and friends see signs. somebody out there knows something. >> reporter: if you know that man or know anything about the the case, investigators want to hear from you. wendy? >> pat collins, thank you. we have breaking news. authorities are confirming they have found the body of a wssc worker who went missing in montgomery county. charles chuck duckett was last seen december 2nd. he went missing after a managed deer hunt assignment at that lake. we are going to bring you more information on this as we get it. the clock is ticking to get yet another possible government shutdown. here is a live look at capitol hill where lawmakers have yet to reach an agreement to keep the government operating after midnight tomorrow.

the biggest roadblock is how to pay for an extension, the payroll tax cut. house and senate leaders are confident they can work through all the outstanding issues and reach a bipartisan deal by tomorrow's deadline. today, president obama pressured congress to act quickly saying there's no reason for the government to shut down over this. nearly nine years after the first tanks arrived, the last american troops are on their way out of iraq. in a brief ceremony at a base near baghdad. u.s. troops took down the flag of their command and handed over the base to the iraqi people. during the nearly decade long involvement, nearly 4,500 u.s. troops died. 32,000 were injured. leon panetta spoke to the troops thanking them for their service. >> as we confront the strategic challenges of the future, we will never forget the lessons of war.

we owe it to all of the lives that have been sacrificed in this war, not to fail. >> more than 4,000 troops will be taking off for the u.s. in the coming days. many are still questioning whether iraq will be able to survive as a sovereign nation now that the u.s. is no longer in control. republicans will get one last chance to get their message out to voters tonight before the iowa caucuses. the candidates will square off for the 13th time. all eyes will be on newt gingrich. there will be a lot of attention made to mitt romney who made a gaffe when he bet rick perry 10,000 bucks over his book. the iowa caucuses take place january 3rd. a grand jury is charging tiffany alston with theft and misconduct. she's accused of adding a law

firm employee to the payroll. that worker was paid $800 as a clerk while working for the firm, not working for the state. alston is facing charges she used her campaign funding to pay for her wedding. more trouble for marian berry. he has taxes with held from his paychecks but he failed to file his 2010 income tax returns. the irs is placing a lien against barry. he has a long history of not filing taxes. he owes tens of thousands of dollars. according to an agreement with the irs, $1300 are with held from his salary every month. millions of americans have problems filing taxes. he blamed the latest problem on irs beaurocracy. also in the district, d.c. councilmembers are come iing un fire for using their controversial funds to pay

thousands of dollars for their holiday party tonight in a downtown hotel. some urged the council to get rid of those accounts because they are too often misused. tom sherwood is here with the story. >> who doesn't love a holiday party? the council has one every year. this year, the big issue in government is ethics. this party for some doesn't look so good. the doors in the john wilson building are showing the festivity of the season. various government agencies like the cfo office are hosting modest parties paid for with donations. this is the upscale court hotel near capitol hill. it's the festive scene for thursday night's controversial d.c. council party. about $7,000 to $8,000 because of how it's being paid for. some keown till members are using money from the constituent

service funds, the the political $80,000 account that is some already complain are thinly disguised slush funds. >> we found an average of 12 cents of every dollar was spent on real needs. >> reporter: what about council parties for themselves and staff members? >> it's a bad idea if you are not going to involve constituents. brown says it's for the staff more than the councilmembers. >> we are all struggling. every year it's a tradition to have a holiday party we provide for our staff that works hard every day working with the residents of the district of columbia. this year, we scaled it back like everyone else has. >> reporter: several criticized the hotel party. he declined to pay his $338

share and he's not going. want to tell me why? >> i believe with the scrutiny of the service funds that -- and the expense of this, the nature of it, i would rather not use the constituent service fund for this. >> chairman brown is writing a personal check for his share of the party. councilmembers can write personal checks if they want to. the funds are coming up for a vote next week. some want to wipe them out and reduce them to $40,000 a year instead of 80. this is a big deal. >> why not pay it out of your pocket and avoid this. >> why not hold it in the beautiful wilson building. it's a beautiful place. hold it there like the cfo did. >> that way they don't have to go that far. >> true. staffers who work late can have some nog and go back to work.

like i would do. i would work late. >> okay. >> i take it you are not invited to this party? >> have fun. thanks. it is time for another kind of party youds. doug has decorations that make it feel like christmas eve. he's out there in fairfax tonight. >> hey, doug. >> that's right, the city of fairfax. very, very warm out here right now. temperatures into the 60s. no jacket required. of course it still looks like christmas. you can see all the holiday lights back here. we are at a house tuesday with 83 inflatables. here, we have some that look like they are 30 feet high. we'll talk to the homeowners in a second about how tall they are. out there now, the temperatures are getting everybody talking. now, into the 60s. 62 at the airport under cloudy skies. shower activity. most of it on the light side. winds out of the south-southwest

at 11 miles per hour. they have been gusting upwards of 20 to 30 miles per hour. it could pose a problem for some of the inflatables. to the south, 66 in fredericksburg. i was 68 earlier. 63 in manassas. toward the south, waldorf 64 degrees. a very warm afternoon. a frontal boundary is bringing us some shower activity now. not a lot of it. showers in calvert county. they continue to move across the bay. a few more showers overnight as the front moves through. i'm not expecting too much. what i am expecting is the change in temperature, once again. 54 degrees around 9:00. by tomorrow morning, waking up at 5:00. 48 by 7:00 a.m. cooler tomorrow, then colder. the the next couple days, we went up and now back down. coming up, we're going to

introduce you to the mccarthy family. hello, guys. we'll be back and talk to them and ask them what prompted them to get into the holiday spirit like they do. that's holiday spirit. >> all right, doug. looks like the north pole there. thanks a lot. talk to you later. a local family is breathing a sigh of relief now that a 10-year-old boy was found safe. near the 5500 block of b street in southeast. d.c. police announce he's been found and he's fine. no word on where he was. still ahead on news 4 at 5:00, a local business accused of laundering money for a terrorist group. a change at george mason university. liz crenshaw looks at the hot new gadgets in the stores this holiday season. >> i'm erika gonzalez. it's puppipalooza at the university of maryland. students trying to destress with

faces li

♪ [ male announcer ] it's easy to see what subaru owners care about. ♪ that's why we created the share the love event. get a great deal on a new subaru and 250 dollars goes to your choice of five charities. ♪ with your help, we can reach 20 million dollars by the end of this, our fourth year. [ female announcer ] get 0 percent apr financing on select models for thirty-six months and we'll donate two-hundred and fifty dollars to your choice of five charities. now through january 3rd. earlier this month, george mason university law school brought puppies to campus to help students destress. it's catching on. the university of maryland is the next school to follow suit.

erika gonzalez is here with the story. >> hey, pat. doctors recommend exercise, tea or deep breaths to help relieve stress. what about holding a puppy? >> yeah. >> i don't know about you, but i'm getting an a on my finals. >> reporter: their faces unlike any other. warm coats enticing to almost anyone, but particularly stressed out students. it's puppipalooza. this is a two-hour event to help students destress. >> any school is stressful. no matter what your major is, it's crunch time. i think everyone is worried. >> it's probably the best stress reliever in the world. you can't tell me, it doesn't bring a smile to your face.

>> how dus puppy pandemonium sweep through a campus of 27,000 undergrads. you found this through facebook? >> yes. my friends said we need to go to this. >> they used twitter and facebook to get the word outs. there's a line wrapped around the student union. how do you explain that? >> everyone loves puppies. >> even i got my fair share of puppy love. jessica has her first exam tonight. instead of cramming, she's here petting pups. do you feel destressed? >> a little bit, yes. seeing the little cute face is always uplifting. >> finals at umd and next wednesday but what happens to the pups after puppipalooza. i'll have more on that coming up at 6:00.

>> we hope they end up finding a home somewhere. >> i can assure you, i think after seeing this, i don't think there was anybody that left there, including me that said can i have more details on how to bring one of those little guys home with me. >> it's a good way to start the new year. >> yeah. >> thanks. it is time to go back out to fairfax and the fabulous holiday light show that doug is standing in front of. >> the only thing missing, doug, is snow. looks like santa's workshop there. >> there's plenty of snow in that inflatable over there. it's a huge snow globe. we'll show it to you later on. i have the family with me. this is the mccarnie family. we have four kids and mom and someone else. introduce me to your kids. >> this is lieu see ya, she's one. this is connor. this is patty and taron.

>> what was it about the holidays for you. we were talking, when you were little, this didn't happen around your house. you have gone all out here. >> yeah, it was something i always wanted to do and liked to do. my mom, when i was little said that's enough. don't put anymore out. now, i have my own house and i can do what i want. >> how long did this take you to do? >> about four days. it's a lot of hard work. the kids are out there. it's worth it. i have the opportunity to wear my red sweater on news 4. that's good. >> it's a good time to take it out. this was submitted by their neighbor. what is your name? >> ann. >> why did you submit it? >> it's so festive. every night you see it through the window. >> we have a beautiful ambience. we are currently sitting in the 60s. 62 degrees at the airport.

a beautiful afternoon. we have seen a few showers. really, that's not a big problem. look at the radar where you can see the shower activity moving down to the south and east. we'll zoom into fairfax. that is all clear. let's zoom down to sharon court. that is where we are right now. we are going to continue to see shower activity throughout the evening in some parts. most of us remain dry. we have seen all the rain we are going to see from the system. you can see what i'm talking about. the storm system making its way across the area. we continue to see it move out through portions of the east. 62 degrees at the airport. the current temperatures around the rest of the region still into the 60s for the most part especially down to the south. numbers around fredericksburg 66 to the north. temperatures around hagerstown, 54 degrees. the wider picture showing what's going to be happening over the next couple days. we have a frontal boundary moving across the region. very warm air.

fredericksburg almost 70 today. tomorrow, things cool down by ten to 15 degrees with high temperatures in the upper 40s. around 50 degrees. the winds pick up early tomorrow morning. they die down tomorrow night. tomorrow night, fairly cool. another boundary moves through that could give shower activity. the best chance of that is well to the south. this weekend, let's get to the four-day forecast to show you exactly what's going to happen. high temperature tomorrow, 49 degrees. saturday and sunday, much colder. it looks like we could see a little bit in the way of snow flakes out there sunday morning. it's not going to be a big event. i wouldn't be surprised to see snow on the rooftops. as the system moves by, that system will make things colder as we make our way through sunday. high temperatures sunday, only in the low 40s. it's going to be a far cry from where we are today. 62 with lights behind me. we'll be back in a couple minutes here in the city of

fairfax. wave good-bye. >> say bye-bye. >> see you later, thanks doug. >> check out nbc 4 news iphone app. i's a new app. it's easy to navigate. the stories play out on your phone. you can find the latest weather forecast. breaking news alerts. check us out at the itunes store. it is free. we have a link on www.nbcwashington.com for you. still ahead, urban adventurers plunge from the sky. the dangerous thrill that sent one person to the hospital and ended with several arrests. >> we are going to take you to a school in washington where students are physically fit and academically disciplined. michael jackson's daughter is now a poised 13-year-old. what she thinks of her

childhood obesity and couch potatoes common among our youth. there's a school where students are lean, fit and focused. it's the academy of ballet. it's a fully accredited school. that's the point. the dancers, dozens of them

float in unison across the stage. it's hypnotic, like smoke. it's beautiful. but not to the instructor. much is wrong. this toe is off. their hands, the tilt of someone's head. she barks corrections often in russian. welcome to the academy of ballet. the goal, perfection. they have been offering an academic ballet for students ages 10 to 17. it is tough. >> the ballet classes are almost five hours a day, like nowhere else. there's academics on top of that and homework. that's six days a week chlgt sundays are the only free day. >> they teach a method from russia. >> all of uses this

wonderful, expressive dynamic musical way of dancing. >> it produces highly disciplined people. >> i realize that nothing else i want to do i want to do ballet. i want to become a prima. >> she's 13 years old and studying for four years. >> every time i hear music or any kind of tune, i want to move my body and dance to it. >> born in guatemala growing up in l.a., ballet provided a road out of that life. he got a full scholarship. >> i reach for the arts in my family. >> for the outsider, the physical demands and discipline is what makes it challenging. for the dancers, it's something else that keeps them going. >> you have a happiness in your heart. you know this is what you want to do. >> there's not necessarily a monetary pay off down the road. they don't normally get rich.

that's not the point. >> i love it to the point where i can be a homeless guy teaching a class in the streets and i will be the happiest person. >> this is a live-in school for most of these students. it costs $43,000 a year for room and board and all the classes. they give out a lot of scholarships. the winter performances start tonight, running through saturday. it's the academy of ballet in northeast d.c. see what they are doing. it's amazing. >> they live in and they live it. >> they want it. you have to want it, you know, if you are going to go through this regimen. >> five hours a day. >> six days a week. >> yeah. >> still ahead, local business accused of laundering money for a terrorist group. a prank that's no laughing matter. [ female announcer ] more people are using wireless devices...

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arlington county police say they have never seen something like this before. a base jumper leaps from a tower last night. her parachute gets stuck in a tree on the way down. julie carey is live in arlington with the details on this. she's lucky to be alive. >> reporter: she is lucky to be alive.

wait until you see the video tape about the hazards she was close to. a man at her bidside says she has no comment on the incident. neighbors on this block in north arlington have plenty to say about what happened on the tower last night. by night, it looked like this, an eerie patch of blue. by day, a stranger sight yet. a parachute in the branches of a tree. this is where it came from. the 500 foot peta power. around 10:30 last night, a group of five scaled the tower to do a base jump. a suspicious neighbor called police. >> people were parachuting into a local park. we responded to see what was going on. >> reporter: the first jumper, a 48-year-old woman from connecticut landed not on the ground, but in the tree. by the time police arrived, the group fled. officers discovered them in a

shopping center parking lot. the woman suffering from serious injuries. she was taken to the hospital. all five face charges. >> every single one of them charged with trespassing because they climbed the tower without permission. >> reporter: most residents missed the drama. >> i think it's foolish. i mean, that has to be a stupid stunt no matter what age you are. that's a stupid stunt. with all the trees around here, it's a stupid stunt, period. >> reporter: others were amazed she survived. if she had ant hit the tree, she could have snagged a power line. >> she could have gotten electric cuted. you don't see that kind of stuff around here. >> reporter: of the five people up on the tower, two are from connecticut. three were local. coming up at 6:00, i'll tell you more about this extreme sport of

base jumping. back to you. >> they are thrill seekers to do that. thank you, julie carey. fairfax county police say they have made a mistake. a father has not been charged with murdering his baby girl. 21-year-old francis reid has been charged with one count of child abuse, not murder as police initially reported. saturday, police rushed his 2-month-old daughter to the hospital where she later died. authorities haven't said what killed her. today, george mason university announced their new leader, angel cabrera. he's the president of thunderbird school in arizona. he's replacing allen who retired in june after a six-year run. mason increased and became more selective. they have one of the highest graduation rates for hispanic and african-american students in the country. it's an accomplishment cabrera

hopes to continue. >> i hope i can continue in that manner. i am an immigrant. i came from outside the united states. i speak spanish. i have ties with the hispanic community. hopefully, that will be a value. >> he starts july 1. to see the entire interview, go to www.nbcwashington.com. this afternoon, a fairfax station homeowner is getting help from police to catch the vandals who destroyed his popular and expensive holiday decorations. two teens were caught smashing the display. he puts up an elaborate display. the ruined decorations were worth $7,000. still ahead, the daughter of a pop icon. paris jackson visits ellen and talks about her dream to follow michael jackson into showbiz. hi, i'm sergeant first class

stationed in germany. stationed in germany. . welcome to carmax.christmas hi. i was on carmax dot com and i think i found the one. great car. and i think, it's right over there... (sighes)... finding your perfect car is easy at carmax because we carry only the highest quality used vehicles. and at carmax dot com, you can choose from nearly 30 thousand cars with most available for transfer to the store nearest you. so come find the one for you today... at carmax. busy day! yes it is! is there a prize in there? oh, there's a prize, all right. is it a robot? no. is it a jet plane? nope. is it a dinosaur?] [ male announcer ] inside every box of heart healthy cheerios are those great tasting little o's made from carefully selected oats that c help lower cholesterol. stickers? uh-uh. a superhero? ♪

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the fandemonium sweep stakes is back. they are back. it's 4g friday. fans of the nbc washington facebook page can win cash.

this friday, one person will win 4,000 bucks. all you have to do is sign up on nbc washington's facebook page. enter week ly for a chance to wn in the friday random drawing. the golden globe nominations are out. "the artist" is leading the pack with six nominations. "the help" and "the descendents" is tied. george clooney is one to watch. he has three nominations. the awards will be handed out on january 15th. you can see it here on nbc 4. paris jackson, daughter of the late king of pop sat down for her first ever solo interview. she gave it to ellen degenerous. she was poised talking about how her father inspired her. she told ellen what she thought about her dad making her and her brother's wear masks as kids. >> yeah, like, this is stupid, why am i wearing a mask.

>> right. >> i kind of realized the older i got he tried to protect us. >> her father was fully supportive of her acting aspirations. she said he would often set up improv sessions with her. >> she's beautiful. >> very pretty. some people want to know, is there a connection in this crime. a set of crimes. several missing women have something in common. in sports, a former police officer who is now coaching division 1 college basketball in the area. liz is here with the hottest gadgets. stick around to see what she's going to show you.

the federal government is taking several local businesses to court that they say has been helping a terrorist organization. they are going after millions of dollars in assets. some business leaders may not be aware of the terrorist connection. >> reporter: a scheme by which cocaine and used cars were sold. a portion of the money funneled to hezbollah as a terrorist organization. investigators with the d.e.a. say the cocaine came from columbia, south america. some of the used cars came from columbia, maryland. a columbia based company listed as arz export llc. there's 30 from michigan to miami named in the federal filing. >> the idea was to get the money back into the banking system in

lebanon. >> we watched the money and watched it flow from houses in lebanon to the community bank into these businesses in the united states. we've identified 30 businesses operating in the united states with the purpose of buying cars and p selling the cars in west africa for a profit. >> reporter: the way it works, money is wired from lebanon to buy the cars in columbia, burtonsville and elsewhere. shipments of cocaine purchased in south america. proceeds from the cars get sent back to lebanon. prosecutors say the lebanese bank is among the chief. once the money is back in the middle east, what they characterize as a substantial portion of the money finds its way to hezbollah. >> we in the d.e.a. recognized that if drugs are generating

$400 billion a year around the world and terrorism is declining, terrorists fueled by drug trafficking is on the rise. >> reporter: these transactions were made speaks to the war on terrorist fwrgroups. federal authorities say while the law gives them the right to seize assets of businesses who willingly or unwillingly did business with terrorist organizations. they knew the proceeds were ending up in hezbollah. in columbia, derrick ward, news 4. facebook unveiled a new time line profile today. the new feature creates a montage of what you have shared since you first joined facebook. users have seven days from when they activate the new design to what they want displayed in their profile. shopping for the latest

high-tech gadgets can be confusing. >> we have help. liz is here with the latest high-tech toys. >> electronics top many wish lists this year. an explanation on what they are and what they do. jim berry, hello, welcome back. >> nice to see you. >> jim is here to explain what is going on. good year for electronics? >> we are buying more electronics than before. televisions, a big gift for 50 years or so. this has never been a better time to buy a television. prices are spectacular. i have been writing about this for a long time. number three on the wish list this year. one is tablet computers. ipads very successful. you have choices now in screen sizes and price range. this is the new kindle fire. this is a seven inch screen you are seeing. this really gets you into amazon to buy stuff.

>> right. 199. >> 199 bucks. the prices are down there. this is the blackberry playbook. blackberry had a tough time with it. this is the only one that uses a different operating system. if you are a blackberry guy or gal, 70 million of those, this may be the one. they have been having a tough time with that, thus far. the viz owe. this is an eight inch screen. vizio, this also uses the android operating system. that's 299. >> can we still get the old kindle? >> the old kindle. here is the 3g. the great thing about the kindles, very easy on the eyes. looks like print on the page. they now start at 79 bucks. the price is way down. batteries last forever. >> i'm not a tablet person. i like a keyboard.

netbooks? >> yeah, no dvd drive. notebook or laptop computers have a dvd drive. this is cool, thin and light. that's the other thing you will see about netbooks, the nice colors. they start at 250 bucks. this one is $850. >> we have to talk toys, nintendo, they are in the game, right? >> this is the nintendo. the 3ds is 3-d without glasses and also a 3-d camera built in and it's wireless. you can play with someone else. the the other great thing, 169 bucks. >> nice. >> six months ago, 250 bucks. the prices keep coming down. >> they keep coming down. >> prices are getting lower. >> everyone has one of these players. >> this is ipod. i have a speaker for it. this is the speaker.

>> when you see it, it's cool. a small package. when you lay it down on something, that becomes the base. so you have an absolutely spectacular base. >> that's fun. >> the great thing about that, $60. >> a way to turn your ipad into something big. >> share the music. terrific base out of it. a low price. >> thank you so much for joining us. everybody out there needs a little something, ladies. we got it all for you. >> making our list and checking it twice. thanks. let's get a check on the weather with doug at the happy house in fairfax. >> the happy house in fairfax. i love how you say that, wendy. it's definitely a happy house. the christmas spirit here. wave hello, everybody. we are going to talk about the weather. the weather was a big concern for us. the reason why, stephanie

worried about the winds. let me show you why. look at some of the inflatables. they are not just five to ten to 15 feet. we have one guy, how big is he? >> 20. >> 20 feet tall there. i was going to exaggerate and say 50 feet. you corrected me. be realistic here. 20 feet high. we'll go 21. let's show you how things are going as far as temperatures go. temperatures around 62 degrees out there at the airport. trust me, they are not going to stay that warm. we'll talk about the temperatures and the four-day forecast. and what happens in seven days. >> dan is here. talk about some unique career opportunities. >> yeah, we are talking george washington las sis. they were in the news because of a transgender player. it could have been awkward for people but it was never allowed to be that way. the school and the coach handled

it perfectly. the coach is mike boseman. he took one of the most unique routes to coaching. zachary has more. >> i will forever rage against being caged by the limitations of the imaginations of others. >> reporter: it was once said the journey is its own reward. spend a day with mike. >> hands up. hands up. >> reporter: the head coach of women's basketball at george washington university. he's living proof. >> once i got bitten by that bug or basketball, i just wanted to be the best i could be. >> his introduction to hoops began early. >> my father told me college is mandatory, i can't pay for it. >> reporter: he got a basketball scholarship. in school, he found time to major in sociology and meet his future wife. >> we met at the university. he was -- i'm laughing because

he was a ballplayer. >> reporter: he may have been a star on the court, it was his uncle on the police force that showed him a new passion. >> i graduated college in '88 and went right to the police squad. >> reporter: at 21, he hung up the sneakers after leading his team to the championship. before long, he was working as a narcotics officer and hostage negotiator in prince george's county. >> to pose as a drug dealer, it was a rush. foolish, but it was a rush. >> reporter: he made a name for himself as a narcotics officer. it was a motorcycle accident that brought him back to basketball. >> i had to have surgery. the motorcycle accident pretty much changed my life. i got retireed from the police

department. i was doing a bail bonds insurance agency. >> reporter: during those low moments he scripted a new game plan. >> the boys and girls club. >> reporter: it didn't take long for him to find his groove on the sidelines. >> my high school came and asked me would i be interested in coaching there. >> reporter: with coaches coming through to recruit his girls he built ties in college ranks. >> i always talked about going to college like my mother and father talked about to me and my brother. it was an extension of what my parents were teaching me. >> reporter: it's how a former cop became a coach of a division one program. >> i'm so proud of him. he has put in all kind of work. >> reporter: today, the father of five never loses sight of his days on the beat. >> if i can keep my head there, i'm going to keep my head here. there's not a time where there's a situation that's going to have

me panicking. i think you are what your experiences are. i have had a vast amount of experiences and situations that cause a normal person or somebody who didn't have the same faith or same background as i did. i'm just not going to do it. >> stay there. boom. >> reporter: news 4, sports. mike boseman, police officer, boys and girls coach and gw ladies at 5-4 this season and still climbing. neat, huh? >> nice story. thanks. thank[ male announcer ] this...is the network --

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the death of a missing tennessee mother is officially being ruled a homicide. karen swift's disappearance is the most recent of missing women in four neighboring states. some want to know if there's a connection. natalie marral ez has details. >> reporter: from a desperate search. >> devastating. we feel for her children. wish we had answers. >> reporter: to a murder investigation. the body of karen swift, a mother of four who vanished was found saturday in a patch of undergrowth near a cemetery two

miles from her home. >> we have to move forward with the case as a homicide investigation. we have to go after the person responsible. >> reporter: swift was last seen outside her home at 1:30 a.m. october 30th after spending the evening with friends at a halloween party. >> she got in her car and went home. went to pick up her daughter, ashley from an overnight sleepover. picked her up and came home. >> reporter: investigators say the last known person to see swift was her husband, david, who spoke to her before he went to bed. less than a mile away from their home, her abandoned suv was discovered on the side of the road, her tire slashed. 20 days before he went missing, she filed for divorce from her husband. >> i think she's kept it private and quiet and probably out of respect for her family, kids and husband. >> they were still living together, she was awarded

primary custody of her children. her husband cooperated with the investigation. >> we are not naming any suspects. we are not naming any until we feel it would benefit the case. >> reporter: meanwhile, the case created a buzz on the internet. they speculate between a link between swift's murder and the disappearance of other women missing. some 20 miles apart in the past 13 months. swift's body was found in dyer county, tennessee. 90 miles away, in parsons, tennessee. 22-year-old paige johnson disappeared in covington, kentucky. north in fairfield, ohio a woman vanished in august, 2011. in gloomington, indiana, lauren went missing in june. >> investigators have to look at all these cases and say could there be a connection.

yes, they all lookalike. if there's a connection, is it a crime of opportunity or in fact someone who is just targeting specifically these younger, blond, white women? >> well, that is it for news 4 at 5:00. >> news 4 at 6:00 starts right now. the search for the potomac river rapist intensifies tonight. the effort to solve a 20-year-old cold case. a money laundering scheme unraveled. the cash was helping fund a terror group. there are ties to our area. a symbolic ceremony in baghdad marks the final chapter of the u.s. led invasion that started nine years ago. >> i'm doreen gentzler. >> i'm