Latest news with #WINKNews
Yahoo
22-06-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Alligator on Florida golf course takes victory lap with stolen club
Footage has surfaced showing an alligator traversing a Florida pond while displaying a golf club like a trophy. Presumably, the golfer is OK. The footage, shared by WINK News meteorologist Matt Devitt, was captured at an Orlando golf course recently by a WINK viewer named Doug. 'Only in Florida,' Devitt joked via Instagram. 'I'd let him play through.' It's unclear if the alligator stole the club from a bag, if the club had been left near the pond, or if the golfer had tossed the club into the water during a tantrum. It's also unclear if the voice in the audio belongs to the golfer who lost the club. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Matt Devitt (@mattdevittweather) While alligator sightings on Florida golf courses are fairly routine, this was extraordinary. It looks as though the gator is using the club as a snorkel or, as one follower remarked, a periscope. The top Instagram comment, predictably, reads: 'What happened to the golfer?' This article originally appeared on For The Win: Alligator on Florida golf course takes victory lap with stolen club
USA Today
22-06-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Alligator on Florida golf course takes victory lap with stolen club
Footage has surfaced showing an alligator traversing a Florida pond while displaying a golf club like a trophy. Presumably, the golfer is OK. The footage, shared by WINK News meteorologist Matt Devitt, was captured at an Orlando golf course recently by a WINK viewer named Doug. 'Only in Florida,' Devitt joked via Instagram. 'I'd let him play through.' It's unclear if the alligator stole the club from a bag, if the club had been left near the pond, or if the golfer had tossed the club into the water during a tantrum. It's also unclear if the voice in the audio belongs to the golfer who lost the club. While alligator sightings on Florida golf courses are fairly routine, this was extraordinary. It looks as though the gator is using the club as a snorkel or, as one follower remarked, a periscope. The top Instagram comment, predictably, reads: 'What happened to the golfer?'
7NEWS
15-06-2025
- Health
- 7NEWS
Girl's hand ‘mostly torn off' in terrifying shark attack
A mother has recalled the horror she experienced in the moments after her young daughter was attacked by a shark. Nine-year-old Leah Lendel was bitten as she snorkelled off Boca Grande, Florida, on Wednesday, leaving her with severe injuries. Lendel's family told NBC affiliate WBBH the girl went underwater and as she came up, she started screaming. Her mother, Nadia, who was about 1.5 metres away with her two toddlers, said she saw that Leah's hand was covered in blood.. When Nadia looked over at her daughter, the family said she saw her daughter's right hand covered 'up to the wrist, all in blood and mostly torn off'. Nadia proceeded to scream for help as she ushered her three kids to shore, the family said. Meanwhile, Leah's dad, who'd been snorkelling 'some distance away', swam 'as fast as possible to shore', the Lendels said. Leah was able to walk out of the water as nearby construction workers rushed to help. 'She was walking outside with [her] hand out bleeding, like really bad. So [a co-worker] put a towel on it to stop the bleeding. And I called 911,' Raynel Lugo, one of the workers told WINK News. Witnesses the shark was about 2.4 metres in length. Police body camera from the scene shows first responders treating Leah moments after the attack. 'Hey there sweetheart, you're being very brave,' one can be heard saying in the video. Leah was airlifted to a hospital in Tampa. Nadia, a blogger with over 97,000 followers on Instagram, said she underwent a six-hour operation and is recovering well after doctors put her hand back together. 'They had to get arteries from her leg to the hand. Got the blood flow back to her hand. Install pins in bones. Still has open tissues. They will be monitoring her here for a week. But thank God she can move her fingers,' Nadia said. 'This is truly a MIRACLE,' the mother-of-five captioned a picture of her next to her daughter's hospital bed. Max Derinskiy, an uncle of Leah's who created a GoFundMe campaign to help with medical expenses, told NBC News that she will remain in the hospital for a while and then faces 'a lot of physical therapy to hopefully get her hand functioning again'. 'The doctors worked miracles and were able to put her hand back together,' he said.
New York Post
13-06-2025
- New York Post
‘Brave' 9-year-old girl seen on bodycam footage moments after shark nearly bites off her hand: ‘Blood everywhere'
Newly released bodycam footage shows the harrowing moments after a shark nearly bit the hand off of a 9-year-old girl who was snorkeling off the coast of Florida. Little Leah Lendel was in the water near Boca Grande with her parents and siblings at around noon Wednesday when the apex predator suddenly chomped down on her right hand — tearing it mostly off at the wrist, according to Gulf Coast News. Police bodycam footage showed several medics crowding around the girl and reassuring her she was 'very strong' and 'brave' before taking her into an ambulance, according to the clip obtained by the outlet. Advertisement 4 Leah Lendel was snorkeling off the shore of Boca Grande just four feet away from her famous influencer mother Nadia and younger siblings on June 11, when she was bitten by the shark. Lee County Sheriff's Office The footage also showed her mother, Nadia Lendel, in tears as she described the attack to cops. 'I looked over and I just saw her move her hand like that,' the mother said, throwing her hand up in the air. 'I just saw her hand hanging, there was just blood everywhere.' Advertisement 'I started screaming to my husband, yelling I needed to get out and grab the babies. Didn't know who to grab. Got the point, it was a shark,' Nadia, who was holding her two other toddler kids in the water, said in the video. 4 The footage also showed her mother, Nadia Lendel, in tears as she described the attack to cops. Lee County Sheriff's Office Leah's father, who was swimming farther away, rushed to help his daughter to shore and good Samaritans then wrapped her hand in a tourniquet. 'Somebody [was] screaming, 'Help, help, help!' Raynel Lugo, a nearby worker, told WINK News. 'It was like five kids on the water, mom and dad on the water, and I saw a shark right on top of the lady [and] little kid.' Advertisement 'She was walking outside with [her] hand out bleeding, like really bad. So [a co-worker] put a towel on it to stop the bleeding. And I called 911,' Lugo said. 4 The attack left the 9-year-old girl with severe injuries. GoFundMe The youngster was airlifted to a hospital in Tampa, where she underwent a six-hour surgery, and doctors were able to save her hand. Nadia Lendel, a blogger with over 97,000 followers on Instagram, said Leah was able to move all of her fingers Friday morning. Advertisement 'This is truly a MIRACLE,' the mom of five wrote, with a picture of her next to her daughter's hospital bed. 4 Nadia Lendel is a blogger with over 97,000 followers on Instagram. Lee County Sheriff's Office Leah's uncle, Max Derinskiy, said the girl will likely remain in the hospital for a while and then undergo 'a lot of physical therapy to hopefully get her hand functioning again,' according to NBC News. Derinskiy has since set up an online fundraiser to help the family with medical bills. The attack was likely from a bull shark because it's both mating season and 'tarpon season' — meaning there's an abundance of fish that the sharks eat in the area, naturalist Rob Howell told WINK News. Bull sharks generally grow to 7 to 11 feet in length.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Yahoo
Fort Myers man accused of homicide also fired into several occupied apartments, police say
Authorities have released new details about a Fort Myers homicide, revealing that the suspected killer fired into several occupied apartments June 8. Yanko Romero, 41, of Fort Myers, faces charges of shooting into a building; aggravated assault; second-degree murder; and tampering with evidence. Shortly before 8:50 a.m. June 8, Fort Myers Police officers responded to reports of gunfire at 3000 Oasis Grand Blvd. — the address of the Oasis waterfront high-rise condo tower off Palm Beach Boulevard, east of downtown Fort Myers. The site is along the Caloosahatchee River. Guilty verdict: Lehigh Acres man convicted of fatal drug sale; co-defendant awaits trial When officers arrived at a nearby parking lot, they found a 25-year-old man, who suffered from multiple gunshot wounds. Despite first responders' efforts, the victim died on scene. The victim's identity remained unreleased by publication. Authorities said Romero and the victim did not know each other. Police said additional officers responded near the WINK News building after they received information that witnesses saw Romero nearby. Authorities said that prior to his arrest, Romero was observed discarding a firearm into pond. Officers, during a search of a bag in his possession, found a loaded ammunition magazine and a box containing more rounds. Police determined Romero fired multiple rounds into several occupied apartments. The Lee County Sheriff's Office's Underwater Operations Unit assisted police in their investigation. Assistant State Attorney Sara Miller on June 9 filed a motion for pretrial detention, but a hearing date and time was not set by publication. Megan Fuentes, spokesperson for Fort Myers Police, said they have had four homicides so far this year, two of which they have ruled self-defense. Police ask that anyone who witnessed or heard the shooting call the police department at 239-321-7700. Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@ or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Threads @tomasfrobeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran, Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews and Bluesky @tomasfrodriguez. This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Fort Myers murder suspect shot into nearby apartments: Police
