Latest news with #MissOkaloosaCountyTeenUSA
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Yahoo
Dauphin Island Causeway restoration project: What to know about phase 2
DAUPHIN ISLAND, Ala. (WKRG) — Phase two of the Causeway Shoreline Restoration Project kicked off Thursday. It aims to create safer roadways and natural habitats for marine life in Mobile Bay. Kadance Fredericksen named forever Miss Okaloosa County Teen USA — title retired Erosion along State Highway 193 going into Dauphin Island is jeopardizing the road from being washed away. This can create a dangerous situation for residents when hurricanes strike. The goal of the project is to help make it safer to travel to and from Dauphin Island for the tourists and the nearly 1,900 residents. 'This roadway we are standing next to is the only ingress and egress from Dauphin Island, so during a hurricane, it's the only way to get out,' Mobile County Deputy Environmental Services Director Matthew Jones said. 'This project will help protect that roadway.' The plan includes restoring the marsh habitat between Bayfront Park and Cedar Point. The 3.5 mile long project will be filled with 800,00 cubic yards of dredge material and will cover close to 100 football fields. It will also create a habitat for marine life. 'This shoreline has been steadily eroding over the years, and this project will restore the shoreline back to where it was in 1917,' Jones said. 'That breakwater that you see will provide protection that will help to prevent marsh that we are building from eroding in the future.' Dauphin Island Mayor Jeff Collier said the work is a welcome sight for people on Dauphin Island. 'We've been supportive of this project from day one,' Collier said. 'And we applaud the different agencies and entities that came together to make it possible. And the benefits are going to be tremendous.' Gulf State Park wants your Mardi Gras beads — here's why The Causeway Shoreline Restoration Project is now in phase two and consists of putting piping in place to allow for the pumping of dredge material. The entire project is set for completion by fall. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Yahoo
Loxley man accused of sexually abusing 2 girls: BCSO
BALDWIN COUNTY, Ala. (WKRG) — A Loxley man was arrested Wednesday and is accused of sexually abusing a child less than 12 years old. Baldwin County Sheriff's Office officials said they received a report of child sex abuse involving a 9-year-old girl. Further investigation identified another victim, a 10-year-old girl, and a juvenile witness. Chickasaw man arrested after stepsister overdoses, dies: MCSO Both victims told investigators the abuse occurred over the last two years. Richard Larry Teal, 55, of Loxley, was identified as the suspect. BCSO investigators interviewed Teal on Wednesday, and he was arrested and accused of sexual abuse of a child less than 12 years old. He was then taken to the Robertsdale Jail. He was booked into the Baldwin County Jail Thursday morning. Although Teal has the same name as Loxley Mayor Richard Teal, we want to make clear that this is not the same person. Kadance Fredericksen named forever Miss Okaloosa County Teen USA — title retired According to the sheriff's office, additional charges and counts are pending presentation to the Baldwin County Grand Jury. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Yahoo
Kadance Fredericksen named forever Miss Okaloosa County Teen USA — title retired
BAKER, Fla. – The Miss Florida Teen USA organization has officially retired the title of Miss Okaloosa County Teen USA — permanently awarding it to Kadance Fredericksen in her memory. UPDATE: NAS Pensacola lifts lockdown after reports of shots fired onboard Corry Station The announcement was made by Jaclyn Nesheiwat Stapp, director of Miss Florida Teen USA, in honor of Fredericksen's lasting impact on the pageant community. 'From this moment on, Kadance will always be the FOREVER Miss Okaloosa County Teen USA,' Lisa Fredericksen, Kadance's mother, shared in a statement. 'There are no words to fully express what this means to us.' Kadance, 18, died in a car crash on Feb. 17. She had been involved in pageantry for years and used her platform to support charitable causes, including founding 'Kada's Promise,' a nonprofit that donated more than 15,000 teddy bears to children in crisis. Her family said the title retirement is a meaningful tribute to her legacy. Wild black bear hunting may become legal soon in Florida 'It feels amazing. In one aspect, it's hard to believe that my daughter at 18 could have had such an impact. But at the same time, it doesn't surprise me. That's just who she was,' said her father, Matt Fredericksen. Kadance's family said future pageant contestants will now represent their city rather than Okaloosa County. 'She was more than a titleholder. She was a light in this world, and she will always be remembered that way,' Lisa Fredericksen said. Kadance had been accepted to Mississippi State University and Auburn University, where she planned to study veterinary medicine. She was also a National Honor Society member and recipient of the Ellison McCraney Ingram Foundation Scholarship. Miss Florida Teen USA officials said the title retirement is a permanent decision, ensuring that Kadance's name will always be part of the pageant's history. Travis Lofton sentenced after killing Daphne restaurant manager 'We are grateful to everyone who continues to love and remember Kadance,' her mother said. 'She may not be physically here, but her love, kindness, and passion will never fade.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Yahoo
Pensacola man sentenced for 2023 manslaughter
ESCAMBIA COUNTY, Fla. (WKRG) — An Escambia County judge has sentenced a Pensacola man to 30 years in prison for a shooting death in 2023. Crestview man wanted on child sex crimes arrested at Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport According to a state attorney news release, Michael Andrew Rodriguez was sentenced on the charge of manslaughter with a firearm. He was found guilty in January. The release said Rodriguez shot and killed 22-year-old Damon Lane Caldwell on the night of July 21, 2023, outside of Sam's Lounge on Old Corry Field Road. Caldwell grabbed Rodriguez by the shirt collar, which led to Rodriguez shooting Caldwell. Rodriguez claimed that Caldwell had reached for a gun with his other hand, but prosecutors were able to prove through surveillance video that Caldwell was not reaching for a gun — he had a beer bottle in that hand. Kadance Fredericksen named forever Miss Okaloosa County Teen USA — title retired After shooting Caldwell, Rodriguez fired a shot in the direction of some bystanders before fleeing the scene. Rodriguez was later arrested by the Escambia County Sheriff's Office at his girlfriend's house. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Yahoo
Miss Florida Contestant Kadance Fredericksen Died in a Car Crash ‘3 Minutes From Home,' Her Mom Says
Kadance Fredericksen, a Miss Florida Teen USA contestant, died in a car crash just 'three minutes from home,' says her mother, Lisa Fredericksen. Lisa, 48, spoke with People for a story published on Wednesday, February 19, two days after Kadance's death at the age of 18. The teen was driving in Santa Rosa County on Monday, February 17, when her car went over the center line and crashed head-on into a tractor-trailer. Kadance was pronounced dead at the scene. "She was literally three minutes from home," Lisa told the outlet, adding, 'I have no idea what happened.' Neither did the Florida Highway Patrol when they filed their report on Monday's crash, stating that Kadance's vehicle had crossed into the opposite lane 'for reasons unknown.' An investigation into the tragedy continues. Celebrity Deaths of 2025: Aubrey Plaza's Husband Jeff Baena and More Stars We've Lost This Year Lisa adopted Kadance seven years ago; her daughter had been abused earlier in her childhood. In 2024, Kadance was a finalist for the Miss Florida Teen USA title and was also crowned Miss Okaloosa County Teen USA. 'She came home one day and she said, 'Mama, can I do a beauty pageant?' "And I said, 'Well, yeah, but if you do a beauty pageant, you have to talk in front of people,' because she still didn't talk a whole lot,' Lisa said in her People interview, adding, "And she did it. She bought the ugliest dress she could find because she just wanted to be like a princess. She didn't win a thing. But she was hooked." Kadance had raised more than $25,000 for the Ronald McDonald House since volunteering at the charity starting in 2017. That year, she founded Kada's Promise, which provides teddy bears and blankets to kids in foster care, homeless shelters, abuse shelters and hospitals. Remembering Ballerina Michaela Mabinty DePrince: Career Beginnings, Adoption Story Before Tragic Death 'During many dark times in my early childhood, the only thing that I could call my own or that made me feel safe was a single teddy bear that I received as a gift,' Kadance explained in a message on the organization's website. 'I carried him with me from house to house, couch to couch and clutched him tightly in the scariest times. It is from these memories that Kada's Promise was born.' According to Lisa, Kadance was the 'most kindhearted' person and 'only wanted everybody to be happy.' Her goal was to become a veterinarian. The day before she died, she had been awarded a full-ride scholarship at Mississippi State University, one of nine colleges that had accepted her as a student. "Our pageant community has lost a beautiful soul — one who was a true light in this world,' Kadance's Miss Florida and Teen Florida USA Family said in a statement Tuesday. 'She was ambitious, driven, kind, and a leader among her pageant sisters," they continued. "Our thoughts and prayers are with her family, friends, and all who are mourning this devastating loss. May we honor her memory by carrying forward the light she so effortlessly shared with the world and our Florida pageant community."
