Collier County Sheriff's Office

The Collier County Sheriff’s Office has almost doubled its drone unit in the past year. Thirty-four new rapidly deployable drones are ready to soar within seconds of being on scene and are being used for multiple purposes like finding a missing person, or observing an area to ensure it is safe for the public and law enforcement.

An attempt to rescue a nine-and-a-half-foot-long stranded pilot whale calf along the beaches of Pelican Bay on Monday was not successful and plans have been made to euthanize the aquatic mammal.

Choking is the fourth leading cause of accidental death with one child is lost to choking every five days and a total of 5000 people a year. But there is a device that has the potential to help lessen those chances — the LifeVac — and now Collier County Sheriff Office units will all have one of the life-savers. Collier Sheriff Kevin Rambosk displayed the LifeVac at a special media briefing Thursday at the Professional Development Center in Collier County and said the Sheriff's Office is adding 500 LifeVac choking rescue devices, enough to equip every CCSO patrol vehicle.The donation was made possible by The Cassata Foundation and LifeVac inventor and CEO Arthur Lih. Foundation trustees Rosario S. Cassata and his wife Carolyn Cassata are Collier County residents. Lih lives in Southwest Florida as well.

The Lee County Sheriff's Office said shortly before 2 p.m. that it had likely found the body of Arielle Valdez, 21, the Fort Myers woman missing since Wednesday. Searchers in Collier County meanwhile continued looking for a missing Golden Gate Estates man, Eduardo Ramirez, 64, whose vehicle was found in a remote area off Beck Boulevard in East Naples.

Searchers in Collier County continued looking Saturday for a missing Golden Gate Estates man whose vehicle was found in a remote area off Beck Boulevard in East Naples. The Collier County Sheriff's Office said deputies are actively looking for Eduardo Ramirez, 64, in that area.

First responders and others who spent nearly a week looking for a missing Naples woman expressed surprise and joy after she was found safe but locked in a neighbor’s garage the entire time. On Monday Collier County Undersheriff Jim Bloom held a briefing on the ordeal of 80-year old Margaret Galloway. He said it was incredible she was found safe.

The Florida Highway Patrol, the Florida Department of Transportation, and other Southwest Florida law enforcement agencies, talked about their involvement Monday in “Operation Southern Slow Down,” a week-long speed enforcement awareness campaign with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the southeastern states of Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

Books for Collier Kids, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving children’s literacy, is partnering with the Collier County Sherriff’s Office to provide free books to children at an event hosted by CCSO.

Naples Pridefest celebrated the LGBTQIA community peacefully this weekend.

A claim of failing to appear for alleged jury duty is part of a new round of telephone scams emerging in Southwest Florida.