Keeping the Halloween spirit alive in Port CharlotteClewiston Police: toddler dies from accidental gunshot wound
PORT CHARLOTTE Keeping the Halloween spirit alive in Port Charlotte It’s a Halloween miracle! The owner of a popular haunted house in Port Charlotte thought this year would be its last, but the community isn’t ready to say farewell.
CLEWISTON Clewiston Police: toddler dies from accidental gunshot wound New information has been released about the 2-year-old Clewiston boy who died from a single gunshot wound.
BONITA SPRINGS Bonita Springs residents having concerns over power outages A neighborhood in Bointa has had more than five power outages in one night. Many residents are wondering, ‘When will it come to an end?’
Marco Island restoration project to continue after Milton The Marco Island restoration project that began in 2022 will continue after being paused by Hurricane Milton.
FORT MYERS BEACH Fort Myers Beach storm recovery efforts in progress On Fort Myers Beach recovery efforts from the back-to-back storms still have a long way to go. With the debris mostly cleaned up, the beach now needs some nourishment.
Charlotte County celebrates Halloween with annual Cops and Goblins event The best way to celebrate Halloween is with costumes and candy. The Charlotte County Sheriff’s office will have plenty of both with this year’s cops and goblins event.
SANIBEL Keeping Count: Sea turtle nesting season ends on Sanibel island Thousands of baby sea turtles have hatched and have made their way to their forever home on Sanibel Island, marking the end of nesting season.
FORT MYERS Man connected to Fort Myers homicide investigation held without bond A 45-year-old man appeared in court charged in connection to an incident that happened on Colonial Boulevard near Ortiz Avenue.
Five SWFL high school volleyball teams to states Five Southwest Florida high school volleyball teams are heading to Winter Haven to compete for a state championship.
Officials discuss concerns about amendments passing As millions of Floridians vote on two major amendments dealing with abortion and marijuana, some officials are raising concerns about how lawmakers can change or alter an amendment once it’s passed.
LELY Game of the Week: South Fort Myers Wolfpack at Lely Trojans The South Fort Myers Wolfpack and the Lely Trojans will battle it out Friday night in our WINK News week 11 Game of the week.
CAPE CORAL How to help burrowing owls displaced after hurricanes Unlike us humans who can repair our homes and clear debris after a hurricane, burrowing owls can’t do that work themselves.
PUNTA GORDA Fisherman’s Village in Punta Gorda to reopen after Hurricane Milton If you’re looking to do some early holiday shopping in Charlotte County on Friday, Fisherman’s Village is reopening its doors just in time.
Miracle Moment: Nurses dress up NICU babies for Halloween It’s time for Miracle moment, and boy do we have a Halloween treat.
FORT MYERS End of daylight saving time can affect your health It doesn’t matter that it still feels like summer, the days are about to get longer as we head towards winter.
PORT CHARLOTTE Keeping the Halloween spirit alive in Port Charlotte It’s a Halloween miracle! The owner of a popular haunted house in Port Charlotte thought this year would be its last, but the community isn’t ready to say farewell.
CLEWISTON Clewiston Police: toddler dies from accidental gunshot wound New information has been released about the 2-year-old Clewiston boy who died from a single gunshot wound.
BONITA SPRINGS Bonita Springs residents having concerns over power outages A neighborhood in Bointa has had more than five power outages in one night. Many residents are wondering, ‘When will it come to an end?’
Marco Island restoration project to continue after Milton The Marco Island restoration project that began in 2022 will continue after being paused by Hurricane Milton.
FORT MYERS BEACH Fort Myers Beach storm recovery efforts in progress On Fort Myers Beach recovery efforts from the back-to-back storms still have a long way to go. With the debris mostly cleaned up, the beach now needs some nourishment.
Charlotte County celebrates Halloween with annual Cops and Goblins event The best way to celebrate Halloween is with costumes and candy. The Charlotte County Sheriff’s office will have plenty of both with this year’s cops and goblins event.
SANIBEL Keeping Count: Sea turtle nesting season ends on Sanibel island Thousands of baby sea turtles have hatched and have made their way to their forever home on Sanibel Island, marking the end of nesting season.
FORT MYERS Man connected to Fort Myers homicide investigation held without bond A 45-year-old man appeared in court charged in connection to an incident that happened on Colonial Boulevard near Ortiz Avenue.
Five SWFL high school volleyball teams to states Five Southwest Florida high school volleyball teams are heading to Winter Haven to compete for a state championship.
Officials discuss concerns about amendments passing As millions of Floridians vote on two major amendments dealing with abortion and marijuana, some officials are raising concerns about how lawmakers can change or alter an amendment once it’s passed.
LELY Game of the Week: South Fort Myers Wolfpack at Lely Trojans The South Fort Myers Wolfpack and the Lely Trojans will battle it out Friday night in our WINK News week 11 Game of the week.
CAPE CORAL How to help burrowing owls displaced after hurricanes Unlike us humans who can repair our homes and clear debris after a hurricane, burrowing owls can’t do that work themselves.
PUNTA GORDA Fisherman’s Village in Punta Gorda to reopen after Hurricane Milton If you’re looking to do some early holiday shopping in Charlotte County on Friday, Fisherman’s Village is reopening its doors just in time.
Miracle Moment: Nurses dress up NICU babies for Halloween It’s time for Miracle moment, and boy do we have a Halloween treat.
FORT MYERS End of daylight saving time can affect your health It doesn’t matter that it still feels like summer, the days are about to get longer as we head towards winter.
Credit: Gabby Petito’s instagram North Port police told WINK News on Monday that investigators made mistakes in Brian Laundrie’s case. The North Port Police Department says they thought they were keeping a close eye on Brian before he went missing. North Port PD had cameras set up around the Laundrie family home but that strategy was not successful. Those who were watching the Laundrie house saw Brian leave in his grey Mustang. They then thought they saw him return days later, but they had mixed up Brian and his mom. This mistake cost taxpayers quite a bit of money and cost law enforcement a great deal of time, energy and manpower. North Port police believe Brian Laundrie looks very much like his mother, Roberta. “They’re kind of built similarly,” said Josh Taylor, NPPD public information officer. Taylor says North Port police began tracking Brian after his fiance’s, Gabby Petito, family reported her missing in the State of New York. They reported her missing on Saturday, September 11. Police then watched him leave in his Mustang on Monday, September 13 and he returned on Wednesday, September 15. “All I’m going to say is we know where Brian Laundrie is at,” said North Port Police Chief Todd Garrison. Garrison made this comment on Thursday, Sept. 16. NPPD was confident that Brian was inside his home. Everything changed the next day, Friday, Sept. 17. “When the family reported him [missing] on Friday. That was certainly news to us that they had not seen him,” Taylor said. “We thought that we seen Brian initially come back into that home on that Wednesday. But we now know that that wasn’t true.” Chris and Roberta, Brian’s parents, told investigators that they hadn’t seen their son since Tuesday. Later, the family changed that date to Monday. So who did investigators actually see? “I believe it was his mom who was wearing a baseball cap,” Taylor said. “They had returned from the park with that Mustang. So who does that? Right? Like, if you think your son’s missing since Tuesday, you’re going to bring his car back to the home. So it didn’t make sense that anyone would do that if he wasn’t there. So the individual getting out with a baseball cap we thought was Brian,” said Taylor. Now, Taylor admits the North Port Police Department made a costly mistake. “No case is perfect,” Taylor said. No matter who was driving the Mustang back to the Laundrie house, NPPD had no idea where Brian went when he left his parents house on September 13. And, now, we know that he went to Carlton Reserve and likely, never left again. Police found the car at the reserve the very next day, which was a Tuesday. His mother returned the car to the home on Wednesday. As for the family’s infamous red pickup truck, it has since left the home as well. Chris and Roberta left to mourn the loss of their son. The attorney for the Laundrie family, Steven Bertolino, says that Brian’s parents are grieving in an undisclosed location. So far, they don’t have a formal funeral plan for Brian. Instead, once his remains are released from the medical examiner, the family plans to cremate him.