Latest news with #LeahLendel
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Man who helped girl attacked by shark in Florida detained by Ice officials
A man who helped rescue a nine-year-old girl after she was attacked and badly injured by a shark in Florida has been detained by immigration authorities – and he could face deportation. Luis Alvarez was stopped in the early hours of 14 June after police said he was driving without headlights on, according to an arrest report seen by the Fort Myers News-Press. The paper revealed Alvarez was being held in jail by the US's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice). As Donald Trump promised it would during his victorious 2024 presidential election, the White House is conducting a national crackdown on immigration with broad sweeps by Ice that have triggered widespread fears in many communities across the US. The Trump administration has claimed its immigration crackdown's priority is to target dangerous criminals. But recent data has shown a surge in people with no criminal history being targeted by the crackdown. Being in the US without legal status is not a criminal offense – it is a civil infraction. Alvarez had been involved in the widely reported shark attack on Leah Lendel, nine, when the youngster was bitten on 9 June while she swam in shallow water off the coast of Boca Grande, Florida. Alvarez had been on the beach during the attack and ran into the water to help the injured child, according to witnesses and local media reports. Lendel's hand was nearly severed after the attack. Alvarez was the first person into the water as he sought to scare the shark, fellow rescuer Raynel Lugo said in an interview with local television station Fox4 News. 'He jumped in that area to bring her out when I was assisting Leah,' Lugo told the broadcaster 'He went deep underwater, not even caring about the shark. He went really deep. He probably faced the shark.' Alvarez is now scheduled for a court hearing before a judge on 9 July. Police reportedly described him as being originally from Boaco, Nicaragua.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Man Rushed to Help 9-Year-Old Shark Attack Victim. Days Later, ICE Arrests Him and Says He's in the Country Illegally
Just three days after he helped save a 9-year-old girl from a shark attack, 31-year-old Luis Alvarez was arrested for allegedly driving without a valid driver's license He is now facing potential deportation, according to news reports, and ICE says he's been in the country illegally since 2022 "He's a real decent guy," a colleague who also assisted in the rescue said of AlvarezA man who helped rescue a 9-year-old girl from a shark attack is now in the custody of immigration officials — and potentially facing punishment including deportation — according to authorities and local news reports. Earlier this month, 31-year-old Luis Alvarez was one of three men who came to help the young girl, Leah Lendel, after she was bitten by a shark while vacationing with her family. He is currently being held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after he was arrested earlier this month for allegedly driving without a license, Fox affiliate WFTX and the Fort Myers News-Press initially reported. On Saturday, June 14, at 1:37 a.m. local time, Alvarez was pulled over after an officer said he was driving without headlights in Immokalee, Fla., according to an arrest report reviewed by PEOPLE. Alvarez, who was born in Nicaragua, per the arrest report, presented the officer with a picture of his U.S. Employment Authorization Document on his phone when asked to present his driver's license. But a records check conducted by the officer showed that Alvarez had never been issued a U.S. driver's license. Alvarez told the officer he'd been in the country for two and a half years, according to the report. He was then arrested by the Collier County Sheriff's Office for allegedly driving without a valid driver's license, according to the report and court records. A spokesperson for the Collier County Jail confirms to PEOPLE that Alvarez is being held by ICE. An ICE spokesperson says Alvarez entered the country illegally in December 2022 — despite showing police a work authorization document, according to his arrest report — and was subsequently taken into custody this month as part of a partnership between local police and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Bail is set at $150. Alvarez will appear in court on July 9. He was previously arrested four times in Lee County for not having a driver's license, the News-Press reported. He either paid fines or had adjudication withheld by judges, the most recent of which issued a D6 license suspension on June 23, according to the outlet. The News-Press also reported that Alvarez was represented by attorney Jose Calvo last year. Calvo did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment. Just days before his arrest, Alvarez was celebrated for his response to the shark attack. The Boca Grande County Fire Department, Lee County Sheriff's Department and emergency services responded to a call about a "potential shark bite" around 12 p.m. local time on June 11 in Boca Grande, Fla., Boca Grande Fire Chief C.W. Blosser previously said in a video statement. Jay Lendel, the father of the victim, Leah, said that emergency responses arrived in about three minutes. Nearby construction workers including Alvarez also came over to assist the family. Alfonso Tello, who was at the scene, told Gulf Coast News that when he got in the water to help, he saw what appeared to be an 8-foot-long shark. "We saw the little girl coming out of the water with no hand," Tello said, adding, "Everybody was in shock." Leah's family and the construction workers were able to get her to Shore Lane. She was then airlifted to a nearby hospital and underwent an emergency, six-hour surgery to repair her hand. The young girl's mom later confirmed to Gulf Coast News on June 12 that "doctors were able to put her hand back together." Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. One of the workers who responded told WFTX about the big role his colleague, Alvarez, played in the rescue. "He jumped in that area to bring her out when I was assisting Leah," Raynel Lugo told the outlet. "He went deep underwater, not even caring about the shark. He went really deep. He probably faced the shark." Added Lugo, according to WFTX. "He's a real decent guy." Read the original article on People
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Man Rushed to Help 9-Year-Old Shark Attack Victim. Days Later, ICE Arrests Him and Says He's in the Country Illegally
Just three days after he helped save a 9-year-old girl from a shark attack, 31-year-old Luis Alvarez was arrested for allegedly driving without a valid driver's license He is now facing potential deportation, according to news reports, and ICE says he's been in the country illegally since 2022 "He's a real decent guy," a colleague who also assisted in the rescue said of AlvarezA man who helped rescue a 9-year-old girl from a shark attack is now in the custody of immigration officials — and potentially facing punishment including deportation — according to authorities and local news reports. Earlier this month, 31-year-old Luis Alvarez was one of three men who came to help the young girl, Leah Lendel, after she was bitten by a shark while vacationing with her family. He is currently being held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after he was arrested earlier this month for allegedly driving without a license, Fox affiliate WFTX and the Fort Myers News-Press initially reported. On Saturday, June 14, at 1:37 a.m. local time, Alvarez was pulled over after an officer said he was driving without headlights in Immokalee, Fla., according to an arrest report reviewed by PEOPLE. Alvarez, who was born in Nicaragua, per the arrest report, presented the officer with a picture of his U.S. Employment Authorization Document on his phone when asked to present his driver's license. But a records check conducted by the officer showed that Alvarez had never been issued a U.S. driver's license. Alvarez told the officer he'd been in the country for two and a half years, according to the report. He was then arrested by the Collier County Sheriff's Office for allegedly driving without a valid driver's license, according to the report and court records. A spokesperson for the Collier County Jail confirms to PEOPLE that Alvarez is being held by ICE. An ICE spokesperson says Alvarez entered the country illegally in December 2022 — despite showing police a work authorization document, according to his arrest report — and was subsequently taken into custody this month as part of a partnership between local police and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Bail is set at $150. Alvarez will appear in court on July 9. He was previously arrested four times in Lee County for not having a driver's license, the News-Press reported. He either paid fines or had adjudication withheld by judges, the most recent of which issued a D6 license suspension on June 23, according to the outlet. The News-Press also reported that Alvarez was represented by attorney Jose Calvo last year. Calvo did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment. Just days before his arrest, Alvarez was celebrated for his response to the shark attack. The Boca Grande County Fire Department, Lee County Sheriff's Department and emergency services responded to a call about a "potential shark bite" around 12 p.m. local time on June 11 in Boca Grande, Fla., Boca Grande Fire Chief C.W. Blosser previously said in a video statement. Jay Lendel, the father of the victim, Leah, said that emergency responses arrived in about three minutes. Nearby construction workers including Alvarez also came over to assist the family. Alfonso Tello, who was at the scene, told Gulf Coast News that when he got in the water to help, he saw what appeared to be an 8-foot-long shark. "We saw the little girl coming out of the water with no hand," Tello said, adding, "Everybody was in shock." Leah's family and the construction workers were able to get her to Shore Lane. She was then airlifted to a nearby hospital and underwent an emergency, six-hour surgery to repair her hand. The young girl's mom later confirmed to Gulf Coast News on June 12 that "doctors were able to put her hand back together." Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. One of the workers who responded told WFTX about the big role his colleague, Alvarez, played in the rescue. "He jumped in that area to bring her out when I was assisting Leah," Raynel Lugo told the outlet. "He went deep underwater, not even caring about the shark. He went really deep. He probably faced the shark." Added Lugo, according to WFTX. "He's a real decent guy." Read the original article on People
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Shark nearly bites off nine-year-old girl's hand in attack off Florida coast
A 9-year-old girl nearly lost her hand after a shark attacked her while she swam just off the coast of Florida recently, according to her family and witnesses. The harrowing attack served up a grim reminder that the Sunshine state is a world leader in unprovoked shark bites against humans – though such cases remain rare and were evidently waning as of late. Leah Lendel was snorkeling near the shore of Boca Grande, Florida, about midday Wednesday with her mother and two siblings – ages one and three – when a shark bit her. Related: Florida man bitten by alligator then fatally shot by deputies after 'rampage', sheriff says On a video captured by a local sheriff's deputy's body-worn camera and published by the National News Desk, the mother, Nadia Lendel, said she realized what had happened when she heard Leah yell. 'I could see her hand hanging … and just blood everywhere,' the woman said on the footage. Nadia Lendel said she frantically tried to get the younger children out of the water while she yelled for help. Construction workers taking a lunch break nearby heard the screaming, ran over, wrapped a towel around Leah's bleeding hand and called emergency responders. Nadia Lendel's husband, Yevgeni, who had been swimming further away from the shore at the time of the bite, then carried Leah to the road to await paramedics. Officials said Leah was flown to a hospital in Tampa, Florida, for treatment. The Lendel family told ABC News in a statement that Leah subsequently underwent a 'long surgery'. On Instagram, where she posts about parenting and has about 98,000 followers, Nadia Lendel later wrote that the surgery was meant to save Leah's wrist and fingers. 'Doctors … were able to get blood flow to her entire hand, and all of her fingers,' Nadia Lendel added. Nadia Lendel then wrote on Friday morning that Leah 'was able to move all of her fingers'. 'This is truly a miracle,' she continued. The deputy who responded to the scene of Leah's shark bite as his body-worn camera was filming video told Nadia Lendel on Wednesday: 'Sounds like you guys did everything right that you could.' The deputy also told the construction workers who aided Leah that they did a 'very good, good job' wrapping a towel around her injury, and he shook hands with each of them Wednesday. One of the men, who identified himself as Raynal Lugo, said the shark which attacked Leah was about 8ft long. There was 'blood all over the place – you could see it in the sand,' Lugo told the deputy. Lugo said he marvelled at how 'brave' Leah was amid her ordeal. 'Not even one tear,' he remarked. At one point, the deputy's video captured a paramedic asking Leah as she was on the ground surrounded by first responders: 'How are you sweetheart? What grade are you in?' The girl calmly answered that she was going into fourth grade. 'I don't know how she's doing this so well,' Nadia Lendel is shown telling the deputy about her daughter at another instance. 'She's just handling it.' The number of bites like that which victimized Leah in 2024 was significantly below average, according to the most recent edition of the Florida Museum of Natural History's international shark attack file. There had been 47 confirmed unprovoked shark bites across the globe last year after an average of 64 annually between 2019 and 2023, said the file, a renowned resource. Twenty-eight of 2024's unprovoked shark attacks were in the US, with 14 – half – registered in Florida. The country with the second-most unprovoked shark bites in 2024, Australia, had five fewer than Florida.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Man who helped girl attacked by shark in Florida detained by Ice officials
A man who helped rescue a nine-year-old girl after she was attacked and badly injured by a shark in Florida has been detained by immigration authorities – and he could face deportation. Luis Alvarez was stopped in the early hours of 14 June after police said he was driving without headlights on, according to an arrest report seen by the Fort Myers News-Press. The paper revealed Alvarez was being held in jail by the US's immigration and customs enforcement (Ice). As Donald Trump promised it would during his victorious 2024 presidential election, the White House is conducting a national crackdown on immigration with broad sweeps by Ice that have triggered widespread fears in many communities across the US. The Trump administration has claimed its immigration crackdown's priority is to target dangerous criminals. But recent data has shown a surge in people with no criminal history being targeted by the crackdown. Being in the US without legal status is not a criminal offense – it is a civil infraction. Alvarez had been involved in the widely reported shark attack on Leah Lendel, 9, when the youngster was bitten on 9 June while she swam in shallow water off the coast of Boca Grande, Florida. Alvarez had been on the beach during the attack and ran into the water to help the injured child, according to witnesses and local media reports. Lendel's hand was nearly severed after the attack. Alvarez was the first person into the water as he sought to scare the shark, fellow rescuer Raynel Lugo said in an interview with local television station Fox4 News. 'He jumped in that area to bring her out when I was assisting Leah,' Lugo told the broadcaster 'He went deep underwater, not even caring about the shark. He went really deep. He probably faced the shark.' Alvarez is now scheduled for a court hearing before a judge on 9 July. Police reportedly described him as being originally from Boaco, Nicaragua.
