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New pictures show kids playing with rabid bat and launch search for young girl
By
Jennifer Stacy
Story Created:
Jul 1, 2009 at 2:32 PM EST
Story Updated:
Jul 1, 2009 at 6:48 PM EST
(Ft. Myers Beach) The worldwide search for children seen playing with a rabid bat on Fort Myers Beach has a new twist. Wednesday afternoon WINK News received some new pictures a vacationer took of those kids, and a search began for a young girl with long blond hair.
The photos were taken by a family vacationing from Iowa. They show two boys, who have been identified, playing with the rabid bat. They also show a young girl. It's the first time the Health Department heard a girl was there on June 15Th, 2009.
While watching their local news, the Iowa family saw the worldwide media alert sent out by the Lee County Health Department and the CDC, searching for the remaining three boys who are believed to have been in contact with the bat. That family contacted their local health department, who contacted Lee County.
Hoping to find the little girl, the Lee County Health Department then sent the pictures to WINK News and other media outlets Wednesday. WINK put them on our noon newscast.
"Within about 15-20 minutes of this information getting distributed through the local media, one of the girls' guardians contacted the Health Department and we were able to locate her right away, which is fantastic." Explains Jennifer James-Mesloh, Public Information Officer for the Lee County Health Department.
The girl in the pictures is from Southwest Florida. She says she did not actually touch the bat, so the Health Department says there's no need for her to be vaccinated for rabies.
The Lee County Health Department is still looking for the three other boys who may have been in contact with the bat. If you have any information, please contact them immediately.