Latest news with #CharlotteCountySheriff'sOffice
Perth Now
6 days ago
- Automotive
- Perth Now
Coyote rescued from car's front bumper
A coyote was rescued from a car's front bumper in Charlotte County, Florida. The animal ran in front of the vehicle, got hit and then got wedged inside the bumper. As a result, the canine sustained "two" broken left legs - but is expected to "fully recover". Charlotte County Sheriff's Office in Florida responded to the call, and it then contacted the Wildlife Center of Southwest Florida Rescue, as well as transport to get the coyote - which was named Wile E. Captioning a series of images of the rescue operation in a Facebook post, the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office wrote on July 21: "Here's an unusual story to start your week (you may even say it's "looney")... "Late last week, we responded to a call and found an animal had run out in front of a vehicle, got hit, and became stuck in the front portion of the bumper. That animal turned out to be a coyote, which we appropriately named Wile E. "Wile E. needed medical attention (apparently anvils don't hurt, but vehicles do ), so Wildlife Center of Southwest Florida Rescue and Transport was contacted, who came to get him. "After evaluation, Wile E. suffered from two broken legs on his left side but is expected to fully recover. "No roadrunners were located in the area. (sic)"
Miami Herald
22-07-2025
- Miami Herald
Mystified driver finds fur in car's grille. Creature was still alive, FL cops say
A thick layer of fur found in the grille of a Buick proved to be a wild animal — and it was still alive, according to deputies in southwest Florida. The potentially dangerous discovery was made Thursday, July 17, at a busy intersection in Port Charlotte, the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office says. 'We responded to a call and found an animal had run out in front of a vehicle, got hit, and became stuck in the front portion of the bumper,' the sheriff's office said in a Facebook post. 'That animal turned out to be a coyote, which we appropriately named Wile E.' Coyotes weigh between 20 and 30 pounds and have been known to attack humans. Photos show two men wearing elbow-length gloves worked to remove the coyote. The sheriff's office didn't say if it tried to bite its rescuers. 'Wile E. needed medical attention (apparently anvils don't hurt, but vehicles do), so Wildlife Center of Southwest Florida Rescue and Transport was contacted, who came to get him,' the sheriff's office said. Two of the male coyote's legs were broken in the collision, but he 'is now safe in our care and expected to make a full recovery,' Southwest Florida Rescue reports. The department's July 21 Facebook post had more than 6,000 reactions and comments within a day, many wondering if the coyote was cooperative. 'So you can pull a whole coyote, with two (broken) legs but no tranquilizer, out of a car bumper and not get bit?' Kim Carlisle wrote. 'Don't try this at home!' the department responded.
Miami Herald
08-07-2025
- Miami Herald
Teen dies defending 5-year-old sister in home invasion, FL cops say. Man sentenced
A man accused of fatally stabbing a 15-year-old boy trying to protect his little sister during a home invasion has now been sentenced to death, according to Florida authorities. After a jury convicted 33-year-old Ryan Cole of first-degree murder, burglary with battery and burglary of a structure, a Charlotte County judge imposed the death penalty on July 7. Cole's public defender petitioned the judge to override the jury's recommendation of the death penalty, arguing he suffered from substance abuse, schizophrenia and a psychotic disorder, and he was remorseful for the killing of 15-year-old Khyler Edman. The judge rejected the plea and went with the jury's recommendation. On Sept. 26, 2019, Cole spent his last $40 on heroin and methamphetamine, injected the drugs and broke into a Port Charlotte home where Khyler Edman was home alone with his 5-year-old sister, according to prosecutors and deputies with the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office. The kids' mom told deputies she could monitor her children through a home surveillance system while she was at work, and that day, she saw on Facebook that there were alerts of someone suspicious in the area, according to the arrest affidavit. The mom tried to reach her kids several times through the surveillance system before her 5-year-old daughter appeared in the camera frame and said her brother was dead and they needed an ambulance, deputies said. Investigators said they pieced together from interviews and surveillance footage that Cole walked up to the family's home and tried to pry open the door, commenting that it seemed to be 'reinforced,' deputies wrote in the affidavit. According to investigators, he walked away and grabbed a tool before eventually breaking in through another door as the 15-year-old armed himself with a knife from the kitchen, his sister told investigators. The two started fighting, then Cole got his hands on the knife and stabbed the 15-year-old in the chest and stomach before leaving him to die on the living room floor, authorities said. Before Edman's death was discovered, a woman called 911 to report there was a bleeding man armed with a large knife in her car port, according to deputies. Investigators said they learned Cole jumped in a canal and broke into another home, stole a child's boxing glove and was discovered by the homeowner in the backyard. Deputies who responded to the area heard a woman screaming, and they found Edman's mom. 'I yelled please help. Somebody killed my son,' his mother said during testimony broadcast by WBBH. The teen died of four stab wounds to his torso, according to the autopsy. After Cole was released from the hospital and booked in jail, he told investigators he doesn't remember what happened that day after doing the drugs, deputies said. In a sentencing memorandum asking the judge for mercy, Cole's attorney argued he was under the influence of drugs and was experiencing psychosis during the incident. Cole said during a statement in court that he thinks about his actions every day. 'As we have said through my trial, I am responsible, and I own that,' he said. 'There is no doubt that I am sincerely sorry for what happened. I truly, truly am. And I hope the family of this young man can find it in their hearts one day to forgive me for this tragedy.' Edman was passionate about the outdoors and was a student in the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps at his high school, family wrote in his obituary. 'Khyler Edman was a kind, intelligent and caring young man who deeply loved his family and life,' his aunt said in court, according to broadcast from WINK. His family said the teen enjoyed fishing, going to the beach, riding bumper cars and going on bike rides with friends. 'Mostly, he is known for his unselfishness, always putting others before himself,' family wrote in his obituary. 'Khyler will always hold the title of an awesome big brother to his siblings, especially his sister. He was kind, caring, loving, and will be missed by many.' Port Charlotte is on Florida's Gulf Coast, about a 30-mile drive northwest from Fort Myers.
Miami Herald
01-07-2025
- Miami Herald
These seven cold cases sat unsolved — until now. Take a look the stories
National These seven cold cases sat unsolved — until now. Take a look the stories A decomposed body found in California in 1967 was identified after decades using forensic genetic genealogy, and a cigarette butt helped lead to an accused killer's arrest 35 years later in Florida. A partial fingerprint on a cigarette pack helped close a 1977 California murder case, and officials said DNA testing linked a suspect to the killing of a mother during a bank robbery in 1997. Read the stories below. Robert Hecht's new Lincoln was found in Lenoir, North Carolina, more than a 700-mile drive from the Florida home where he was found dead, authorities said. Photo from the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office NO. 1: CIGARETTE BUTT IN DEAD MAN'S CAR LEADS TO ACCUSED KILLER 35 YEARS LATER, FLORIDA COPS SAY The man's new car was found in Lenoir, North Carolina, more than a 700-mile drive from his Florida home, authorities said. | Published April 23, 2024 | Read Full Story by Olivia Lloyd Two women were strangled to death and dumped in the same location a little over a month apart in central Florida, authorities said. One man now faces murder charges. Photo from the Orange County Sheriff's Office NO. 2: 'POTENTIAL SERIAL KILLER' KILLED SEX WORKERS, THEN DUMPED THEIR BODIES, FLORIDA COPS SAY He 'targeted women he thought wouldn't be missed,' the Orange County Sheriff said. | Published April 29, 2024 | Read Full Story by Olivia Lloyd A woman has been identified 57 years after her body was found down a steep cliff, California deputies say. Photo from Sonoma County Sheriff's Office NO. 3: DECOMPOSED BODY DOWN CLIFF POSED MYSTERY SINCE 1967, CA COPS SAY. NOW WOMAN IDENTIFIED The woman was last known to have lived in San Francisco and was estranged from family, deputies said. | Published May 9, 2024 | Read Full Story by Daniella Segura Using DNA testing the remains were identified as Paul Richard Davis, of Kern County, deputies say. Photo from Plumas County Sheriff's Office NO. 4: REMAINS FOUND IN SHALLOW GRAVE BY TREE TRIMMERS IN 1988 IDENTIFIED, CALIFORNIA COPS SAY The man stopped calling family in the early 1980s, deputies said. | Published March 3, 2025 | Read Full Story by Daniella Segura
Miami Herald
16-06-2025
- General
- Miami Herald
Mysterious metal object on FL beach is 80-year-old war relic. What is it?
After a puzzling 100-pound object washed up on a Florida beach, a deputy with a military background recognized it for what it was: an old bomb. The rusty piece of ordnance turned out to be an unexploded World War II era practice bomb, a spokesperson for MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa told McClatchy News on June 16. The bomb was discovered at Englewood Beach, prompting curiosity from passersby until a deputy with a military background identified it, the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office said. Jim Jackson told WBBH his grandchildren spotted the item on the beach from a condo. 'I first thought, this is a scuba tank, maybe,' he told the outlet. Then a couple days later, he said a deputy told him what it really was. Law enforcement evacuated the area as bomb squads came in to evaluate the item, eventually determining it didn't pose a threat. MacDill's explosive ordnance disposal team tried to transport it to the base to use as a training aid, but it essentially disintegrated, the spokesperson said. The airdrop bomb could have come from air force teams practicing over the Tampa Bay area during the World War II time period, which coincides with the base's completion in 1941, according to the spokesperson. It's also not the first time military ordnance has washed ashore in the area. MacDill advises anyone who sees what they suspect could be unexploded ordnance to contact local law enforcement. Englewood is about a 30-mile drive south from Sarasota.
