West Philadelphia Archives - ThePhillyFiles.com

December 14, 2019

Found: ‘Engangered’ woman, 55, not seen in 9 days

UPDATE — Tuesday morning, Dec. 17, police announced Barbara Kearse had been located. WEST PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia police are asking for help finding “missing…

November 30, 2019

Video: Armed robber wanted after holding grocery clerk at gunpoint

WEST PHILADELPHIA — A grocery store clerk got quite a scare when an armed robber struck earlier this month, and Philadelphia police want help…

November 11, 2019

Found: ‘Endangered’ man, 61, with schizophrenia

UPDATE — Tuesday morning, Nov. 12, police announced Harry Canty has been located. WEST PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia police are asking for help finding a…

October 31, 2019

Man found naked, drinking charged with shooting his family of 4 to death

WEST PHILADELPHIA — A wellness check led to Philadelphia police finding a family of four murdered in their home. Now, the “naked male later…

October 20, 2019

Found: ‘Endangered’ woman with sight, mental issues

UPDATE — Wednesday morning, Oct. 23, police announced Lenora Patterson has been located. WEST PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia police are asking for help finding a…

October 3, 2019

Found: 13-year-old autistic girl with ADHD

UPDATE — Wednesday morning, Oct. 16, police announced Tymirah Muchison has returned home. It is the policy of ThePhillyFiles to take down pictures of…

September 5, 2019

Man charged with shooting 78-year-old to death

WEST PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia police have made an arrest in the case of a 78-year-old man who was shot to death in the middle…

August 27, 2019

Found: ‘Endangered’ teenager with schizophrenia

UPDATE — Tuesday morning, Sept. 3, police announced Kimynee White-West has been located. It is the policy of ThePhillyFiles to take down pictures of…

August 22, 2019

Found: ‘Endangered’ West Philadelphia man

UPDATE — Midday Tuesday, Aug. 27, police announced John Sweeney has been located. WEST PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia police are asking for help finding a…

August 22, 2019

Missing: ‘Endangered’ man with schizophrenia

WEST PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia police are asking for help finding a missing man they’re calling “endangered” since he has been diagnosed with schizophrenia. Edward…

August 14, 2019

Found: ‘Endangered’ man with diabetes hasn’t gone to work

UPDATE — Wednesday afternoon, Aug. 14, police announced Manuel Smith has been located. WEST PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia police are asking for help finding a…

August 9, 2019

The war on guns, from Philadelphia to the feds

It’s almost a week since gunmen killed 31 people in mass shootings, 13 hours apart, and nothing concrete has been done to reduce the…

August 8, 2019

Found: Missing ‘endangered’ woman last seen in West Philadelphia

UPDATE — Tuesday morning, Aug. 20, police announced Tara Johnson has been located. WEST PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia police are asking for help finding a…

August 2, 2019

2 wanted for deadly double shooting

WEST PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia police are looking for information on two men they say were responsible for a deadly double shooting. It happened on…

July 31, 2019

Accused murderer arrested months after deadly shooting

EAST GERMANTOWN — A man is under arrest, five-and-a-half-months after Philadelphia police say he committed murder. The deadly shooting happened back on Monday, Jan. 28,…

July 27, 2019

Found: ‘Endangered’ teenager with autism

UPDATE — Monday morning, July 29, police announced Mason Davis has been located. It is the policy of ThePhillyFiles to take down pictures of…

July 22, 2019

Found: Woman with PTSD missing since New Year’s Day

UPDATE — Tuesday morning, Nov. 12, police announced Jacqueline Crawford has been located. WEST PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia police are asking for help finding a…

June 29, 2019

Found: Girl, 14, missing for more than a week

UPDATE — Tuesday morning, July 2, police announced Taylah Jones has been found. It is the policy of ThePhillyFiles to take down pictures of…

Presidents DayMonday, February 15, 2021

Presidents Day is an American holiday celebrated on the third Monday in February. It was originally established in 1885 in recognition of President George Washington, but the holiday became popularly known as Presidents Day after it was moved as part of 1971’s Uniform Monday Holiday Act, an attempt to create more three-day weekends for the nation’s workers. While several states still have individual holidays honoring the birthdays of Washington, Abraham Lincoln and other figures, Presidents Day is now popularly viewed as a day to celebrate all U.S. presidents, past and present.

PurimThursday, February 25, 2021

The jolly festival of Purim starts tonight, on the 14th of the Hebrew month of Adar. It commemorates the salvation of the Jewish people in ancient Persia from Haman’s plot “to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews, young and old, infants and women, in a single day,” as recorded in the Book of Esther. Purim means “lots” in ancient Persian, and Haman had thrown lots to determine which day he would carry out his diabolical scheme. One of the observances is a feast, which often includes wine or other intoxicating beverages.

Daylight Saving TimeSaturday, March 13, 2021

“Spring forward” tonight at 2am, the second Sunday in March. The idea of daylight saving was first conceived by (who else? Philadelphian) Benjamin Franklin to reduce electricity usage by extending daylight hours. People in about 70 countries observe Daylight Saving, but they don’t in Hawaii and most of Arizona. It’s also a good time to change batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, and flashlights, and remove expired items from your refrigerator and first aid kit.

St. Patrick’s DayWednesday, March 17, 2021

The Feast of Saint Patrick is both a cultural and religious celebration held on March 17, the traditional date of death of the foremost patron saint of Ireland. Saint Patrick lived from about 385 to 461, but the day was only made an official Christian feast day in the early 1600s. It commemorates Saint Patrick and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland, and celebrates the heritage and culture of the Irish in general. Also, the Lenten restrictions on eating, and drinking alcohol, are lifted for the day.

Beginning of SpringSaturday, March 20, 2021

At the spring (or vernal) equinox, days and nights are approximately 12 hours long, with day length starting to increase and night length starting to decrease. As the season progresses, the Earth’s axis increases its tilt relative to the sun and the hemisphere warms significantly, causing new plant growth to “spring forth,” giving the season its name. “Springtime” can also refer to the ideas of rebirth, rejuvenation, renewal and regrowth.