Kingstree

A coalition working to connect a dozen local, state and private parks along South Carolina's Black River has released a plan. Now all they need is $45 million to complete the 70-mile-long project. The Open Space Institute says the Black River Water Trail and Park Network would start in Kingstree in Williamsburg County and wind along the dark, slow-moving river to where it meets the Pee Dee River just north of Georgetown. They say it would promote tourism, history and business, and that keeping the area undeveloped could mitigate catastrophic flooding expected to become more frequent as the Earth warms.

A man charged with killing two South Carolina sisters 12 years ago but who disappeared out of the legal system after he was found incompetent to stand trial has been arrested in Colorado. An attorney for the sisters' family, Lori Murray, says 43-year-Joseph Brand was taken into custody Thursday. A South Carolina sheriff's statement confirmed the arrest, saying Brand was taken into custody in Pueblo, Colorado. Court records show Brand was found incompetent to stand trial on two murder charges in 2012 and sent off to a state hospital for treatment. If his mental condition improved, he was supposed to return to jail and await trial. Instead, Brand showed up free in Kingstree some months ago.

The family of two sisters killed in their tiny South Carolina town in 2010 wants to know why the man who confessed to their slayings has suddenly shown back up in the community. Court records show 43-year-old Joseph Brand was found incompetent to stand trial on two murder charges in 2012 and sent off to a state hospital to get treatment. If his mental condition improved, he was supposed to return to jail and await trial. Instead, Brand showed up free in Kingstree a few months ago. His charges are no longer listed in public records.