Paula Lopez, the KEYT anchor who returned to air in early April after her February disappearance sparked a police manhunt, is mysteriously off the air again.

According to station monitoring site TVEyes, Lopez worked the 6:30 p.m news on April 18, but was absent from the 11:00 p.m. show. Her co-anchor C.J. Ward told viewers Lopez had the night off. She hasn’t been on air since.

“I can tell you that KEYT and NPG continue to wish Paula well,” KEYT general manager Mark Danielson told Santa Barbara’s Noozhawk after saying he could not comment on an employee’s health or personnel issues. “I don’t have any information on when Paula might be able to return to work,” he added. Read more

Jim Lemon has been named news director of Santa Barbara ABC affiliate KEYT.

“Jim brings our growing news team the experience and dedication that will help guide KEYT as we embark on a new chapter in our history,” said KEYT general manager Mark Danielson. “Under new ownership, KEYT is in the process of launching High Definition Local News, expanding its journalistic resources by adding more reporters and expanding its news-gathering efforts with new offices in Santa Maria.”

Lemon last worked as news director for WITI. He left the Milwaukee FOX affiliate in 2011 after six years there.  He has previously worked at KOVR in Sacramento, KGMB in Honolulu and KSNT in Topeka, KS.

KEYT was recently bought by the News-Press and Gazette which owns stations in Idaho, Colorado, Texas, Missouri, Oregon and Arizona as well as KESQ in Palm Springs, CA.

> Update, 9:50pmET: Lopez’s family alerted KEYT that Lopez had returned home around 6:30pmPT and is safe.

> Original story: Paula Lopez an anchor at KEYT the ABC affiliate in Santa Barbara, has gone missing.

A family member alerted the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office of her disappearance around 10 this morning. Lopez was last seen near her home in the hills above Santa Barbara. Lopez’s disappearance made news on all the Santa Barbara stations as well as in Fresno, Palm Springs and on Los Angeles stations. Lopez worked in the LA market in the 1990s. Authorities do not suspect foul play.

Lopez, who is married to Santa Barbara Superior Court Judge Frank J. Ochoa, began her career at KEYT in 1985, as an intern. She returned to the station in 1996. Currently she anchors the 6:30 and 11pm newscasts.

KEYT General Manager Mark Danielson released the following statement:

Read more

Beginning July 1, Fisher Communications’ KXPI will become the Fox-affiliate in the Idaho Falls market. KXPI replaces KFXP as the market’s Fox-affiliate.

The station is currently a MyNetworkTV-affiliate. Under the new agreement, the station will run MyNetworkTV programming beginning at 10 p.m.

“We’re delighted to have KXPI join the FOX family,” Jon Hookstratten, Fox EVP for network distribution, said in a statement. “Mark Danielson and the team at Fisher Communications are top-notch and we’re confident they will do an outstanding job of representing Fox in the Idaho Falls community.” Read more

News stations in Idaho have joined with several other media outlets in the state to challenge the proposed schedule of an execution set for Friday.

Paul Ezra Rhoades is scheduled to die by lethal injection on Friday morning and authorities have barred members of the media from viewing the first 25 minutes of the procedure.

The execution is the first to occur in Idaho in over 15 years and prison officials plan to begin the procedure in private before allowing witnesses into the execution chamber. Read more