Top stories of 2022 you may have forgotten about

A failed Mount Vesuvius selfie, and more headlines.

December 21, 2022, 6:02 AM

This past year has seen war break out in Ukraine, the death of Britain's longest-reigning monarch, tragedy in Uvalde, Texas, and the first case of mpox (formerly known as monkeypox) detected in the U.S. amid a global outbreak of the rare, highly infectious disease. Coverage of those events dominated much of the news cycle in 2022.

Here's a look back at the other stories that caught our attention that might have flown under the radar.

11-day manhunt for corrections officer and escaped inmate ends

Lauderdale County Sheriff's Office employee Vicky White and inmate Casey Cole White.
Lauderdale County Sheriff's Office, Alabama

An 11-day, multistate manhunt for an escaped inmate and the corrections officer authorities said helped him escape an Alabama jail came to an end on May 9, when jail employee Vicky White was apprehended along with murder suspect Casey White in Indiana. Vicky White died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, and Casey White has since been charged with murder in connection with her death.

Missing 'Baby Holly' found alive more than 40 years after parents were murdered

Tina and Harold Clouse with baby Holly in an undated photo.
Casasanta/Clouse Family

An unidentified couple was found beaten and strangled in a wooded area in Houston in 1981. Decades later, it was unclear what happened to the couple's baby daughter, who came to be known as Baby Holly. With the help of genetic genealogy, investigators were able to solve the mystery by identifying the couple. This year, Baby Holly -- 42-year-old Holly Miller, a mother of five living in Oklahoma -- was found and reunited with some of her biological family.

San Francisco couple fined $1,500 for parking in their own driveway

San Francisco
Universal Images Group via Getty, FILE

The parking problems of one San Francisco couple made headlines after they were fined $1,542 for parking in their own driveway due to the enforcement of a decades-old city code. The fine was eventually dropped in July and the lot legalized for parking after a 1938 photo helped them prove that the lot has historically been used for parking.

California authorities make record-breaking meth drug bust

PHOTO: Over 5000 pounds of meth was found in two trucks entering the United States from Mexico in National City, Calif., July 7, 2022.
Over 5000 pounds of meth was found in two trucks entering the United States from Mexico in National City, Calif., July 7, 2022. The photo provided shows the seized meth along with Milo, a San Diego County Sheriff's Department narcotics detector canine.
US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California

More than 5,000 pounds of methamphetamine was seized from a box truck that had just crossed the border between the United States and Mexico on July 7, in what authorities believe was one of the largest meth seizures ever in San Diego County, California.

US tourist falls into Mount Vesuvius after taking selfie

Aerial view of the Vesuvio Volcano crater located at the Vesuvio National Park, Campania, Italy, in 2018.
S. Amantini/De Agostini via Getty Images, FILE

A 23-year-old American tourist captured attention after he fell into Mount Vesuvius, an active volcano in Italy, while trespassing to take a selfie on July 9, officials said. He sustained only minor injuries.

Feds bust alleged Mafia gambling operations posing as shoe repair, coffee shop

Federal prosecutors say Sal's Shoe Repair in Merrick, N.Y., was actually a front for a gambling operation run by organized crime.
Google Maps Street View

A Long Island shoe repair shop was actually an illegal gambling operation, federal prosecutors alleged. Several purported members and associates of the Genovese and Bonanno organized crime families were arrested on Aug. 16 and charged with racketeering and illegal gambling offenses for allegedly running gambling parlors out of other legitimate-seeming New York establishments, including a coffee bar.

Abduction and murder of Memphis teacher Eliza Fletcher

Eliza Fletcher is pictured in an undated photo released by the Memphis Police Department.
Memphis Police Department

Eliza Fletcher, a 34-year-old Memphis mother of two young sons, was abducted while out for her regular 4 a.m. run on Sept. 2. She was found murdered days later in a horrifying case that cast a spotlight on women's safety while running.

Missing Michigan family of 4 reappears

PHOTO: Police are looking for the missing Cirigliano family, from left, Suzette Lee Cirigliano, Anthony John Cirigliano, and their sons, Noah Alexander Cirigliano and Brandon Michael Cirigliano, in undated family photos distributed by police.
Police are looking for the missing Cirigliano family, from left, Suzette Lee Cirigliano and her husband Anthony "Tony" John Cirigliano, and their sons, Noah Alexander Cirigliano and Brandon Michael Cirigliano, in undated family photos distributed by police.
Fremont Police Dept.

Police were searching for a Michigan family of four that disappeared in October after the father showed "paranoid behaviors," leaving behind their pets and a family member requiring full-time care. A week later, the family was found safe in a neighboring state. The case was closed in what police said may have been sparked by a misunderstanding.

Single ticket wins record $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot

A person purchases a Powerball ticket in New York City on Nov. 4, 2022.
David "Dee" Delgado/Reuters, FILE

After a delayed drawing, a single ticket claimed a record $2.04 billion jackpot on Nov. 8 in Powerball's biggest drawing ever. The ticket was sold at Joe's Service Center in Los Angeles County, according to the California Lottery.