NAPLES Turtle Club in Naples reopens Following a 19-month closure because of Hurricane Ian, the Turtle Club has reopened.
FORT MYERS BEACH Hurricane season preparations at Lee County construction sites Many already know the drill when hurricane season is around the corner.
SANIBEL Bones found on Sanibel concern beachgoers A husband and wife found what appeared to be bones. What type and where they came from is being investigated.
FGCU FGCU president reflects on first year with graduating class Alico Arena was packed this weekend as Florida Gulf Coast University graduated 1,900 students in four ceremonies.
Reverse shoulder replacement offers new approach to pain management Shoulder replacement is the third most common replacement in the US, following hip and knee replacement.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Lee County teachers bargain for new raises Kevin Daly is the voice of the Lee County Teachers Union, and he says he knows firsthand the struggle teachers experience across the state.
FORT MYERS New Starbucks off Colonial expected to add to traffic headaches It’s a venti-sized traffic nightmare. That’s how Gina O’Donnell envisions the future of this plaza.
NAPLES Feeding families through Meals of Hope They’re a Naples-based non-profit organization whose mission is to alleviate hunger both locally and throughout the country.
Family dealing with two losses in quick succession A teenager will not get to celebrate turning 21 years old with friends, can’t put a smile on his family member’s faces and will never get to see his mother again.
JERUSALEM (AP) Israeli leaders have approved a military operation into the Gaza Strip city of Rafah Israeli leaders approved a military operation into the Gaza Strip city of Rafah, and Israeli forces were striking targets in the area, officials announced Monday, hours after Hamas announced it had accepted an Egyptian-Qatari cease-fire proposal.
FORT MYERS Middle school tech worker uses CPR skills to save pickleball player’s life It was the right place, at the right time, and that right place was near the pickleball court.
EVERGLADES Big Sugar’s lawsuit for control over Lake Okeechobee water A local non-profit is calling one lawsuit a battle for who controls the water in the State of Florida. Three major sugar companies filed a lawsuit in 2021 against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over the design and intended use of the Everglades Agriculture Area (EAA) Reservoir.
NAPLES Annual Holocaust Remembrance Day program returns to Jewish Federation of Greater Naples Sunday was a day to remember the six million men, women and children lost in the Holocaust.
COLLIER COUNTY 13th dead Florida panther of 2024 found Saturday; deaths now match 2023’s annual total Wildlife officials discovered the 13 dead endangered Florida panther of the year, matching 2023’s total reported mortalities less than halfway into the year.
NORTH PORT Entryway work temporarily closes North Port Library The North Port Library will be closed through Saturday while work is being done to the entryway. During the closure books and other borrowed items can be returned to nearby locations.
NAPLES Turtle Club in Naples reopens Following a 19-month closure because of Hurricane Ian, the Turtle Club has reopened.
FORT MYERS BEACH Hurricane season preparations at Lee County construction sites Many already know the drill when hurricane season is around the corner.
SANIBEL Bones found on Sanibel concern beachgoers A husband and wife found what appeared to be bones. What type and where they came from is being investigated.
FGCU FGCU president reflects on first year with graduating class Alico Arena was packed this weekend as Florida Gulf Coast University graduated 1,900 students in four ceremonies.
Reverse shoulder replacement offers new approach to pain management Shoulder replacement is the third most common replacement in the US, following hip and knee replacement.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Lee County teachers bargain for new raises Kevin Daly is the voice of the Lee County Teachers Union, and he says he knows firsthand the struggle teachers experience across the state.
FORT MYERS New Starbucks off Colonial expected to add to traffic headaches It’s a venti-sized traffic nightmare. That’s how Gina O’Donnell envisions the future of this plaza.
NAPLES Feeding families through Meals of Hope They’re a Naples-based non-profit organization whose mission is to alleviate hunger both locally and throughout the country.
Family dealing with two losses in quick succession A teenager will not get to celebrate turning 21 years old with friends, can’t put a smile on his family member’s faces and will never get to see his mother again.
JERUSALEM (AP) Israeli leaders have approved a military operation into the Gaza Strip city of Rafah Israeli leaders approved a military operation into the Gaza Strip city of Rafah, and Israeli forces were striking targets in the area, officials announced Monday, hours after Hamas announced it had accepted an Egyptian-Qatari cease-fire proposal.
FORT MYERS Middle school tech worker uses CPR skills to save pickleball player’s life It was the right place, at the right time, and that right place was near the pickleball court.
EVERGLADES Big Sugar’s lawsuit for control over Lake Okeechobee water A local non-profit is calling one lawsuit a battle for who controls the water in the State of Florida. Three major sugar companies filed a lawsuit in 2021 against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over the design and intended use of the Everglades Agriculture Area (EAA) Reservoir.
NAPLES Annual Holocaust Remembrance Day program returns to Jewish Federation of Greater Naples Sunday was a day to remember the six million men, women and children lost in the Holocaust.
COLLIER COUNTY 13th dead Florida panther of 2024 found Saturday; deaths now match 2023’s annual total Wildlife officials discovered the 13 dead endangered Florida panther of the year, matching 2023’s total reported mortalities less than halfway into the year.
NORTH PORT Entryway work temporarily closes North Port Library The North Port Library will be closed through Saturday while work is being done to the entryway. During the closure books and other borrowed items can be returned to nearby locations.
Credit: via WINK News. Child exploitation and pornography happens right here in Southwest Florida, and law enforcement works to track those committing these horrible crimes. We went behind the scenes of a computer forensic lab, where agents and analysts find the evidence to put the bad guys away and protect the children of our communities. Families can’t always prevent child predators from pursuing the youngest, most innocent members of society. “Child exploitation is one of the worst crimes that we have to investigate,” Special Agent John Yancey said. “Unfortunately, it is a huge problem here in Southwest Florida.” Yancey is assigned to homeland security investigations (HSI) in Southwest Florida. When it comes to child exploitation, there are three basic elements of the crime: Possession and viewing images Distribution Production of images and videos “Each time someone uses child pornography, they download it, you view it, whatever the way the law sees that is they’re actually re-victimizing the child who was initially failed,” Yancey said. One of those cases unfolded in Fort Myers. “In 2007, our office investigated an offender called Jeffrey Dinkel,” Yancey said. “We received the lead actually from our headquarters units called C3.” C3 is a cybercrime center targeting distributors of child pornography. It sends a lead to HSI in Fort Myers. “We were able to develop enough pc to execute a search warrant at that residence, went and collected the computers, the devices, those type things.” Those devices went to the HSI office in Fort Myers, where cyber forensic analysts examined the evidence. “HSI found the evidence, but Dinkel took off before agents arrested him,” Yancey said. That landed him on HSI’s top ten list, the first Fort Myers resident to do so. “Then, in 2019, we were able to find him,” Yancey said. “He had been living, I believe, in New York or somewhere, and he traveled back to the area.” Dinkel is serving time in federal prison. Meanwhile, the investigations go on. Tamara Glover is a forensic interview specialist for HSI. She has spoken to hundreds of victims. “There are no boundaries as it pertains to potential victims of this type of crime,” Glover said. “It crosses various communities, socio-economic status, races and cultures. That means any child can become a victim, and some of the people sitting in their homes viewing child pornography don’t see it as a crime. These are serious cases investigators must work. The agents working them have many checks and balances to make sure they stay mentally healthy. “It’s some of the toughest case work that we’ll ever have to do. Just for that, because the investigator who works those cases, we have to go through the evidence. And it’s a terrible thing, just to review the evidence and expose yourself to the horrific, horrible crimes that are being committed,” Yancey said. “At the end of the day, they’re also one of the most rewarding type cases that we get to work when you’re able to lock up some of these terrible offenders.” MORE: ICE – Child Exploitation Homeland Security Investigations FBI – Crimes Against Children/Online Predators National Center for Missing & Exploited Children U.S. Department of Justice