FORT MYERS, Fla. A 23-year-old man was arrested Wednesday for credit card fraud after a traffic stop on Interstate 75, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office said.

Eric Sedore, of Venice, was accused of victimizing multiple individuals and retailers from Miami to Fort Myers, deputies said.

Sedore was pulled over during a traffic stop on Interstate 75 near mile marker 144, deputies said. During that time deputies believed there was probable cause to search his car.

An illegal credit card encoder, several fraudulent credit cards, gift cards and $4,600 dollars obtained from the fraudulent use of the cards were discovered during the search, deputies said.

Sedore, who remains in custody, faces charges of possession of two or more counterfeited credit cards, marijuana possession and fraudulent illegal use of credit cards.

His bond is set at $7,250 and he is due in court on July 17.

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FORT MYERS, Fla. Law students from the University of Miami will make a stop Friday morning near a former toxic dump site in Dunbar.

The students are expected to visit at around 10 a.m. and they plan to speak to the community about concerning health issues. Based on their findings the students may also plan to test the sludge next week.

Some nearby residents only recently discovered the homes they grew up in are located near an old dumping ground.

Arsenic was found 10 years ago in the soil on the city-owned land. The area is located between Henderson and Midway Avenues and on the south side of Jeffcott Street.

The city bought the land in 1962, before homes started going up around it, and used the site as a dumping ground until sometime in the 1980s, even after homes were built.

“People in the city of Fort Myers who are in elected positions and appointed positions who knew about this didn’t do anything,” local activist Anthony Thomas said. 

According to the Department of Environmental Protection recent water tests showed the levels of arsenic are not a risk to the Dunbar Community.

WINK News reporter Kristin Sanchez discussed what to expect Friday live on Facebook:

FORT MYERS, Fla. A 22-year-old man was arrested Thursday night following a fatal crash involving alcohol, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

Michael Bortolametti, of Cape Coral, was driving a 1998 Mercedes-Benz C230 south in the left lane of Metro Parkway at around 11:47 p.m., officials said. Bortolametti was approaching Topaz Court when he struck two pedestrians.

John M. Simone, 42, of Cape Coral and Marie R. Taylor, 26, of Fort Myers were in the left lane of the parkway and their motorcycles were parked nearby, officials said.

Simone was pronounced dead at the scene and Taylor was transported to Lee Memorial Hospital with minor injuries, officials said.

Bortolametti and two of his passengers were uninjured in the crash.

Bortolametti, who remains in custody, faces charges of DUI and is due in court July 5.

No bond has been set.

FORT MYERS, Fla. After more than a year of eluding law enforcement officers, one of Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers 10 Most Wanted fugitives is now behind bars.

Michael White, 42, was arrested Friday afternoon by U.S. marshals in Richmond, Virginia after a lengthy and relentless investigation.

White failed to show up in court on drug dealing charges in May 2016, Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers said. He was on the cusp of being sentenced to 20 years in prison, followed by 10 years of state probation when he went on the lam.

Marshals followed up on a series of leads and spent countless hours tracking him down over the next several months. After fleeing Fort Myers, they believe White began using the alias James Williams.

He may have spent time in Biloxi, Mississippi before traveling to Richmond, where he was seeking medical treatment. Marshals tracked White down to a medical center and immediately took him into custody.

He is currently in the process of being booked in Virginia and will eventually be extradited back to Lee County.

“Because some time had passed, and he was using an alias, Mr. White probably thought that he was no longer on law enforcement’s radar and that couldn’t be further from the truth. All this time, detectives have had him front and center and have worked diligently and aggressively to finally take him into custody,” said Crime Stoppers Coordinator Trish Routte. “Today’s arrest of Michael White proves the tenacity of the US Marshals Fugitive Warrants Task Force and the old adage that you can run, but you can’t hide forever. Mr. White’s run is now over.”

White has an extensive criminal history dating back to 1992 for charges that include aggravated battery on a pregnant woman, grand theft auto, robbery, burglary, fleeing and eluding officers at a high rate of speed, as well as drug and weapons related offenses, Crime Stoppers said. White has also served three stints in state prison for a total of approximately 11 years.

FORT MYERS, Fla. The Peace River K-9 Search and Rescue Team resumed the search for Diana Alvarez Friday morning.

Crews are currently combing areas in Moore Haven and Okeechobee County. They were forced to postpone the search several weeks ago after heavy rainfall caused significant flooding in their search areas.

Diana disappeared her San Carlos Park home last year.

Jorge Guerrero, a former family friend who’s suspected of taking her, was convicted May 16 on charges of producing and possessing child pornography but has never formally been charged with abducting Diana.

FORT MYERS, Fla. At 13, Aurora Badia has twice achieved what some only dream of – performing at Carnegie Hall in New York City.

Aurora was among 41 children from across the globe who performed during the American Protege Vocal Competition’s 10th anniversary on Thursday.

Aurora started signing five years ago.

“We were watching America’s Got Talent and I was like ‘oh I bet I could sing that,'” she said. “My family was like what, can you?”

Her first performance at Carnegie Hall was in December 2016.

“You’re 13 years old and you’re going to perform Carnegie, for not the first but second time? Yes, it’s pretty exciting,” she said.

Here’s Badia’s full performance:

CAPE CORAL, Fla. Hao Lin’s arrest this week for slapping the behind of a 16-year-old employee is not the first time the 37-year-old has been investigated by police.

A mother who wants to remain anonymous said Lin, owner of Happy’s Family Fun Center, took a picture of her from the neck down while she celebrated her daughter’s second birthday in 2014.

“It scares me because in today’s society you don’t know,” she said. “What was he taking the picture for? Or what was he going to do with it? Child pornography? Or sex crimes? You don’t know.”

The mother filed a police report, but Cape Coral police said they couldn’t arrest Lin because a crime wasn’t technically committed.

A second report was filed by another underage employee against Lin in October 2016 for touching from behind, but the teenager decided not to press charges.

FORT MYERS, Fla. Many anglers are excited about the 39-day extension of red snapper season, which starts this weekend, but some are concerned regarding the fish’s population for next season.

“Next year we might have a little different story,” said Chris Kreis, a captain for Offshore Hunter Fishing Charters, which largely depends on red snapper. “We might be looking at probably a zero day season for recreational fishermen since the Department of Commerce sort of superseded the gulf council and marine fisheries to make this decision happen.”

That decision allows red snapper fishing on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through Labor Day, which represents the longest red snapper season since 2013.

The extended season is for fishing in federal gulf waters, and also includes Monday, July 3, Tuesday, July 4 and Monday, Sept. 4.

CAPE CORAL, Fla. The city’s youth council, consisting of a junior and senior from every high school, meets every two weeks and serves as an advisory board to the city council. The body was established earlier this year.

FORT MYERS, Fla. Shavon Johnson still remembers the day her grandmother disappeared.

“My grandmother… she was a precious lady,” she said.

Verna Marie Richardson, 48, vanished on July 7, 1990 when Johnson was 12 years old.

Johnson, who was living with Richardson at the time of her disappearance, said her grandmother briefly separated from her husband and was dating a man named Alexander Smith.

Smith came to Richardson’s home on South Meadow Court the day she disappeared.

Richardson called her son that day asking him to come over. He said he would, but ended up falling asleep.

Richardson got into a fight with Smith and told her granddaughter she was going to take him home, Johnson said.

But she never returned.

“What could I have done better? How could I’ve talked my grandma into that night not to leave this house and she still would’ve been here to this day,” Johnson said.

Richardson’s best friend called her family the next day, Johnson said, saying her grandmother called her from a payphone at the Eastend Service mart in Okeechobee off State Road 70.

“She said our grandma had been beaten and tied up and put in the back of the trunk by Alexander,” Johnson said.

The gas station clerk remembered her walking into the store wearing her nightgown, according to the Doe Network.

It was the last time anyone saw her alive.

Richardson’s family went to Okeechobee to search for her, but to no avail.

A week after her disappearance, Richardson’s son spotted Smith driving her car in Fort Myers. He told her son that she was staying at a hotel and offered to lead him to her.

But Smith drove onto Interstate 75 and flipped the car, Johnson said. He was arrested for drunk driving, but was released hours later.

Richardson’s purse was found on the front seat.

“They let him out because they said they didn’t have enough evidence because they didn’t have a body,” Johnson said.

Smith, who appeared to have changed his name to Marion Williams, was arrested multiple times over the years in DeSoto County, where he now lives.

Johnson recently visited him in prison and asked him where her grandmother is.

Smith didn’t respond, and authorities still haven’t found her body.

But even after nearly 27 years, Johnson refuses to give up the search.

“The precious memories live on,” she said. “I say that she lived through me. People always ask me why I’m smiling and I say, ‘Sometimes you gotta smile to ease the pain.'”

Anyone with information is asked to call the Lee County Sheriff’s Office at 239-477-1000 or Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers at 1-800-780-TIPS (8477).

FORT MYERS, Fla. New details have emerged in a recent molestation case.

Bobby Hall, 82, was arrested Thursday for alleged inappropriate contact with two young girls he was taking care of, Fort Myers police said.

The mother of one of the victims, who wished to remain unidentified, trusted Hall and never expected him to hurt her daughter and her best friend.

“He wasn’t a babysitter, he was supposed to be a grandfather figure, he’s been in her family since she was three,” she said. “Nothing ever seemed out of the ordinary to them, so that’s why we trusted him.”

Hall would regularly pick up the girls and take them out to have fun, the mother said.

But one day, her daughter decided she didn’t want to go with Hall.

She told her mother that he watched the girls shower, touched them using adult toys and forced them to walk around in their underwear.

“I just couldn’t believe what was coming out of her mouth,” she said.

Since Hall’s arrest, the girl is now seeing a counselor.

“There’s just nothing that could ever be done to not only just myself, but just make it anything better for my daughter,” the mother said. “She’s going to be scarred for life and she’s only eight years old.”

Hall was released on a $300,000 bond and is facing four counts of lewd and lascivious behavior.

He’s scheduled to appear in court July 17.

FORT MYERS, Fla. Photos of Verna Marie Richardson still hang on Shavon Johnson’s walls nearly 27 years after her disappearance.

“She always wore that smile,” she said.

The 48-year-old grandmother vanished on July 7, 1990.

She left her South Meadow Court home to taker her boyfriend, Alexander Smith, back to his house after an argument — and never returned.

“I never saw my grandmother again,” Johnson said.

Smith drove Richardson to Okeechobee that night.

She managed to escape and call her best friend, who alerted her family, from a pay phone at the Eastend Service mart off State Road 70.

“Our grandma had been beaten and tied up and put in the back of the trunk by Alexander,” Johnson said.

A week after the two were spotted in Okeechobee, Smith was involved in an accident on Interstate 75 in Fort Myers while driving Richardson’s car.

Smith was arrested for drunk driving, and although Richardson’s purse was found on the front seat, he was released a few hours later.

“They let him out because they say they didn’t have enough evidence because they didn’t have a body,” Johnson said.

Smith changed his name to Marion Williams and eventually moved to DeSoto County, where he spent the next several years in and out of prison, according to Johnson.

However, he’s never revealed where Richardson is and authorities have yet to find her, leaving Johnson and her family still searching for closure.

“We will still never know that last minute, second, hour, what happened,” Johnson said.

Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers haven’t received tips on Richardson’s case in years, but it only takes one small tip to finish the investigation.

“It doesn’t matter how many years have passed, there’s someone out there or multiple people out there that have information that could make all the difference in the world to this family,” Crime Stoppers coordinator Trish Routte said.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Lee County Sheriff’s Office at 239-477-1000 or Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers at 1-800-780-TIPS (8477).

FORT MYERS, Fla. A man was shot and killed Saturday morning at the Lago Del Sol apartment complex, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office said.

Deputies responded to 10540 Clear Lake Loop around 10:12 a.m. and found the victim suffering from gunshot wounds. He was taken to a hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries, deputies said.

“Everything was just chaotic, it was absolutely chaotic,” said neighbor Patricia Guessregen.

Witnesses believe the victim was targeted, as one of the suspects was seen hiding behind an apartment building with a weapon resembling an AK-47 shortly before the shooting.

Simultaneously, deputies received a call of a second shooting victim who arrived at another nearby hospital, the sheriff’s office said.

However, the second victim is expected to survive.

This is believed to be an isolated incident that poses no threat to the community, according to the sheriff’s office.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is encouraged to call the Lee County Sheriff’s Office at 239-477-1000 or Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers at 1-800-780-TIPS to remain anonymous and be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1,000

Tips may also be made online at www.southwestfloridacrimestoppers.com or by submitting a tip on the P3Tips mobile app.

LEHIGH ACRES, Fla. This truck drew quite a bit of attention Saturday afternoon after its driver crossed the median and crashed, causing it to land upright on its grill, a witness said.

The wreck took place on Lee Boulevard just east of Sunshine Boulevard.

The circumstances leading up to the crash are unclear.

No further information is immediately available.

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LEHIGH ACRES, Fla. A car crashed into a home at 4416 Douglas Lane Saturday, officials said.

The crash took place around 7:30 p.m.

No injuries were reported.

The circumstances surrounding the crash are immediately unclear.

No further information is immediately available.

NORTH FORT MYERS, Fla. A 23-year-old man was arrested in connection to an armed robbery at a convenience store late Sunday night on Pondella Road,  the Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers said.

Christopher Davies, of Cape Coral, was taken to the Lee County jail and faces charges of armed robbery, possession of cocaine and drug equipment.

The suspect, later identified as Davies, was found at a residence on Happy Road.

Davies allegedly walked into the Circle K just before 12 a.m. on 780 Pondella Road and with an AR-style rifle, according to a press release. He demanded money from the clerk, who then handed over a bag of cash.

Following the robbery, Davies allegedly fled the store and headed south on foot on Pondella Road, officials said.

Davies has a lengthy criminal pasts with incarceration for convictions including assault, disorderly intoxication and loitering and prowling, according to a press release. He also served time in state prison for criminal mischief.

It’s unclear when he’ll appear in court.

The Circle K released surveillance photos in hopes of finding the suspect.

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FORT MYERS, Fla. An activist is expected bring soil samples from toxic sludge site containing arsenic in Dunbar to a city council meeting Monday.

Council members will also be discussing the possibility for a location for a new Fort Myers Police Department substation on 3585 Fowler St.

The meeting will take place at 4:30 p.m. at the City Hall on 2200 Second St.

FORT MYERS, Fla. An AMBER Alert issued for a 14-year-old girl has been cancelled and she has been found safe, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said.

Thanks for the shares! The Florida Amber Alert for Jessica Matias-Francisco has been canceled. The child has been found safe.

— FDLE (@fdlepio) June 19, 2017

Jessica Matias-Francisco, along with Paulo Mateo Pedro Tomas, 18, were located during a Florida Highway Patrol traffic stop in Lake City moments after the alert was issued, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office said.

SOUTH FORT MYERS, Fla. An 18-year-old man was identified as the victim of a Saturday morning shooting in Harlem Heights.

Tanner Crowley, of the 1600 block of Park Meadows Drive, was pronounced dead after he was taken to a hospital, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office said.

The shooting took place at the the Lago Del Sol apartment complex, where a witness spotted someone hiding behind an apartment building with a weapon resembling an AK-47 shortly before the shooting.

A second shooting victim suffered injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening. That victim’s condition is unclear.

No arrests have been made.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is urged to call the Lee County Sheriff’s Office at 239-477-1000 or Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers at 1-800-780-TIPS to remain anonymous and be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1,000.

Tips may also be made online at www.southwestfloridacrimestoppers.com or by submitting a tip on the P3Tips mobile app.