Per Montgomery County: Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich is holding “community conversations” at sites around the County in April and May to talk about long-term priorities and how he will address the Fiscal Year 2025 Capital Improvements Program (CIP) budget. There will be an event for the UpCounty area from 7-8:30 p.m. TONIGHT, Monday, April 24, at the Sidney Kramer UpCounty Regional Services Office

The Sidney Kramer UpCounty Regional Services Office is located at 12900 Middlebrook Rd, Suite 1000, in Germantown.


Duffin was last seen on Sunday, April 23, 2023, at approximately 3:30 p.m., on Cottage Field Ct. He may be traveling to the Rio area in Gaithersburg. Duffin is approximately 4-feet, 3-inches tall and weighs 80 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a grey hoodie, black jeans and blue and white Jordan sneakers. Police and family are concerned for his welfare.

Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Marcell Rejaun Rozier Duffinis asked to call the police non-emergency number at (301) 279-8000 (24-hour line) or the Special Victims Investigations Division at (240) 773-5400. Callers may remain anonymous.


Amaya is approximately 6-feet tall and weighs 200 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes. It is unknown what clothing Amaya was last seen wearing. Police and family are concerned for his welfare.

Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Jefferson Amaya is asked to call the police non-emergency number at (301) 279-8000 (24-hour line) or the Special Victims Investigations Division at (240) 773-5400. Callers may remain anonymous.


Bed Bath & Beyond at 12940 Middlebrook in the Germantown Commons shopping center has confirmed that the store will be closing permanently on Sunday, April 23. “Store Closing” signage was placed on the store windows back in February. A representative from the Germantown location tells us that the nearby Rockville and Frederick stores will remain open.

The Gaithersburg location closed a couple years back in Gaithersburg Square and has been replaced by Marshalls. The Wall Street Journal reports that the company is expected to file for chapter 11 bankruptcy in the coming days.


Per MCPD: Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – Special Victims Investigations Division (SVID) are asking for the public’s assistance in locating a missing 15-year-old from Silver Spring.

Harmonee Sykes was last seen on Monday, April 17, 2023, at approximately 7 a.m., leaving her residence in the 19600 block of Scenery Drive in Germantown. Harmonee is approximately 5-feet, 9-inches tall and weighs 180 pounds. She has dark brown eyes and dark brown hair. She was last seen wearing a green sweater, blue jeans and black shoes.  Police and family are concerned for her welfare.


Montgomery Parks, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, celebrates Mental Health Awareness Month “With Parks in Mind,” a free, kick-off event on Saturday, May 6, from 2 – 4 p.m. at Germantown Town Center Urban Park. This event launches the month-long campaign, “Every Mile for Every Mind” a series of walks to encourage people to spend time outdoors hiking a Montgomery Parks trail. These events are coordinated in partnership with local mental health organization, EveryMind.

What: With Parks in Mind: Mental Health Awareness


Per MCPD: The body of an adult male recovered in Lake Churchill on Tuesday, April 18, 2023, has been identified. Officers were called to the area of Afternoon and Summersong Lanes at approximately 8 a.m., for the report of a body in the water. The body was transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and identified as 30-year-old Ankit Bagai of Germantown.

Bagai was reported missing and last seen on Sunday, April 9, 2023, at approximately 11:30 a.m., in the 12000 block of Panthers Ridge Drive. No foul play is suspected.


A body was recovered at Lake Churchill in Germantown on Tuesday morning, according to Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) Chief Spokesperson Pete Piringer. Piringer noted that today’s activity may be related to an exhaustive search that took place at the lake on Easter Sunday (April 9th), where nothing was found.

On Sunday, April 9, MCFRS responded to a call at Lake Churchill in Germantown for a report of “someone in the water” from what has been described as a reliable source by MCFRS Chief Spokesperson Pete Piringer. The call came at approximately 1pm. Crews searched on land and and with boats in the water and nothing was found at the time. Below is a video from the April 9 search.


The personal-finance website WalletHub released its report on 2023’s Most Diverse Cities in America this week and MoCo claimed the top three spots with Gaithersburg, Germantown, and Silver Spring coming in as the three most diverse cities/areas the United States (Rockville was also ranked 13th). Germantown ranked first in cultural diversity. Categorized rankings available below.

To determine the places in the U.S. with the most mixed demographics, WalletHub compared the profiles of more than 500 of the largest cities (areas) across five major diversity categories: socioeconomic, cultural, economic, household and religious.


Per Montgomery College: The Montgomery College community is invited to attend a free Narcan training on Thursday, April 27 at 6 p.m. on the Germantown Campus in Globe Hall. Attendees will learn how to prevent an opioid overdose. Specifically, participants will be trained in how to administer nasal Narcan and receive information on how to obtain Narcan. Two free Narcan kits will be provided to all attendees. This event is open to all MC students and their families, faculty, staff and Montgomery County residents. Registration is required. Register here.

This event is sponsored by the Montgomery County Prevention and Harm Reduction Services, The Community Health Program, in partnership with Montgomery College Germantown’s Office of Student Life, and Office of Public Safety, Health and Emergency Management.


This afternoon, in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, MD, before John Maloney, a jury found defendant, Mario Samm, 22, of Frederick, MD, guilty of murder in the second-degree and use of a firearm in commission of a crime of violence for the death of 25-year-old Jahandar Darvish. Samm faces up to 60 years in prison. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for September 19th, 2023.

This stems from an incident inside Darvish’s apartment on the 19300 block of Circle Gate Drive in Germantown on December 23, 2021. During an altercation, Samm fired seven rounds from two firearms, striking the victim three times. One of the other bullets went through the floor into an apartment unit below. There were no additional injuries. During the investigation it was found that social media posts of the defendant in the weeks preceding the incident, showed him with one of the guns believed to be used in the fatal shooting. Additional information below from the charging documents:


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