ALVA Woodpeckers build home in Alva woman’s house You may have heard of squatters, but this woman is dealing with squawkers. Who needs a rooster to wake up when you have woodpeckers?
FORT MYERS Man claims he was trapped in a high-rise for 5 days A 77-year-old man wants justice after he claims he spent days trapped on the 24th floor of a high-rise apartment building.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte Correctional prisoner arrested for death of another inmate State Attorney Amira Fox convened a grand jury, which decided to move forward with a case against a Charlotte Correctional inmate.
SANIBEL Construction near Dairy Queen eagle nest on Sanibel raises concerns While many eagle nests may be a bit difficult to see, one nest has always been a favorite for Sanibel residents and tourists.
The environmental effects of artificial sweeteners Experts are studying how the foods we eat affect the environment, especially after we flush our waste down the toilet.
Victim reacts to man exposing himself to her Ring camera You get a notification on your phone from your ring camera app that someone is at the door, only to find out it is someone exposing themselves. It’s the last thing victim Maria Kivi wanted or expected to see last week.
LEE COUNTY The art of capturing your eye and drawing you in How do you capture young, hip, trendy, fun, movers and shakers, all in a pose? We take you behind the scenes of a Gulfshore Life cover shoot.
FORT MYERS The lives of two SJC Boxers changed in the ring Two SJC Boxers, Mario Nunez and Arbon Kurtishi, help each other in the ring as each of them had their lives changed because of boxing.
FORT MYERS Chlamydia cases rising sharply in Lee County If you think about a crowded space- something with more than 250 people- if it’s in Lee county, statistically one person has chlamydia.
SANIBEL Sanibel resort day passes hope to get more business on the island A pass will allow vacationers to hang out at a Sanibel beach club for a day in hopes of drumming up some business.
Voting equipment tested ahead of Lee County elections Voting equipment is being tested in Lee County. This is to ensure all ballots are printed and counted correctly for the upcoming election.
Collier County teen assaulted after leaving party The teen has been charged and the sheriff’s office said they’re aware that many believe felony charges are in order, but under Florida law, there are very specific criteria that must be met for felony charges to be filed.
WINK weather team watching tropical wave over Atlantic Ocean The Weather Authority is watching a tropical disturbance over the Central Atlantic Ocean.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral drug bust leads investigators to fake fentanyl, cash and guns Cape Coral man arrest on drug charges. Investigators said they found, guns, drugs, and more than $32,000 in Richard Riley’s home.
NAPLES Naples youth flag football team to compete in Ohio tournament This weekend, the Naples Lunatics Green will compete in the Superhero Sports tournament in Canton, Ohio.
ALVA Woodpeckers build home in Alva woman’s house You may have heard of squatters, but this woman is dealing with squawkers. Who needs a rooster to wake up when you have woodpeckers?
FORT MYERS Man claims he was trapped in a high-rise for 5 days A 77-year-old man wants justice after he claims he spent days trapped on the 24th floor of a high-rise apartment building.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte Correctional prisoner arrested for death of another inmate State Attorney Amira Fox convened a grand jury, which decided to move forward with a case against a Charlotte Correctional inmate.
SANIBEL Construction near Dairy Queen eagle nest on Sanibel raises concerns While many eagle nests may be a bit difficult to see, one nest has always been a favorite for Sanibel residents and tourists.
The environmental effects of artificial sweeteners Experts are studying how the foods we eat affect the environment, especially after we flush our waste down the toilet.
Victim reacts to man exposing himself to her Ring camera You get a notification on your phone from your ring camera app that someone is at the door, only to find out it is someone exposing themselves. It’s the last thing victim Maria Kivi wanted or expected to see last week.
LEE COUNTY The art of capturing your eye and drawing you in How do you capture young, hip, trendy, fun, movers and shakers, all in a pose? We take you behind the scenes of a Gulfshore Life cover shoot.
FORT MYERS The lives of two SJC Boxers changed in the ring Two SJC Boxers, Mario Nunez and Arbon Kurtishi, help each other in the ring as each of them had their lives changed because of boxing.
FORT MYERS Chlamydia cases rising sharply in Lee County If you think about a crowded space- something with more than 250 people- if it’s in Lee county, statistically one person has chlamydia.
SANIBEL Sanibel resort day passes hope to get more business on the island A pass will allow vacationers to hang out at a Sanibel beach club for a day in hopes of drumming up some business.
Voting equipment tested ahead of Lee County elections Voting equipment is being tested in Lee County. This is to ensure all ballots are printed and counted correctly for the upcoming election.
Collier County teen assaulted after leaving party The teen has been charged and the sheriff’s office said they’re aware that many believe felony charges are in order, but under Florida law, there are very specific criteria that must be met for felony charges to be filed.
WINK weather team watching tropical wave over Atlantic Ocean The Weather Authority is watching a tropical disturbance over the Central Atlantic Ocean.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral drug bust leads investigators to fake fentanyl, cash and guns Cape Coral man arrest on drug charges. Investigators said they found, guns, drugs, and more than $32,000 in Richard Riley’s home.
NAPLES Naples youth flag football team to compete in Ohio tournament This weekend, the Naples Lunatics Green will compete in the Superhero Sports tournament in Canton, Ohio.
Xs are seen carved into an FGCU student’s vehicle. She and a few other female students believe this was targeted and done at their off-campus complex. Credit: WINK News. An X was keyed into a college student’s car off campus, and she wants to know why. She’s not alone. Women at FGCU are worried they’re being targeted and say FGCU’s University Police Department is not taking their safety seriously after they found their cars vandalized off campus. Sophia Costa got out of class Tuesday to find her car vandalized. An X had been etched right on top of the hood of her car, and she believes it happened at her complex off-campus overnight. Sophia is one of five female students who live at an off-campus complex and discovered the same thing. “I knew I didn’t want to go home,” Sophia said. “That was the first thing. It’s like, just in case if anyone’s tracking me.” She meant tracking women for sex trafficking. That fear quickly spread around campus and to parents of students. “My daughter called me, and she’s like that I have the Xs on my car,” Peter Costa explained. “And I’m like, ‘Oh, my God, send a picture of them, and immediately call the police.’” The vandalism happened off campus, so Lee County Sheriff’s Office is leading the investigation. It’s not within the jurisdiction of FGCU’s University Police Department, so UPD Chief Steven Moore sent out an email to stop any misinformation spreading around FGCU. “Obviously, no one would need to ‘mark a vehicle’ as being owned by a female, since the cars already have sorority window decals,” Chief Moore wrote in his public address. Some fear the chief’s response has been underwhelming to the recent vandalism. “I get kind of trying to like make people seem less scared by telling them like, ‘Oh, it’s just the prank. Don’t worry too much about it,’” Sophia said. “But like that’s, you know, you’re still gonna worry.” “To see something like that was very upsetting because it seemed like it really diminished what people were concerned about,” Chloe Johnson said. Chief Moore would not speak to us on camera, but he responded to us via email, further explaining his reasoning behind his response to current concerns. “The purpose was to show the facts versus the misinformation being posted on social media,” Moore sent WINK News in an email. “The misinformation is increasing fear based on criminal mischief from over 2 weeks ago.” Moore encourages anyone who experiences similar acts against them or any type of crime to contact law enforcement. He said he and UPD plan to set up a virtual safety presentation for Greek life. Johnson said it needs to be campus-wide because she says sex trafficking is real. As for Sophia Costa and her dad, they hope this really is just a prank. But just in case, she now has pepper spray and a stun gun. Johnson also told us the chief’s email could do more harm than any good intended. “You think back to like, ‘Oh I don’t want to call UPD. I don’t want them to think I’m being dramatic,’” Johnson said.