Latest news with #TheHillsPolice
ABC News
13-07-2025
- ABC News
Play to Learn childcare centre in Castle Hill torched three days after suspicious blaze in Turramurra
A Sydney childcare chain has been targeted with a second suspicious fire in four days. Detectives are looking into whether a blaze at Play to Learn's facility in Castle Hill in the early hours of Monday morning is linked to a fire at the company's centre in Turramurra on Friday. NSW Police said officers responded to reports of a fire on Excelsior Avenue, Castle Hill just after midnight on Monday. "NSW Fire and Rescue are on scene and have extinguished the blaze. There has been minor damage caused to the building," NSW Police said in a statement. "Officers attached to The Hills Police Area Command have established a crime scene and are investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident." It comes after emergency services responded to similar reports of a fire breaking out at the Play to Learn childcare centre in Turramurra on Friday. Police last week said a small fire at the business on the Pacific Highway about 4:25am caused minor damage. Police said a group of masked men were seen on CCTV entering the building, pouring and accelerant before setting it alight and fleeing last Friday. The chain has a third centre in Toukley, on the Central Coast, which opened last year.
Sky News AU
16-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Sky News AU
Jimmy Barnes' missing teen family member found after Aussie rockstar's desperate plea for 14-year-old's whereabouts
A missing teenage family member of Jimmy Barnes has been found after the rocker made a desperate plea for his whereabouts. A spokesperson for The Hills Police in Sydney's northwest took to Facebook on Sunday with the news that Blake Powell, the nephew of Barnes' son Jackie James, was located after he went missing on Friday. "The 14-year-old boy reported missing from Castle Hill has been found and is safe - thanks to everyone who shared our appeal for help!" the status read. Family member Sean Powell expressed his gratitude, revealing more than 6,000 people had shared the initial missing persons report. 'Facebook Fam, Blake is home. We're so relieved!' Powell wrote. He thanked the concerned Sydney siders who on the weekend spent hours driving, on trains and in shopping centres trying to find the teen. 'To those who rode the metro, drove around and did laps on foot of the shopping centres — no words can describe our love and gratitude," Powell wrote. "It felt like a needle in a haystack to find him. 'Life's not a smooth run. Hug your little ones tight tonight.' The news of Blake's safety comes hours after Barnes reshared the initial report in the hopes his fans would help find his family member. "Please help us find Blake, Jackie's nephew," the Aussie rockstar wrote. The report said Blake went missing in Castle Hill on Friday and hadn't been since 4 pm that afternoon, with a description of the teen. "He is 185cm tall, of thin build, 70kg, Caucasian appearance with an olive complexion, brown hair and eyes," it read. The report also stated Blake regularly travels by public transport and spends time in shopping centres. "Police and Family hold concerns for his welfare given his young age." "Any information - please call Crime Stoppers on 1800333000 or Castle Hill Police." Blake's uncle, Jackie James Barnes, is a drummer and the third child and only son of Barnes and his wife, Jane. He has sisters, Mahalia, Eliza-Jane 'E.J.', and Elly-May Barnes; a half-brother, singer David Campbell, from Barnes' teenage relationship with Kim Campbell; and three half-sisters from his father's other relationships. The Cold Chisel star is in the midst of his Defiant tour in Australia, which celebrates the release of his 21st studio album of the same name, following a series of health issues which sidelined him from performing. Barnes underwent open-heart surgery in 2023 after a bacterial infection spread to a heart valve. In August of that year, while on his Hell of a Time tour, the infection reached his hip and saw him be treated in intensive care. Although he was initially fitted with a temporary hip, the 69-year-old singer later had a second surgery to replace it with a permanent joint.
