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Authorities confirmed over the weekend that the human head that washed ashore on Key Biscayne belonged to a teen who went missing off Miami Beach a week before after being caught in a rip current. 

Victor Enrique Castaneda Jr., 19, was swimming with his sister off South Pointe Beach on Nov. 9 around 6 p.m. when the two were caught up in a rip current. They yelled for help and passersby were able to rescue Castaneda’s sister, but he seemed to vanish in the water, according to reporting from The Miami Herald. His older sister, Jessica Castaneda, told reporters that her brother pushed their younger sister toward shore in an effort to save her as the pair struggled against the currents. 

On Nov. 12, a human head washed up on the beach in front of Oceansound Key Colony II condominium at 251 Crandon Blvd on Key Biscayne. The remains were found by a beach maintenance worker before 8:40 a.m.

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Spotting flames or smoke in your home—a space that should be a sanctuary—can trigger panic and immobilize even the calmest individuals but smoke alarms can alert you to a problem at the first hint of danger.

During this nightmarish situation, it can be hard to think clearly. Thousands of people die each year in the United States due to trying to save their possessions or put out the fire themselves to save their homes instead of evacuating. 

For that very reason, it is crucial to know how to improve your reaction times and have the proper safety equipment installed in your home to alert you of any dangers. In honor of Fire Safety Awareness Month, the Key West Fire Department accepted recent donations of smoke alarms from the Opal Key Resort, which will later be distributed for free to community members, according to local media. These detectors will be available at the Central Fire Station No. 1 at 1600 North Roosevelt Blvd. 

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The nephew of famed surfer, Bethany Hamilton, was injured over the weekend in a Hawaii drowning incident. Now, the family is taking to social media to ask for help. 

The incident took place on Oct. 11. The child was medevacked to a different hospital and “has fight in him,” his aunt wrote on social media.

“We are wrecked,” Hamilton said in the post shared to her Instagram account with over 2.4 million followers. “But I know how proper medical support can make or break someone’s chance of survival and in this case we’re asking for help from anyone who has information [on] what we can do to give my nephew the best chance.”

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As Floridians pick up the pieces left behind by the devastation of Hurricane Milton, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission experts warn about the dangers of carbon monoxide exposure. 

On average, there are approximately 200 Americans who die each year from accidental carbon monoxide poisoning, and 400 die in total from exposure in the United States, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. At least 92 of these deaths were linked back to portable generators. 

With about 2.4 million Floridians still without power as of Friday morning, it is likely many will turn to generators to charge electronic devices to be able to contact family and friends, cook, and, in some cases, keep the electricity running for medical equipment. Knowing this, experts have sent out advisories reminding Floridians how to best and safely use their generators as they take stock of the damage from the storm. 

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Divers broke records this year in an annual competition to remove invasive lionfish from Florida waters, according to a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission press release. 

The 2024 Lionfish Season concluded with a record-breaking 31,773 species being pulled from the water. Just under 300 divers went on over 700 trips throughout the state to retrieve the animals that are dangerous to native fish and coral reefs. 

One lionfish can reduce a native reef fish population by over 70%. They also present a risk to humans with their venomous spines which can cause painful stings. In 2022, over 25,000 lionfish were removed from Florida waters in FWC’s annual, summer-long challenge, which began in 2016. 

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A woman pregnant with her second child and her husband have died following a snorkeling incident while on vacation in Maui. 

The tragedy took place on Saturday, Sept. 14 just after noon on the north side of Ahihi-Kinau Natural Area Reserve, according to reporting from national news outlets. 

The couple was out snorkeling while their oldest son, an 18-month-old, stayed with his aunt and uncle. The woman, 26-year-old Sophia Tsaruk, was allegedly found by a rescue team member on a jet ski who brought her to shore to begin CPR. Her husband, Ilya Tsaruk, 25, was found by firefighters with the Maui County Fire Department approximately 100-150 yards away from the shore. 

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A speeding boat gunning for hundreds of swimmers and kayakers participating in a local event in Islamorada Saturday was stopped by a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission helicopter. 

“From our angle, he was the only thing stopping that boat from going across all of those people,” Capt. Matt Bellinger, a local fishing guide who was on the water that day, told reporters with Florida Keys News.  

The driver of the boat, identified as 55-year-old Thomas Michael Reichert, of Naples, Florida, was charged with boating under the influence, possessing spiny lobster tails and operating a boat in a safety zone, local news outlets reported Wednesday. Reichert is alleged to have 12 wrung tails on board, a second-degree misdemeanor. 

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About eight cases of Legionnaires’ Disease have been reported recently in Lee County, tallying 48 cases so far this year within the Southwest Florida community. 

About three of the eight occurred within the same neighborhood after three women were reported to have pulled weeds in their garden, according to reporting from local news outlets. Two of the women have since died. 

Information about how the women were infected was not immediately available.  

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Forecasters with the National Weather Service are predicting heavy rain, floods, thunderstorms and gusts as high as 18 mph in South Florida Friday with the bad weather continuing into the weekend. 

Scattered thunderstorms could bring wind gusts and heavy downpours starting Friday afternoon, according to NWS predictions. Up to an inch of rain is expected in some parts of Miami-Dade County during the day Friday and up to inches are expected at night.  

The hazardous weather had most of the county and neighboring parts of South Florida under a flash flood warning and flood advisories Thursday, according to reporting from The Miami Herald. Community leaders and forecasters alike urged the public to never drive through flooded roads as there is no telling how deep the flooding has become and low visibility can make it easy to accidentally drive off-road into a canal. The majority of flood deaths occur in vehicles from people attempting to drive through waters and getting stuck, NWS officials said. 

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A 9-year-old boy and his father, 47, were identified as the two people killed when a personal watercraft crashed earlier this week into a Marathon, Florida, sea wall. 

The two crashed on a 2018 Yamaha personal watercraft just before 7 p.m. in a Boot Key Harbor canal near 15th Street Ocean. The father was thrown over the handlebars of the personal watercraft and catapulted nearly 20 feet away onto land, according to reporting from the Keys Weekly. He was pronounced dead at the scene. 

Neighbors rushed to where the boy had landed in the water to try and help until deputies with the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office arrived. The boy was helicoptered out but went into cardiac arrest while on his way to Miami Children’s Hospital. First responders made an emergency landing at Mariners Hospital in Tavernier where he died.  

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