Lee County deputy subdues convicted felon with Taser at North Fort Myers Walmart2 posing as Target Corporate employees steal over $6K at Fort Myers Target
NORTH FORT MYERS Lee County deputy subdues convicted felon with Taser at North Fort Myers Walmart Lee County deputies used a Taser on a man after they raced through a North Fort Myers Walmart searching for him.
FORT MYERS 2 posing as Target Corporate employees steal over $6K at Fort Myers Target SWFL Crime Stoppers seeks information on two men who allegedly claimed to be employees of Target Corporate and stole over $6,000 at Target.
Punta Gorda cosiders fate of historic A.C. Freeman House It was built by politician and businessman Augustus C. Freeman whose name the house bears, and it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.
CAPE CORAL Man arrested for armed robbery in Cape Coral The Cape Coral Police Department has arrested a man for armed robbery and falsifying his name to law enforcement.
Jacksonville Gov. DeSantis signs bills to provide financial options for Floridians Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill that will provide financial options to Floridians and another bill that curates the state public school curriculum.
BONITA SPRINGS LCSO seeks information on missing 77-year-old kayaker LCSO seeks information on a missing kayaker after responding to a call about a missing kayak off the coast of Bonita Beach.
FORT MYERS Tim Tebow speaks at annual Southwest Florida Community Prayer Breakfast Former Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow took the stage at Hammond Stadium for the annual Southwest Florida Community Prayer Breakfast.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers City Council to provide update on Fowler Street construction project The Fort Myers City Council is set to provide an update on the progress of the Fowler Street intersection project.
the weather authority Hot and humid Thursday before evening isolated storms impact coastal communities The Weather Authority is tracking a humid Thursday morning with high afternoon temperatures and evening coastal isolated storms.
FORT MYERS BEACH Sea turtle nesting season begins in Fort Myers Beach Sea turtle nesting season has officially begun, and the FWC wants to remind visitors about the fragility of the young reptiles.
BAREFOOT LAKE Neighbors react to chaos at Barefoot Lake Imagine being scared to leave your home on the weekends. Ana and Anrik understand the feeling all too well.
CAPE CORAL The story of Ollie’s Pub and what kept it open through years of hardships Before Ollie’s housed weekly events, packed to the brim with artwork and home to many, it was a simple dream and an empty space.
Most Wanted Wednesday: Southwest Florida’s most wanted suspects for May 1, 2024 Here are some of Southwest Florida’s most wanted suspects for May 1, 2024.
FORT MYERS BEACH Remembering Fort Myers Beach ‘Mayor’ Brad Benson To know Brad Benson was to know a legend. He recently passed away at the age of 71 after battling health issues.
CAPE CORAL Proposed Cape Coral City Council meeting time change fails In a 4 to 4 vote, the motion to move Cape Coral meeting times from 4:30 to 9 a.m. failed.
NORTH FORT MYERS Lee County deputy subdues convicted felon with Taser at North Fort Myers Walmart Lee County deputies used a Taser on a man after they raced through a North Fort Myers Walmart searching for him.
FORT MYERS 2 posing as Target Corporate employees steal over $6K at Fort Myers Target SWFL Crime Stoppers seeks information on two men who allegedly claimed to be employees of Target Corporate and stole over $6,000 at Target.
Punta Gorda cosiders fate of historic A.C. Freeman House It was built by politician and businessman Augustus C. Freeman whose name the house bears, and it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.
CAPE CORAL Man arrested for armed robbery in Cape Coral The Cape Coral Police Department has arrested a man for armed robbery and falsifying his name to law enforcement.
Jacksonville Gov. DeSantis signs bills to provide financial options for Floridians Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill that will provide financial options to Floridians and another bill that curates the state public school curriculum.
BONITA SPRINGS LCSO seeks information on missing 77-year-old kayaker LCSO seeks information on a missing kayaker after responding to a call about a missing kayak off the coast of Bonita Beach.
FORT MYERS Tim Tebow speaks at annual Southwest Florida Community Prayer Breakfast Former Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow took the stage at Hammond Stadium for the annual Southwest Florida Community Prayer Breakfast.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers City Council to provide update on Fowler Street construction project The Fort Myers City Council is set to provide an update on the progress of the Fowler Street intersection project.
the weather authority Hot and humid Thursday before evening isolated storms impact coastal communities The Weather Authority is tracking a humid Thursday morning with high afternoon temperatures and evening coastal isolated storms.
FORT MYERS BEACH Sea turtle nesting season begins in Fort Myers Beach Sea turtle nesting season has officially begun, and the FWC wants to remind visitors about the fragility of the young reptiles.
BAREFOOT LAKE Neighbors react to chaos at Barefoot Lake Imagine being scared to leave your home on the weekends. Ana and Anrik understand the feeling all too well.
CAPE CORAL The story of Ollie’s Pub and what kept it open through years of hardships Before Ollie’s housed weekly events, packed to the brim with artwork and home to many, it was a simple dream and an empty space.
Most Wanted Wednesday: Southwest Florida’s most wanted suspects for May 1, 2024 Here are some of Southwest Florida’s most wanted suspects for May 1, 2024.
FORT MYERS BEACH Remembering Fort Myers Beach ‘Mayor’ Brad Benson To know Brad Benson was to know a legend. He recently passed away at the age of 71 after battling health issues.
CAPE CORAL Proposed Cape Coral City Council meeting time change fails In a 4 to 4 vote, the motion to move Cape Coral meeting times from 4:30 to 9 a.m. failed.
People walk amid debris in Lee County, Ala., after what appeared to be a tornado struck in the area Sunday, March 3, 2019. Severe storms destroyed mobile homes, snapped trees and left a trail of destruction amid weather warnings extending into Georgia, Florida and South Carolina, authorities said. (WKRG-TV via AP) The Latest on Deep South storms (all times local): A sheriff says the death toll is now at 22 from an apparent tornado that devastated an Alabama community. Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones told The Associated Press late Sunday evening that children are among the dead. He says it’s possible the death toll could continue to rise, but authorities are pausing search efforts overnight because conditions are too dangerous in the dark due to massive amounts of debris. Jones says search and rescue teams will resume their work at first light. He added that some single-family homes are wiped clean to a slab. He has said earlier there were injuries but had no specific account of those or their severity. Authorities have blocked off the area. The storm was one of several possible tornadoes or confirmed twisters in an outbreak springing from a severe weather front that lashed the Southeast on Sunday. ____ 10:15 p.m. President Donald Trump has tweeted to Alabama residents to be safe in the wake of deadly storms, including an apparent tornado that has claimed several lives in that Southern state. Trump wrote in the tweet Sunday evening: “To the great people of Alabama and surrounding areas: Please be careful and safe. Tornadoes and storms were truly violent and more could be coming.” His tweet concluded: “To the families and friends of the victims, and to the injured, God bless you all!” ____ 10 p.m. Authorities in southwest Georgia are searching door to door in darkened neighborhoods after a possible tornado touched down in the rural city of Cairo. Cairo City Manager Chris Addleton said office and commercial buildings in the downtown had windows blown out and metal roofs torn off by the storm Sunday evening. He said some residents reported being stuck inside homes that were damaged or had trees on them. There were no immediate reports of serious injuries in the community, 33 miles (about 50 kilometers) north of the Florida capital of Tallahassee. Electricity was out. Addleton said the full extent of the damage likely wouldn’t be known until daylight. The National Weather Service Weather says an outbreak of tornadoes swept a wide area of the Deep South on Sunday as severe storms crossed the region. ___ 8:30 p.m. A coroner in southeast Alabama says he expects the death toll to rise to at least 20 from an apparent tornado in hard-hit Lee County. Lee County Coroner Bill Harris told The Associated Press that he has called in help from elsewhere around the state because there were more bodies than his four-person office can handle. Says Harris of the victims in the hard-hit county: “I’d say at least 20 or more.” Earlier Harris told A.Com that “we’ve still got people being pulled out of rubble.” The coroner added: “We’re going to be here all night.” Authorities say several tornadoes or possible tornadoes were unleashed by a vast storm system that raked several states in the Southeast on Sunday. ____ 7:30 p.m. Authorities are blocking traffic to some of the most heavily damaged areas in an Alabama county where the sheriff says at least 14 people are confirmed dead. Patrol vehicles from the Lee County Sheriff’s Office could be seen by an Associated Press reporter as the vehicles blocked Highway 51 into downtown Beauregard. Closer to the devastation, emergency vehicles including ambulances, with lights flashes, were scattered all around. One trained canine had been brought into the area to help the operations. The area was dark and electricity appeared to be knocked out in many places late Sunday. Pieces of metal debris and tree branches littered the roadside. It was not raining after the storms rolled eastward into Georgia and toward the Carolinas. Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones told media outlets Sunday that at least 14 deaths had been confirmed in the county and some others are reported missing. ___ 7 p.m. An Alabama sheriff says at least 14 people are dead amid “catastrophic” damage from a possible tornado and others are missing as crews search through wreckage and debris. Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones told WRBL-TV on Sunday that damage in his community followed a path several miles (kilometers) long and appeared up to a fourth of a mile (.4 kilometers) wide. Jones said: “I can say that at this time we have 14 confirmed fatalities. And again, the search continues. We still have some people that are reported missing.” He didn’t elaborate on the exact number of those missing. He adds that several people have been taken to hospitals, “some of them with very serious injuries.” Weather officials say an outbreak of tornadoes occurred Sunday afternoon across a wide area of the Southeast as severe storms crossed the region. ___ 6:20 p.m. An Alabama coroner says he expects the number of deaths from a possible tornado to rise as search crews comb through rubble and debris. Lee County Coroner Bill Harris told Al.com on Sunday evening that two people are confirmed dead in Beauregard, Alabama, but he expects more bodies to be found. Harris says: “We’ve still got people being pulled out of rubble. We’re going to be here all night.” Alabama Emergency Management Agency spokesman Gregory Robinson says no deaths have been reported in the state beyond Lee County, about 60 miles (95 kilometers) east of Montgomery. But Robinson says teams are still assessing damage in several Alabama counties. Weather officials say an outbreak of tornadoes occurred Sunday afternoon across a wide area of the Southeast as severe storms crossed the region. ___ 6:10 p.m. The National Weather Service says it has confirmed a tornado by radar that has toppled trees in a Florida Panhandle county, halting traffic on a stretch of Interstate 10 in one direction because of debris. Meteorologist Don Harrigan with the Tallahassee office of the weather service tells The Associated Press that the tornado hit about 5:45 p.m. Sunday in Walton County in the DeFuniak Springs area. He says radar shows debris was lofted into the air and he was getting reports of trees down in Walton County and eastbound traffic disrupted at Mile Marker 83 on I-10 in the area. He says the Tallahassee office confirmed other tornadoes on radar in Geneva County in southeast Alabama, just across the line from north Florida. And he says another radar-confirmed tornado was detected in Henry County, Alabama, moving into a neighboring county. Harrigan says a squall line moving across the Southeast is entering an area of strong, low-level winds that is conducive to forming tornadoes. He says the threat of more tornadoes will continue for several hours as the storm system races toward the Atlantic seaboard. ____ 4:30 p.m. An emergency management official says two people are confirmed dead and there are many injuries in a southeast Alabama community hit by an apparent tornado that destroyed several homes. Spokeswoman Rita Smith with the Lee County Emergency Management Agency says she wasn’t authorized to release further details of thee deaths, but says they occurred along with numerous injuries in the community of Beauregard, Alabama. Authorities reported what appeared to be a large tornado struck Sunday afternoon. “We’ve got about 150 first responders out there,” Smith told The Associated Press by phone. “They are doing a phenomenal job. Sadly, we know that we have two known confirmed fatalities and many, many injuries.” She says multiple homes have been destroyed or damaged in Beauregard, a community about 60 miles (95 kilometers) east of Montgomery, the state capital. Meteorlogist Meredith Wyatt with the Birmingham, Alabama, office of the National Weather Service says radar and video evidence showed what looked like a large tornado crossing the area near Beauregard shortly after 2 p.m. Sunday. Numerous tornado warnings were posted across parts of Alabama and Georgia on Sunday as a severe storm system churned across the Deep South. ___ 3 p.m. A National Weather Service meteorologist says there are reports of “significant” damage from a possible tornado in southeast Alabama near the Georgia state line. Meteorologist Meredith Wyatt said video and radar showed a possible tornado hitting near Smith’s Station, Alabama, on Sunday afternoon. Wyatt said she had no immediate reports of serious injuries. The National Weather Service on Sunday issued a series of tornado warnings stretching from Phenix City, Alabama, near the Georgia state line to Macon, Georgia, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) to the east. The threat of severe weather was expected to continue until late Sunday. A tornado watch was in effect for much of Georgia, including Athens, Augusta and Savannah. The tornado watch also covers a large area of South Carolina, including the cities of Charleston and Columbia.