Authorities identify man nearly 34 years after being pulled from Allegheny River
PITTSBURGH’S ACTION NEWS 4 WITH BREAKING NEWS. A VERY BUSY WEDNESDAY HERE. WE HAVE A LOT TO GET TO. THANKS SO MUCH FOR JOINING US HERE FOR PITTSBURGH’S ACTION NEWS FOUR AT 4:00. I’M KELLY SASSO GOOD AFTERNOON. I’M ANDREW STOCKEY AND WE’RE BREAKING NEWS LOCALLY AND ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY. HERE ARE TOP FOUR STORIES AT 4:00 AS WE SPEAK. THE JURY IN THOMAS STANKO’S MURDER TRIAL IS DECIDING HIS FATE. STANKO IS THE MAN CHARGED IN THE MURDER OF CASSANDRA GROSS. NOW, THE COMPLICATING FACTOR IN THIS CASE WAS THAT HER BODY WAS NEVER FOUND. THE DAY BEGAN WITH CLOSING ARGUMENTS, AND THE JURY WENT INTO DELIBERATIONS JUST A FEW HOURS AGO. BREAKING NEWS. URGENT REPAIRS ARE BEING MADE TO A WATER MAIN UNDERNEATH THE WEST END BRIDGE. BECAUSE OF THIS, THE RAMP FROM WEST CARSON STREET TO DOWNTOWN IS CLOSED FOR REPAIRS TO LAST THROUGH THE EVENING COMMUTE. AND YOU SAW THIS FIRST ON FOUR. WE HAVE NOW CONFIRMED THE SOUTH GREENSBURG FIRE CHIEF ACCUSED OF STEALING FROM HIS OWN DEPARTMENT, IS IN CUSTODY. MORE THAN 500 MILES AWAY. HE WAS ARRESTED IN PICKENS COUNTY, SOUTH CAROLINA. HE’S ACCUSED OF STEALING MORE THAN $170,000 AND BREAKING NEWS IN THE ENTERTAINMENT WORLD. ACTOR JAMES VAN DER BEEK HAS DIED. THE FORMER DAWSON’S CREEK STAR HAS BEEN BATTLING COLORECTAL CANCER SINCE 2024. HE WAS 48 YEARS OLD. THOSE ARE YOUR TOP STORIES AT 4:00 ON THIS WEDNESDAY. TIME NOW FOR PITTSBURGH’S ACTION WEATHER, SNOW AND ICE AROUND HERE IS MELTING. AND BECAUSE OF THAT, WE’RE SEEING SOME INSTANCES OF MUD AND ROCKSLIDES. MORE ON THOSE IN JUST A FEW MOMENTS. METEOROLOGIST BRIAN HUTTON JUNIOR IS HERE WITH THE CERTIFIED MOST ACCURATE FORECAST. BRIAN. ON THOSE LINES, WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF HAVING A SLOW THAW BECAUSE WE DO SEE ISSUES LIKE THIS WHENEVER IT WARMS UP SO QUICKLY. YEAH, WE WENT FROM BELOW FREEZING TO THE UPPER 50S, MIDDLE 50S YESTERDAY. SO YEAH, THAT KIND OF CAUSES PROBLEMS WHEN THINGS START MELTING QUICKLY WITH MORE TEMPER THAT NOW AS WE HEAD INTO THE WEEKEND, AS WE’LL REFREEZE THINGS, AS WE HEAD THROUGH THE TIME TONIGHT, AS A LOT OF US ARE ALREADY BELOW THE FREEZING MARK, BUT WE WILL WARM BACK UP AS WE HEAD INTO THE WEEKEND. ALSO, CAN’T RULE OUT AN ISOLATED FLURRY OR LIGHT SNOW SHOWER BETWEEN NOW AND TOMORROW MORNING. NORTH OF, IN AND NORTH OF THE CITY ARE AT OR BELOW FREEZING AT THIS POINT. SOUTH OF THE CITY STILL ABOVE FREEZING, MORGANTOWN IS AT 38, GREENSBURG AT 34, WAYNESBURG IS AT 36. THERE HAVE BEEN A COUPLE OF FLAKES FLYING THROUGH THE DAY TODAY. THEY’VE GENERALLY BEEN CONFINED CLOSE TO 422 AND OUTSIDE OF A QUICK PASSING FLAKE OR A LIGHT SNOW SHOWER, THAT’S THE WORST WE WILL HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT. TOMORROW IS THE COLDEST DAY OF THE NEXT WEEK AT 30. THAT’S BETTER THAN WHERE WE HAVE BEEN 35 BY FRIDAY 40S THROUGH THE WEEKEND, AND THEN THREE DAYS IN THE 50S NEXT WEEK, TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY. THAT ALSO COULD BRING SOME RAIN CHANCES BACK, THOUGH. WE’LL TALK MORE ABOUT THAT COMING UP IN JUST A FEW. THAT SLOW WARM UP THAT WE NEED. YES, ESPECIALLY THROUGH THE WEEKEND IS SLOW, WHICH HOPEFULLY STARTS DISLODGING THE ICE AND MOVING ON OUR RIVERS BEFORE WE GET INTO OUR BIG WARM UP IN THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK. REALLY, BEST CASE SCENARIO SOUNDS LIKE. YES, AND HOPEFULLY THE ICE COOPERATES MOVING DOWNSTREAM. BE NICE TO SEE OUR GRASS AGAIN. IT’S BEEN A WHILE. YES, YOU CAN TELL WHERE IT WASN’T AS THICK IN SPOTS BECAUSE THE GRASS IS BACK OUT THERE. YES, IT MIGHT BE A WHILE FOR ALL OF IT. ALL OF IT. BY LATE NEXT WEEK WE’LL SEE. GRASS. ALL RIGHT. GOT SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO, BRIAN. THANKS. WE’LL SEE YOU HERE IN JUST A BIT. FOR NOW, WE WANT TO TURN TO THIS. THAT’S RIGHT. MORE BREAKING NEWS. AND WE’RE NEARING THE CLIMAX OF THE THOMAS STANKO TRIAL. JUST A FEW HOURS AGO, THE JURY BEGAN DELIBERATIONS. NOW STANKO IS CHARGED IN THE MURDER OF CASSANDRA GROSSE BACK IN 2018. IT’S IMPORTANT TO NOTE HERE THAT HER BODY HAS NEVER BEEN FOUND. DESPITE THE CHARGES, THE COURT DID SEE THE LAST KNOWN PHOTOGRAPH OF HER WESTMORELAND BUREAU REPORTER EDITOR DIORIO HAS BEEN FOLLOWING THIS TRIAL SINCE THE FIRST DAY. HE’S HERE WITH US, LIVE IN GREENSBURG, AND IT SEEMS THIS TRIAL IS MOVING QUICKLY. YOU SAY THE JURY IS DELIBERATING RIGHT? OH, SUPER. WELL, ACTUALLY, KELLY, DELIBERATIONS JUST ENDED. I JUST GOT WORD THAT THEY ARE GOING TO DECIDE THE VERDICT IN A MATTER OF MOMENTS. SO I’M GOING TO HAVE TO LEAVE YOU GUYS HERE BRIEFLY SO THAT WE CAN GET UP THERE AND GET THAT DECISION THAT’S MADE BY THIS 12 PERSON JURY AND DISCOVER THE FATE OF THOMAS STANKO TO SEE IF HE IS GUILTY OR NOT GUILTY OF THE MURDER OF CASSANDRA GROSS. I’M GOING TO LEAVE THIS AT THAT. HEAD UPSTAIRS AND WE WILL KEEP YOU UPDATED THROUGHOUT THIS NEWSCAST. WHENEVER WE CAN. CHECK BACK IN, GUYS, I’LL LEAVE THAT BACK TO YOU. THANKS SO MUCH AND WE REALLY APPRECIATE THAT. FOR NOW, WE WANT TO TURN TO EVEN MORE BREAKING NEWS HERE. JUST IN THE PAST HOUR, CONGRESSMAN CHRIS DELUZIO SPOKE PUBLICLY ABOUT A GRAND JURY THAT DECIDED NOT TO CHARGE HIM AND FIVE OTHER DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKERS. NOW, ALL OF THIS IS SURROUNDING A VIDEO THAT THEY POSTED ENCOURAGING ACTIVE DUTY SERVICE MEMBERS TO DISOBEY ILLEGAL ORDERS. THE PRESIDENT CALLED THE VIDEO AN ACT OF SEDITION PUNISHABLE BY DEATH. HERE IS WHAT DELUZIO HAD TO SAY. THEIR ANSWER WAS TO TRY TO THROW US IN PRISON. THEY WANT TO SCARE NOT JUST US. THEY WANT TO SCARE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WHO ARE COURAGEOUSLY STANDING UP FOR OUR FREEDOM, WHO DISSENT PATRIOTICALLY. THEY WANT TO INTIMIDATE US. THEY WANT TO INTIMIDATE THEM. I’M NOT GOING TO BE INTIMIDATED. ANOTHER LAWMAKER IN THAT VIDEO WAS SENATOR MARK KELLY OF ARIZONA. HE WAS CENSURED BY DEFENSE SECRETARY PETE PETE HEGSETH OVER THIS VIDEO. SENATOR KELLY IS NOW FIGHTING TO BLOCK IT. WE HAVE MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS NOW IN THE STORY. YOU SAW FIRST RIGHT HERE ON PITTSBURGH’S ACTION NEWS. FOUR LOCAL FIRE CHIEF ACCUSED OF STEALING THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS FROM HIS OWN DEPARTMENT IS IN CUSTODY HUNDREDS OF MILES AWAY. WE FIRST TOLD YOU YESTERDAY ABOUT THE CHARGES AGAINST THE SOUTH GREENSBURG FIRE CHIEF, MATTHEW WHITE. PITTSBURGH’S ACTION NEWS FOUR CONFIRMED TODAY. HE WAS ARRESTED IN PICKENS COUNTY, SOUTH CAROLINA. THAT’S IN THE WESTERN PART OF THE STATE NEAR GREENVILLE. PITTSBURGH’S ACTION NEWS FOUR REPORTER MARCIE CIPRIANI COVERING WESTMORELAND COUNTY FOR US THIS AFTERNOON. LIVE IN SOUTH GREENSBURG RIGHT NOW. SO, MARK, HOW POLICE SAY CHIEF WHITE STOLE ALL THAT MONEY. WELL, ANDREW, ACCORDING TO POLICE, THAT $178,000 WAS TAKEN IN INCREMENTS LITTLE BY LITTLE, IN JUST MORE THAN A YEAR. AND THAT FIRE CHIEF HERE IN SOUTH GREENSBURG, THEY SAY, IS NOW IN CUSTODY IN SOUTH CAROLINA TO FACE THOSE CHARGES. TAKE A LOOK. THIS IS HIS MUGSHOT. THIS IS 49 YEAR-OLD MATTHEW THOMAS WHITE FROM THE PICKENS DETENTION CENTER IN SOUTH CAROLINA AFTER POLICE SAY HE WAS PULLED OVER THEIR 8.5 HOURS FROM SOUTH GREENSBURG, WHERE INVESTIGATORS SAY WHITE IS THE FIRE CHIEF FOR THE VOLUNTEER DEPARTMENT AND HAD ACCESS TO ALL OF ITS DONATIONS. POLICE TELL ME WHITE WAS TRANSFERRING MONEY FROM THE FIRE DEPARTMENT TO HIS OWN ACCOUNT, AND THEY SAY THEY DISCOVERED THE THEFT BY ACCIDENT. THE STATE POLICE SAY WHITE’S FAMILY HADN’T HEARD FROM HIM, AND THEY WERE WORRIED HE MIGHT HARM HIMSELF. SO THEY CALLED POLICE FOR HELP. SO INVESTIGATORS TELL ME, IN THEIR EFFORT TO FIND WHITE, THEY TRIED TO TRACK HIM. IN DOING SO, OBVIOUSLY WE WERE LOOKING INTO HIS FINANCIAL CAPABILITY TO DO THINGS. AND ALSO ONE OF THOSE THINGS WOULD BE HE HAD ACCESS TO A DEBIT CARD THROUGH THE FIRE DEPARTMENT THAT HE WAS THE CHIEF OF, AND WORKING WITH THE PEOPLE THAT WERE AT THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. THERE WAS A COUPLE WITHDRAWALS THAT WERE MADE. AND AS THEY CONTINUED TO LOOK THROUGH THE WITHDRAWALS, IT APPEARS THAT THERE WAS WELL OVER SIX FIGURES WORTH OF WITHDRAWALS. SO, MARISSA, YOU SAID WHITE IS IN CUSTODY RIGHT NOW IN SOUTH CAROLINA. SO WHAT’S NEXT FOR HIM? WELL, ANDREW, THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE POLICE SAY THEY PLAN TO HEAD TO SOUTH CAROLINA PROBABLY NEXT WEEK TO BRING HIM BACK HERE TO PENNSYLVANIA TO FACE THAT ONE COUNT OF THEFT. HOWEVER, THEY SAY THEY ARE NOT DONE LOOKING INTO MATTHEW WHITE, AND MORE CHARGES COULD BE COMING. NEW AT 5:00. HEAR FROM THE COMMUNITY WHO HAS DONATED TO THIS FIRE DEPARTMENT COVERING WESTMORELAND COUNTY FROM SOUTH GREENSBURG, MARCIE CIPRIANI PITTSBURGH’S ACTION NEWS FOUR. A SHOCKING STORY. ALL RIGHT, MARCY, THANK YOU. WANT TO TURN TO THIS NOW? $2,000 REWARD IS BEING OFFERED IN THE SEARCH FOR A SUSPECT IN A HOMICIDE OUT OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 20 YEAR OLD LAMAR THOMPSON, JUNIOR DIED WHILE SHOT IN THE HEAD LAST WEEK IN UNIONTOWN. STATE POLICE SAY SURVEILLANCE VIDEO SHOWS THOMPSON AND BRADEN DICKINSON WERE WALKING TOGETHER JUST BEFORE THOMPSON WAS AMBUSHED. AFTER THOMPSON WAS SHOT. POLICE SAY DICKINSON RUMMAGED THROUGH HIS POCKETS. HE MAY BE DRIVING A BLUE COLORED JEEP. COMPASS IS CONSIDERED ARMED AND DANGEROUS, AND HIS LAST KNOWN ADDRESS WAS IN CONNELLSVILLE. POLICE ALSO SAY HE HAS CONNECTIONS IN NEW KENSINGTON AND MORGANTOWN. NOW BACK IN 2022, WHEN HE WAS 14 YEARS OLD, DICKINSON WAS ONE OF SEVEN PEOPLE CHARGED IN THE DEATH OF JASON RAYFORD IN NEW KENSINGTON. THEN IN 2024, AT AGE 16, HE PLEADED GUILTY IN JUVENILE COURT FOR HIS ROLE IN THE SHOOTING. IT WAS ALLEGHENY COUNTY AS LONG AS COLD CASE INVOLVING AN UNKNOWN VICTIM. BUT THIS AFTERNOON WE KNOW THAT PERSON’S IDENTITY. THIS STEMS FROM A CASE IN 1992, THE ALLEGHENY COUNTY MEDICAL EXAMINER SAYS ALLEN KEENER’S BODY WAS FOUND IN THE ALLEGHENY RIVER BETWEEN THE CLEMENTE AND RACHEL. INVESTIGATORS SAY KEENER WAS FROM KENTUCKY AND WAS TRAVELING AROUND THE PITTSBURGH REGION. NOW, POLICE DID CHARGE ARTHUR WILEY. HE WAS TRIED AND CONVICTED OF THIRD DEGREE MURDER AND HAS SINCE SERVED HIS SENTENCE. NEW AT FOUR. WE ARE STAYING ON TOP OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH’S PLANS TO REFORM SHORT TERM RENTAL PROPERTIES. TODAY, THEY TOOK A PIVOTAL VOTE INSIDE COUNCIL CHAMBERS. PITTSBURGH’S ACTION NEWS FOUR REPORTER CHANDI CHAPMAN IS DOWNTOWN THIS AFTERNOON WITH THE RESULTS OF THAT VOTE. CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS MOVED FORWARD ON PLANS TO TALK ABOUT SHORT TERM RENTAL REGULATIONS IN THE CITY. CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS GATHERED TO MAKE IMPROVEMENTS TO THE WAY SHORT-TERM RENTAL PROPERTIES ARE HANDLED IN THE CITY. AFTER A PUBLIC HEARING, THEY DECIDED TO SEND A ZONING PERMIT BILL TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION. THE OTHER BILL IS RELATED TO BUSINESS LICENSE PERMITS, AND THAT WAS HELD FOR 12 WEEKS. COUNCIL MEMBER DEB GROSS SAYS RIGHT NOW, THERE ARE NO RESTRICTIONS IN THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH WHEN IT COMES TO SHORT-TERM RENTALS. WE’RE FINALLY PUTTING LANGUAGE IN OUR ZONING CODE THAT SAYS SHORT TERM RENTAL. SO THERE WILL BE A PROCESS. BASICALLY, IF YOU LIVE IN YOUR HOUSE, YOU’RE THERE. YOU DON’T NEED TO GET A ZONING PERMIT. COMING UP, HEAR FROM PEOPLE WHO MADE THEIR VOICES HEARD INSIDE THAT MEETING. COVERING ALLEGHENY COUNTY IN DOWNTOWN PITTSBURGH. CHANDI CHAPMAN PITTSBURGH’S ACTION NEWS FOUR. OKAY. CHANDI, THANKS FOR STAYING ON TOP OF THAT. JUST IN THIS AFTERNOON. KRAFT HEINZ SAYS IT IS PAUSING ITS PLANS TO SPLIT INTO TWO DIFFERENT COMPANIES. THE COMPANY’S CEO SAYS HE WANTS TO ENSURE ALL THE COMPANY’S RESOURCES ARE FOCUSED ON PROFITABLE GROWTH. NOW, HE SAYS, THE ISSUES ARE FIXABLE. THE TRANSACTION WAS EXPECTED TO OCCUR IN THE SECOND HALF OF THIS YEAR. THEY HAVE NOT ANNOUNCED A NEW TIMELINE YET. ALL RIGHT. TODAY MARKS ONE YEAR SINCE BUTLER COUNTY NATIVE MARK FOGEL WAS RELEASED FROM A RUSSIAN PRISON. HE WAS ARRESTED IN 2021 FOR CARRYING PRESCRIPTION MEDICAL MARIJUANA THROUGH THE MOSCOW AIRPORT. FOR THAT, HE WAS SENTENCED TO 14 YEARS IN A RUSSIAN PENAL COLONY. FOGEL SPENT MORE THAN THREE YEARS IN THAT PRISON. HIS FAMILY AND LAWMAKERS THAT WHOLE TIME FOUGHT HARD TO BRING HIM HOME. YOU CAN READ MORE ABOUT FOGEL’S JOURNEY HOME, AND ALSO HEAR FROM HI
Authorities identify man nearly 34 years after being pulled from Allegheny River
Updated: 5:35 PM EST Feb 11, 2026
A man whose body was pulled from the Allegheny River nearly 34 years ago has now been identified, bringing closure to one of the longest cold cases at the county’s medical examiner’s office. VIDEO: Top stories on Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 on Feb. 11 In 1992, officials said the body of a man was discovered and recovered by river rescue between the 9th and 6th Street bridges following a 911 call from a witness to an assault. Officials said an autopsy was completed by the coroner and the medical examiner’s office, showing the man suffered blunt force trauma to the head. However, the man ultimately died as a result of drowning. Police arrested Arthur Wiley in connection with the incident. He was tried and convicted of third-degree murder in 1993. He has since served his sentence. County officials said in a release that the victim was identified as a white man, who was 5 feet, 11 inches tall and weighed 175 pounds. He was believed to have been traveling around the Pittsburgh region at the time of his death. Since 1992, police and the medical examiner’s office have continued to investigate the case and identify the man. Thanks to a grant of $100,000 provided by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the release said the medical examiner’s office was able to partner with Othram in 2024 on more than a dozen area cases.”Othram used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to build a comprehensive DNA profile using available DNA from the decedent, and Othram’s genealogy report narrowed down possible matching individuals,” the release said. “Investigators from the medical examiner’s office were then able to contact potential family members and obtain a DNA sample from a living relative.”The victim was identified as Allan Keener, who was originally from Kentucky. Keener’s case was the oldest case of unknown remains at the Allegheny County Office of the Medical Examiner. “This breakthrough in identifying Mr. Keener after more than 30 years is a testament to the work that our homicide detectives do every day. Pittsburgh Police detectives never give up on unsolved cases,” Pittsburgh Police Chief Jason Lando said in the release. “By utilizing new technologies such as these, our hope is to continue to give the families of crime victims the much-needed answers they have waited for and deserve.”
PITTSBURGH —
A man whose body was pulled from the Allegheny River nearly 34 years ago has now been identified, bringing closure to one of the longest cold cases at the county’s medical examiner’s office.
VIDEO: Top stories on Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 on Feb. 11
In 1992, officials said the body of a man was discovered and recovered by river rescue between the 9th and 6th Street bridges following a 911 call from a witness to an assault.
Officials said an autopsy was completed by the coroner and the medical examiner’s office, showing the man suffered blunt force trauma to the head. However, the man ultimately died as a result of drowning.
Police arrested Arthur Wiley in connection with the incident. He was tried and convicted of third-degree murder in 1993. He has since served his sentence.
County officials said in a release that the victim was identified as a white man, who was 5 feet, 11 inches tall and weighed 175 pounds. He was believed to have been traveling around the Pittsburgh region at the time of his death.
Since 1992, police and the medical examiner’s office have continued to investigate the case and identify the man. Thanks to a grant of $100,000 provided by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the release said the medical examiner’s office was able to partner with Othram in 2024 on more than a dozen area cases.
“Othram used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to build a comprehensive DNA profile using available DNA from the decedent, and Othram’s genealogy report narrowed down possible matching individuals,” the release said. “Investigators from the medical examiner’s office were then able to contact potential family members and obtain a DNA sample from a living relative.”
The victim was identified as Allan Keener, who was originally from Kentucky.
Keener’s case was the oldest case of unknown remains at the Allegheny County Office of the Medical Examiner.
“This breakthrough in identifying Mr. Keener after more than 30 years is a testament to the work that our homicide detectives do every day. Pittsburgh Police detectives never give up on unsolved cases,” Pittsburgh Police Chief Jason Lando said in the release. “By utilizing new technologies such as these, our hope is to continue to give the families of crime victims the much-needed answers they have waited for and deserve.”