Cape Coral woman finds hope with new ALS drugElevate Florida program to help homeowners strengthen properties against storms
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral woman finds hope with new ALS drug A breakthrough discovery of a drug offers new hope for patients with a genetic form of the disease.
Elevate Florida program to help homeowners strengthen properties against storms The Florida Dept. of Emergency Management announced the launch of its new “Elevate Florida” residential mitigation program.
Planning and Zoning Board approves proposed West County area development Homebuilder Maronda Homes received approval Feb. 10 from the Charlotte County Planning and Zoning Board to amend a previously approved development on 1,174 acres in the area of South Gulf Cove.
LEHIGH ACRES 3 charged for major theft organization targeting luxury vehicles Three men, one from Lehigh Acres, has been charged for their role in a major theft organization targeting luxury vehicles.
port charlotte Man arrested for DUI after slamming into Port Charlotte home’s garage The North Port Police Department has arrested a man accused of DUI and crashing into a Port Charlotte home’s garage.
CAPE CORAL New information on nurse accused of starving premature baby New information has been released about what happened behind closed doors when a nurse allegedly starved a premature baby.
BONITA SPRINGS World’s largest bounce castle to spring into Bonita Springs The Big Bounce America, the world’s largest inflatable bounce castle is set to appear in Bonita Springs.
palmdale Gatorama owner bitten during alligator feeding show Gatorama owner Allen Register was sent to hospital after being bitten by an alligator during a feeding show.
CAPE CORAL Man accused of Cape Coral DUI accident with serious injuries A man has been arrested after allegedly causing an accident with injuries while driving under the influence in Cape Coral.
wink news Web Exclusive: Rachel Cox-Rosen’s Construction Heads Up As construction may dampen your commute, WINK News traffic anchor Rachel Cox Rosen knows the best way to traverse the roadways in this web-exclusive feature.
the weather authority Another warm afternoon for your Tuesday plans The Weather Authority is tracking a warm Tuesday afternoon with stray rain showers expected in our inland communities.
NORTH FORT MYERS Cape Coral man faces 16 charges after fleeing multiple traffic stops Marcus Selby, 24, is facing multiple charges after a dramatic series of events involving Cape Coral police and Florida Highway Patrol troopers.
SANIBEL Sanibel residents brace for traffic surge with new advisory and app aid Sanibel residents are bracing for increased traffic as the city issued a “heavy traffic advisory” for the entire week.
FGCU FGCU’s Casey Santoro battles back from Achilles injury FGCU women’s basketball player Casey Santoro is back on the floor after suffering an Achilles injury a season ago.
BABCOCK RANCH Heaviest Florida panther ever recorded located in Babcock Ranch Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission biologists recently captured and collared the heaviest Florida panther ever recorded.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral woman finds hope with new ALS drug A breakthrough discovery of a drug offers new hope for patients with a genetic form of the disease.
Elevate Florida program to help homeowners strengthen properties against storms The Florida Dept. of Emergency Management announced the launch of its new “Elevate Florida” residential mitigation program.
Planning and Zoning Board approves proposed West County area development Homebuilder Maronda Homes received approval Feb. 10 from the Charlotte County Planning and Zoning Board to amend a previously approved development on 1,174 acres in the area of South Gulf Cove.
LEHIGH ACRES 3 charged for major theft organization targeting luxury vehicles Three men, one from Lehigh Acres, has been charged for their role in a major theft organization targeting luxury vehicles.
port charlotte Man arrested for DUI after slamming into Port Charlotte home’s garage The North Port Police Department has arrested a man accused of DUI and crashing into a Port Charlotte home’s garage.
CAPE CORAL New information on nurse accused of starving premature baby New information has been released about what happened behind closed doors when a nurse allegedly starved a premature baby.
BONITA SPRINGS World’s largest bounce castle to spring into Bonita Springs The Big Bounce America, the world’s largest inflatable bounce castle is set to appear in Bonita Springs.
palmdale Gatorama owner bitten during alligator feeding show Gatorama owner Allen Register was sent to hospital after being bitten by an alligator during a feeding show.
CAPE CORAL Man accused of Cape Coral DUI accident with serious injuries A man has been arrested after allegedly causing an accident with injuries while driving under the influence in Cape Coral.
wink news Web Exclusive: Rachel Cox-Rosen’s Construction Heads Up As construction may dampen your commute, WINK News traffic anchor Rachel Cox Rosen knows the best way to traverse the roadways in this web-exclusive feature.
the weather authority Another warm afternoon for your Tuesday plans The Weather Authority is tracking a warm Tuesday afternoon with stray rain showers expected in our inland communities.
NORTH FORT MYERS Cape Coral man faces 16 charges after fleeing multiple traffic stops Marcus Selby, 24, is facing multiple charges after a dramatic series of events involving Cape Coral police and Florida Highway Patrol troopers.
SANIBEL Sanibel residents brace for traffic surge with new advisory and app aid Sanibel residents are bracing for increased traffic as the city issued a “heavy traffic advisory” for the entire week.
FGCU FGCU’s Casey Santoro battles back from Achilles injury FGCU women’s basketball player Casey Santoro is back on the floor after suffering an Achilles injury a season ago.
BABCOCK RANCH Heaviest Florida panther ever recorded located in Babcock Ranch Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission biologists recently captured and collared the heaviest Florida panther ever recorded.
Left to right: Charlotte County Cold Case Detectives Mike Vogel, Kurt Mehl and Mike Gandy (Credit: WINK News) With time on their hands and patience on their side, a trio of detectives gave up retirement a decade ago to give fresh eyes to old murders. The dedicated Cold Case Unit at the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office, first formed in 2009, is finding success closing decades-old murder cases. In fact, over the past three years, they’ve closed three cases, sending a clear message to criminals. In just the past several months, the team has publicly stepped up calls for the public’s help in two unsolved murders. Sharon Gill was killed in 1990. Christine Flahive disappeared in 1995. The hunt is on for the murderers of these two women, and these detectives have a total of more than a century of investigative experience between them. Sharon Gill, left, and Christine Flahive, right. (Credit: Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office) Detective Mike Gandy, who started the unit, has deep roots in the community and more than four decades of experience in law enforcement, mostly at the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office. Detective Mike Vogel is a veteran polygrapher who also served as a special agent with the Naval Investigative Service, which is now known as NCIS. He is the evidence guy. “If we’re looking for something in a case,” Vogel said, “I seem to have a unique knack of being able to find things that are missing.” Kurt Mehl, a veteran detective from New Jersey, is the meticulous organizer in the team. They have a system where they take all the case files and turn that into a comprehensive summary. It requires the detective to read every line of tens of thousands of documents. That meticulous attention to detail comes in handy when working cold cases riddled with dead ends. Left to right: Charlotte County Cold Case Detectives Mike Vogel, Kurt Mehl and Mike Gandy (Credit: WINK News) “You have cases where maybe there are numerous suspects and no real evidence,” Mehl said. “You start eliminating suspects and you start closing the doors and it slowly brings you to where you ultimately want to be to the person who is responsible or persons.” That is, finding the killer and closing the case. “A big part of this is analyzing what you already have, what else happened here that they missed because simply, they didn’t have time,” Gandy said. “Over the years many detectives have worked on these cases but detectives are working crimes daily and they would say, ‘When you have time look at this case, this case, and this case – and they’re cold cases — but you don’t ever have that time.'” In that search for clues, teamwork for this team matters. “We work cases together,” Gandy said. “One day we may take two or three statements from a potential defendant and just sit and analyze it together in here and say, ‘Well, why did he say this or why did he say that?’ And we’ll come up sometimes with three different possibilities, and sometimes we’ll come up with one thing that looks definite.” While DNA can make a difference in solving these old cases, Gandy said their success has mainly come from good old-style detective work, which is getting out and knocking on doors. One pivotal piece can lead to justice for the victims and their families, which makes it all worth it to these detectives. The detectives said they are not headed to a life of leisure anytime soon. “Some people are able to walk away from it when they retire from law enforcement and some people just can’t,” Vogel said.