Searchers comb lakes, homes, woods for missing toddler

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) – Searchers have combed over 60 bodies of water, 40 square miles, and more than 2,000 homes and businesses in recent days, looking for a toddler who went missing eight days ago after his mother’s boyfriend said someone stole his car while the boy slept inside, officials said Friday. Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office […]

Man charged with molesting employee at NFM restaurant

NORTH FORT MYERS, Fla. – A 23-year-old transient is charged with sexually molesting a mentally handicapped employee inside the bathroom of a fast food restaurant.  Traymonte Snipes is charged with lewd or lascivious molestation of a disabled person.  The woman was cleaning the men’s restroom at the restaurant, which investigators did not identify, on Wednesday when Snipes entered and allegedly […]

Wing fragment wrapped and ready for French investigators

SAINT-ANDRE, Reunion (AP) – The wing fragment found on the French island of Reunion was wrapped and ready to be loaded Friday on a cargo flight for the mainland, where experts are hoping to unlock the mystery of the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. Several uniformed officers loaded a large wooden crate into a van […]

‘Gut-wrenching’ decision: Search for teens to be suspended

OPA-LOCKA, Fla. (AP) – After hundreds of rescue workers fanned out across a massive swath of the Atlantic for a full week, the Coast Guard’s search for two teenage fishermen was to end Friday, a heart-rending decision for families so convinced the boys could be alive they’re pressing on with their own hunt. Even as […]

Questions surround emergency Allegiant plane landing

WASHINGTON- It has become increasingly clear that there remain many unanswered questions about the circumstances leading to the emergency landing of Allegiant Airlines flight 426 at Fargo, North Dakota’s Hector International Airport last Thursday. The unexpected landing was triggered when the Allegiant pilot told air traffic controllers that he was low on fuel and needed […]

Fatal crash closes U.S. 41 in NFM

NORTH FORT MYERS, Fla.- All lanes on North Cleveland Avenue are closed at Stockton Street following a fatal crash. Witnesses say a white truck was crossing Stockton Street when a motorcycle traveling north on U.S. 41 crashed into it. The motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities recommend drivers use North Tamiami Trail as an alternate route. Officials say the […]

Men charged with catching too many lobsters

KEY WEST, Fla. (AP) – A southwest Florida man and his adult sons are facing charges after wildlife officials say the men captured too many lobsters around the Keys. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reports that officers stopped a recreational fishing boat Wednesday evening and began checking the catch of a 55-year-old man […]

After 25 years, DNA identifies Collier County homicide victim

NAPLES, Fla. – After 25 years, the Collier County Sheriff’s Office has identified the body of a woman found in the Big Cypress National Preserve.  Investigators credit advances in forensic science with identifying the remains of Patricia Minnis. Minnis‘ body was found under heavy brush by a prison work crew from the now defunct Deep Lake […]

Florida legislator wants investigation of Planned Parenthood

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – A Florida legislator wants a criminal investigation into Planned Parenthood, but the organization calls the request “politically motivated.” Rep. Charles McBurney, a Jacksonville Republican and chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, asked for the inquiry in a letter Thursday to the head of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Gretl Plessinger, […]