Florida’s Fourth Estate

If you are looking for a discount car, truck, sunglasses or even office equipment there is one place to find it all. A quick look at the George Gideon Auctioneers website reveals many of the local governments in Central Florida use them to sell their surplus items. Right now a 2012 Dodge Charger from the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office is going for $1,025, a kayak from the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office is going for $3, Seminole County Public Schools is offering several school buses that have not been bid on yet. Volusia County is selling a 2018 ambulance. The current bid is $1,000. Pam Wilsky is the Purchasing and Contracts Director with Volusia County. She joined Matt Austin and Ginger Gadsden on Florida’s Fourth Estate to talk more about how the surplus program works. She said the items people buy from the county through the auctioneer website may have a few miles on them but are well maintained. “We try very hard with this program to keep the lifecycle good so that what we are sending still has residual value when we get ready to send it to auction, so it’s not broken down, it’s not beat up,” Wilsky said. “It’s not to say that there will not be some things wrong with it, but everything within the county is maintained on a regular basis, so it probably is a good value as far as a vehicle to somebody.” She said there have been some interesting finds at the auction and that the county once re-sold a mosquito control helicopter. “They actually had one that for whatever reason had been disassembled and they wanted to sell it. The appraised value was $350,000,” Wilsky said. She said a firm in Montana sent a truck to pick it up and used it to fight wildfires out west. Austin said he also noticed some drones on the auctioneer’s website going for as low as $27 after Gov. Ron DeSantis made it illegal for counties to use ones from China. Wilsky said Volusia County dealt with the situation differently, but “a lot of law enforcement and things like that had a lot of these and it was a big impact so I’m not surprised you saw them.” Aside from providing a savings opportunity for customers, Wilsky said putting surplus items up for auction also helps the county’s bottom line. She said last year the program brought in about $1.7 million in revenue. Learn more about the program and how you can score some good deals by checking out Florida’s Fourth Estate. You can download the podcast from wherever you listen to podcasts or watch it anytime on News 6+. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar-a-lago is one of the most famous homes in Florida, if not the country, but the property former President Donald Trump referred to as his “Winter White House” wasn’t always what it is today. It used to belong to all Americans. In her book “American Castle One Hundred Years of Mar-a-Lago,” Mary Shanklin talks about how the mansion and surrounding property used to be part of the National Park Service. She said the original owner, Marjorie Merriweather Post, heir to the creator of Post Cereal, died thinking the home she built was in the hands of the federal government. But there were a lot of competing interests after Post died that changed the course of the property’s history. “The heirs needed some cash which they could get by selling Mar-a-lago. The people of Palm Beach, they didn’t want any part of having tourists come on their island, so it was divested,” Shanklin told Matt Austin and Ginger Gadsden on Florida’s Fourth Estate Shanklin said the heirs went through several prospective buyers, one of them being Donald and Ivana Trump. “When Donald Trump went to purchase it, he was purchasing for $7 million. The Mar-a-Lago that exists from South Ocean Boulevard to Lake Worth, which is the intercoastal waterway, and the heirs — the Marjorie Merriweather Post Trust — they had sold off an oceanfront parcel. So he had to buy that because Mar-a-lago is not going to be sea to the lake if you don’t own the oceanfront parcel. I think the oceanfront parcel may have went for $ 2 million,” Shanklin said. Many call that $9 million price tag in 1985 a steal considering Shanklin said it cost Post $7 million to build Mar-a-Lago in the 1920′s. Shanklin said to establish yourself in Palm Beach in the 1920s your house had to be regal and you had to host all of the big parties and dinners. “That’s where they wintered, that’s where everybody of power and means went. That’s where you build your relationships and gain trust with people. That’s where it all happens in Palm Beach,” Shanklin said. Shanklin said the regalness of the home is still intact. She was given a tour of the property during Trump’s presidency and said the ceiling looks like something straight out of Venice. “Everything gets politicized today. You hear Republicans say, ‘Mar-a-Lago is such an amazing beautiful place.’ You hear Democrats say, ‘It’s gross, it’s crawling with roaches.’ What was the feeling in there?” Austin asked. “The people who are paying a quarter of a million dollars to become members there are probably getting a bang for their buck,” Shanklin said. “I felt like it looked immaculate. I felt like the furnishings, if not from the original era, which probably they weren’t, they were tastefully done. A lot of the original artwork was still on the walls. I don’t know what was going on in the kitchen or anything. You could see the signature public places and spaces. I feel like it’s really been preserved and maintained and kept well.” Regardless of what the house looks like, Shanklin said having a membership to Mar-a-Lago is about access and says it still remains unclear if, as the political season gets underway, being the former President will encourage just as many people to maintain their memberships at Mar-a-Lago as when he was President. Learn more about the history of Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s use of the home and the case surrounding possibly classified documents being kept on the property by checking out Florida’s Fourth Estate. You can download the podcast from wherever you listen to podcasts or watch it anytime on News 6+. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People aren’t the only ones looking to avoid the cold this winter. Birds are also looking for a warmer spot to settle down, but their journey is proving to be difficult. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates up to 988 million crash into buildings every year and die. The Audubon Society said that’s because the majority of them migrate at night, and are drawn in by city lights, rest among the trees and when they try to return to the sky they crash into windows. “They see the sky in front of them and it’s actually a reflection of the sky in the glass and they fly towards it not knowing that it’s a death sentence and they hit the glass and they are either injured or killed by hitting the glass,” said Mike Taylor, the curator of herps, birds and others at Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens. It’s not just skyscrapers in the city drawing birds back to earth, Elizabeth Filippelli with the Duval Audubon Society said residential house lights are too. Lights Out Northeast Florida is asking people to take a few steps to help the birds make it safely to their destination. The organization advises turning off non-essential lights between 11 p.m. - 6 a.m., direct lighting downward instead of upward into the sky, putting timers on outdoor lights and turning off interior lighting, especially on upper floors. Birds migrate from Sept. 15 - Nov. 15. So, your actions over the next few days can have a lot of impact. If you would like a closer look at what birds are migrating over your neighborhood just plug your county into the Birdcast Dashboard. A quick search of Orange County reveals 122,200 crossed the area and more than 1.1 million crossed our state in a single night. To learn more about bird migration, the risks they face, and how you can help, check out Florida’s Fourth Estate. You can download the podcast from wherever you listen to podcasts or watch any time on the News 6+ App for your smart TV. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A boat, which experts believe is from the 1800s, has a new home after crews stumbled upon it during a road construction project. The Florida Department of Transportation was working on drainage improvement along King Street and State Road A1A in St. Augustine in October when they discovered the historic boat. Dr. James Delgado with SEARCH, a company headquartered in Orlando that describes itself as a global leader in maritime archeology, talked about what’s next for the artifact with Matt Austin and Ginger Gadsden on Florida’s Fourth Estate. Delgado said it took crews five days to remove the vessel from the ground. He said the job included removing dirt, muck, and even oysters from the outside of the boat. After exposing it, he said the team then documented it and lifted it out of the ground. The boards were then wrapped in cloth and put into freshwater tanks at the Lighthouse Maritime Museum so they wouldn’t deteriorate. He said it is now safe and out of the way, but the work is not done. “Now what would have to happen is more documentation, reconstructing it on paper, and discussions beginning about what’s next,” Delgado said. What’s next could include putting it on display. Delgado described that as a lengthier and more costly option, but stressed that, at this stage, things are being lined up so more informed decisions can be made. Despite being only 20 feet long, Delgado said the boat still has cultural significance. “In all the years I have worked on this, whether it has been a bigger shipwreck, (the) Titanic, wrecks at Pearl Harbor, others that I have worked on — Clotilda, the last slave ship — these powerful stories that connect us to ships like that are one part of it, but there’s also these vessels that with no name speak to the reality of life as well and sharing that is practically one of the best days on the job,” he said. To learn more about the unnamed vessel and Delgado’s work uncovering other vessels in Florida with National Geographic check out Florida’s Fourth Estate. You can download it from wherever you listen to podcasts or watch it anytime on the News 6+ app for your smart TV. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most jobs don’t come with a warning, but this one does. “A ghost will go home with you. You do these tours they are going to come home they are going to visit you,” Ghost tour guide Ting Rappa said. It is a warning she gives when hiring guides to take people around the Greenwood Cemetery in Orlando. Rappa said she doesn’t allow the spirits inside of her house. “I will stop them at my front door. My dog will come greet me. If my dog looks behind me I will go ‘You are not welcome in the home. I will see you guys tomorrow night back in downtown.’” Greenwood Cemetery is one of Central Florida’s oldest cemeteries and is the resting spot of many of the city of Orlando’s founders. Once or twice a year it also plays home to ghost tours facilitated by American Ghost Adventures, which is owned by Rappa. She offers tours around other parts of Orlando but said this experience is different. “This is the only location I can tell people, I cannot guarantee you friendly interactions with spirits. People can get scratched, they can get touched here. There are different people there. There are different spirits there,” Rappa said. She said the spooky experiences started soon after she and her partner started offering tours at the site. While he was taking a group around the grounds she said they saw another group of people about 200 feet in front of them. “He was in the military area and they saw apparitions marching. His entire group saw apparitions with lights walking and the lights disappeared into thin air, and nobody else was there,” she said. Rappa said tours can get so scary that some people don’t finish. “There are a lot of shadow figures that walk through there and voices that you cannot explain,” she said. The tour guide said specialized equipment does help explain some of the interactions. She said the spirits communicate via flashlights and will sometimes lead you back to their headstones. To learn more about the Greenwood Cemetery and ghost tours offered by American Ghost Adventures check out Florida’s Fourth Estate. You can download the podcast from wherever you listen to podcasts or watch anytime on News 6+. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former Chief Judge Belvin Perry recently reflected on his decades-long career with the hosts of Florida’s Fourth Estate. Perry is well known for presiding over the Casey Anthony case, but long before that high-profile case he was the lead prosecutor in the Judy Buenoano murder trial. Perry says he was part of the team that transported Buenoano to jail in Orange County after she was arrested for fatally poisoning her husband, United States Air Force officer James Goodyear. “This was in the summer. I never been in the car with an individual and it felt like wintertime in there. I have never been around a person as icy and cold — I felt it. I never experienced anything like that since then,” Perry said. Perry said Goodyear’s 1962 death was not the only one “The Black Widow” was responsible for. “She poisoned her husband, she poisoned her common-law husband, she poisoned her son, and she attempted to poison her fiancé, and then blew his car up,” he said. Still, when the Orange County Sheriff’s Office was transporting her back to Orlando, Perry said, “She was as cool as a cucumber, and she had this coldness about her that would actually make you shiver.” Perry said it was 10 years after Goodyear’s death when the trial began, and he didn’t know what angle the defense team would take. Quickly he said he realized they were attempting to pin the poisoning on Agent Orange, a toxic herbicide used during the Vietnam War. But an expert witness made it clear, “He would actually have to drink a 30-gallon drum of Agent Orange (in order to die from it),” said Perry. A jury convicted Buenoano of murder and she was executed in Florida’s electric chair in March 1998. She was the first woman to be executed in Florida since 1848. Learn more about Former Chief Judge Belvin Perry’s role in the “Black Widow” trial and his experience with Judy Buenoano on Florida’s Fourth Estate. The podcast can be downloaded from wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also watch Florida’s Fourth Estate on News 6 on Mondays and Fridays at 3:30 p.m. or anytime on News 6+. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over 12 years ago, Casey Anthony walked out of the Orange County jail a free woman. Much of the country watched her murder trial play out on live TV, including the moment the jury found her not guilty, but there were some things happening behind the scenes that you didn’t see. The judge at the center of it all, Belvin Perry, joined the hosts of Florida’s Fourth Estate to share the experience from his perspective. This includes his thoughts on how Anthony’s defense team was able to get her acquitted of first-degree murder in the death of her daughter Caylee Anthony. “Jose Baez, at the time, probably wasn’t the sharpest person on the evidence code, but he was well prepared, and he did something that good lawyers do,” Perry said. “Once you determine the makeup of the 12 people in that jury, he tailored his case to fit them. It’s just like a great football coach. You go into any game with a gameplan, but you must make adjustments and Baez made those adjustments and he learned how to play to the jury.” The jury was made up of seven women and five men who had to be sequestered for the full length of the trial. Perry said it was a lot of work dealing with a case that would last six to eight weeks with jurors that had to be holed up in a hotel room, but added that the Central Florida community helped to lighten the load. He said the media agreed on the best way to cover the trial and when they found out the jury was staying at Rosen Shingle Creek, “they did not publish it, we had no problem with them following jurors.” He said Harris Rosen also bent over backward to make sure the jurors were well taken care of while being sequestered. “Harris Rosen was just tremendous when we talked to him,” Perry said. “He gave us an excellent deal on the rooms, gave us everything we wanted — even structured the meal prices to fit into the per diem, which is unheard of. They even changed the locks on the doors on the stairwell on the floor that they were on you couldn’t access it from the outside.” Perry said there were also times when the pool and exercise facilities were shut down so the jurors could use them uninterrupted. The TVs were also adjusted so the jurors could not watch news shows. Towards the end of the trial, with so many people interested in the case, Perry said the jurors were down to only three channels they could watch. To better cater to the jury, Perry said each one was allowed to have one visitor on the weekends. “They could come on Saturday afternoons, they just had to be out by midnight,” Perry said. The judge had to deal with some fallout from the trial as well. That includes becoming, what felt like, an overnight celebrity. “One day we got out of court and for whatever reason I went by Ross on Michigan and I went in there and I was looking for a picture frame,” Perry said. “When I got home my daughter called me. She said, ‘Daddy someone recorded you in Ross and they posted it on Facebook.’” It didn’t end there. Perry said people approached him about the case everywhere he went. Once, a group of people even started recording him while he was eating dinner. “I had to stop going to the grocery store. If I did go eat, I had to eat at certain places where I could be left alone. I couldn’t go anywhere,” he said. Still, he said the trial was a great experience for himself and the community. “I think it opened up to the world how the judicial system works,” Perry said. “You got a chance to see firsthand. Most people didn’t agree with the outcome of the case, but at least they saw what happened and I think it is very important that courts that are open to the public, that the public gets to see it firsthand.” To hear more about Perry’s experience serving as the judge on the Casey Anthony murder trial check out Florida’s Fourth Estate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alex Pring was born with one arm. His other extends to his forearm and stops. As he started growing up and going to school, he had some questions about his limb difference. “I kinda asked the question, ‘Why can’t I have an arm? Everyone else has an arm, why don’t I,’” Pring said. He said his mom loves solving problems, so she reached out to the University of Central Florida and a student helped to create his very first arm. Then, that student, Albert Manero, went on to launch Limbitless Solutions, a company that makes prosthetics for children. Manero then upgraded Pring’s arm, giving it an “Iron Man” design, and invited Robert Downey Jr. to present it to him in 2015. The moment went viral. Pring said the experience, “was probably the biggest time for any 7-year-old possible.” The first version of the arm helped him to hold a pencil, and the “Iron Man” arm helped him to build confidence, but because he is growing so fast, he said he needs to be resized regularly and sometimes he goes without his prosthetic. That includes when he is doing football conditioning. Pring said he power cleans 135 pounds with one arm. He said his teammates at South Lake High School are often surprised at what he can pull off. And, his opponents often underestimate him. “In one of our games, the seniors told me all the players were trash-talking me saying, ‘There is no way this one-armed kid can do it.’ Next play, I destroyed the running back,” Pring said. It’s not always easy, but he said he gets his confidence from his parents. “They have taught me every single day of my life, work hard and you will be rewarded at the end of the day,” he said. Pring said he would love to eventually play football professionally and that he looks up to Shaquem Griffin, the former University of Central Florida, football player who also has a limb difference and went on to play for the NFL. But, if football doesn’t pan out, Pring said he would like to go UCF to pursue aerospace engineering, the same degree Manero pursued. To learn more about Pring and how he is making an impact on and off the field check out Florida’s Fourth Estate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In June, the Florida Department of Health issued a statewide mosquito-borne illness advisory after four confirmed cases of malaria in Sarasota County. They were the first cases in the state in 20 years. Then, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 159 new cases of leprosy in the U.S. in 2020, with Florida among the top reporting states. “Some Biblical diseases started making a comeback in the state of Florida,” Florida’s Fourth Estate host Matt Austin said. “Leprosy and malaria, these are two things I never thought we would be talking about again on the news.” Austin and his co-host Ginger Gadsden invited Dr. Elizabeth Borrero with Health First to discuss the diseases that still have a lot of people talking. When it comes to leprosy, Borrero said it is an old disease that has never been able to be eradicated and that most of the new cases are likely spread by people who are traveling out of the country to areas where leprosy is endemic. Borrero said that list includes Nepal, India, Brazil and Malaysia. The disease can be contracted via the nine-banded armadillo or through soil. Borrero said you likely won’t catch it from someone else. “As long as the person doesn’t have prolonged contact with another individual, you’re OK. You’re not going to acquire it immediately from somebody who has leprosy,” she said. “It’s not that contagious really.” More is known about Malaria. Borrero said it is spread via infected mosquitoes and symptoms include night sweats, nausea, vomiting and headaches. “The majority of patients that come into the hospital system have a high fever — fevers of over 103 lead them to seek medical attention, which is a good thing.” Borrero also suggested travel as a way that malaria is spread. She said if you are traveling to a country where it is endemic to see a travel medicine specialist. She said the World Health Organization has done a lot to help stop the disease from spreading including a vaccine, though it is not available in the U.S. yet. To learn more about leprosy and malaria and their impact on Florida check out Florida’s Fourth Estate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Even though theme park attendance is down this year, the companies are investing more than ever. According to the International Association of Amusement Park and Attractions, which is the global association for the theme park industry, American theme parks are expected to invest $1.5 billion in attractions this year alone. IAAPA’s CEO Jakob Wahl spoke with Florida’s Fourth Estate about some fascinating trends taking place across the industry. He said parks are creating rides less focused on being the biggest and fastest. Instead, companies like Disney, Universal and SeaWorld are honing in on new technologies and intellectual property. “Delivering the same services to the same people is stagnation. The theme park industry is huge about innovation,” Wahl said. Last Year at IAAPA’s big convention in Orlando, SeaWorld announced a new idea for a ride. The rollercoaster called Pipeline would allow riders to feel like they’re surfing a wave. The ride keeps guests in the standing position instead of the standard strapped-in coaster. The roller coaster is now open at Sea World. Disney used IP and technology fused together to create the new Tron ride, which uses a new seating position and some serious technology to give a new experience. Universal used a motorcycle and sidecar in Hagrid’s Motorbike Adventure to make muggles feel like they’re experiencing Harry Potter’s magical land in a whole new way. But, with all the new technology, questions have arisen about safety. In 2022, 14-year-old Tyre Sampson tragically fell from a ride at Orlando’s Icon Park putting ride safety at the forefront of the national conversation. “I can guarantee you safety is the number one priority for our industry,” Wahl said. Wahl claims engineers make safety decisions early in the process of creating a ride, but, questions about how theme parks police themselves when it comes to ride safety have crept in. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has questioned whether Disney should be put under the microscope of state inspectors. Wahl didn’t want to speak on the political battle. “I prefer not to comment on that individual case between Disney and DeSantis, but I can tell you Disney has an excellent safety record. Disney has always been on the forefront of safety globally. I think the industry today is a better place in terms of safety thanks to the efforts of Disney and many others. I’m not sure how that would help the already excellent safety records of Disney,” he said. Either way, with tourism cutting back in Florida it will be interesting to see if theme parks continue making these huge investments in the coming years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From book bans to changing classes and educational requirements, what children are learning in the classroom will be different this year. “I think this is going to be a very strange year, simply because people do not know what’s happening,” University of Central Florida history professor and News 6 Political Analyst Jim Clark said. “Teachers are unsure. Administrators are unsure. You have one district doing one thing and another district doing another thing and I think there are just so many red flags flying that it’s going to be a strange year.” One point of difference this year focuses on AP Psychology. There was a battle over the coursework and any potential focus on gender identity which encouraged some schools to drop it right before classes began. Matt Austin shared on Florida’s Fourth Estate that his daughter was supposed to be in the class and was stuck in the middle wondering what the school district would decide. “My kid has been like, ‘Oh, I’m in the class, I’m out of the class, I’m in the class, I’m out, what am I gonna do?’ and this is after the schedules have already come out,” Austin said. This isn’t the first class caught in the middle of the political debate over education. “Earlier we had the controversy over the AP History exam, which is still going on, so for students that want to take these, this is a troubled time,” Clark said. In addition to focusing on coursework, lawmakers are also working to rid school libraries of books that “depict or describe sexual conduct.” That means librarians must now inspect over a million books. Ginger Gadsden pointed out it’s not just Florida politicians focused on the classroom. “There are a number of states, led by Iowa, that see Florida as the role model, and the governor there is an admirer of Gov. Desantis and has been copying much of what goes on,” Clark said, To learn more about the political impact on Florida’s schools check out Florida’s Fourth Estate. You can download it from wherever you listen to podcasts or watch anytime on News 6+. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Instead of vacationing or partying, a group of students from the University of Central Florida set out for the U.S.-Mexico border this summer. They wanted to learn more about the people working to call America home and bring those stories back to students at UCF. Amy Diaz and Ian Rodriguez both said they brought a unique perspective to the trip. “Even though we are in Florida and we are far away from the border we have family that crossed, or we have family that has come here from Central America, or from other countries,” Rodriguez said. They both also speak Spanish, so it made it easier to learn the stories of those working to gain citizenship in the United States. Diaz said some of the conversations he had were “hard to think about.” That includes one he had with two fathers at a shelter in El Paso, Texas. “They told me they started in Venezuela and walked up into Mexico and it’s just with kids, with a family, walking up there. It’s hard to even imagine that happening,” she said. Diaz said experiencing the process from their point of view was gripping. She said when the group of students and professors went into a stock room where clothes, baby shoes and toiletries are kept everyone got quiet. “It just put it into perspective that thousands of kids and parents are going through these, just as a stop in their journey, but this is making such an impact on them,” Diaz said. Rodriguez said he has never experienced anything like standing at the border wall. “You are just separated by this man-made marker, but it’s just like lack of opportunity on the other side, but you know being in university and having the privilege to be able to get a college education that many people literally a stone’s throw away from you don’t have, it’s interesting,” he said. He said being able to “touch the fence” and to learn the stories of the people trying to cross it has made him feel more connected to his father’s journey to America and appreciative of his own American experience. Now, the stories he and Diaz helped gather will be turned into a multi-phase documentary called “A Break for Impact.” “In addition to that it’s going to be used in several classes for Criminal Justice, for Human Trafficking, for Immigration law and for Journalism, and it’s going to be used to teach students in a more immersive way what it’s like out there,” Diaz said. To hear more about their journey to the U.S.-Mexico border, what they learned and how it will be used to teach others check out Florida’s Fourth Estate. You can download the podcast from wherever you listen to podcasts or watch anytime on News 6+. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amy Siewe goes out at night, sometimes alone, to hunt pythons. She said it’s a passion that started when she was a child, but it’s not without risk. The python huntress talked to Matt Austin and Ginger Gadsdenon Florida’s Fourth Estate about her mission to rid Florida’s Everglades of the invasive reptiles. Siewe has bagged several Burmese pythons and knows how to “work the animal.” “They could easily crush us in a second without even thinking about it,” she said. She said she “really had an appreciation for their power” when she caught a 9-foot python and it wrapped its tail around her leg for leverage. She described it as “no big deal” because “that’s what they always do.” But, then things took a turn. “This thing vice grips me, vice grips my calf and it felt like either my calf muscle was going to explode or my bone was going to break. I have never felt anything like it in my life and it was only a nine-foot python,” Siewe said. She added that it usually easy to deal with a python when an encounter goes wrong. “All I have to do is let go and it will take off,” she said. “It will probably bite me a couple times, but it will take off.” Aside from this unexpected encounter things are a bit more quiet when the Python Huntress heads into The Everglades. She even describes the experience as cathartic, but she is always paying attention, ready for the next takedown, even if it’s not her own catch. Recently she was driving down the road when she happened to come upon Jake Waleri wrestling a 19-foot, python. It was the largest documented Burmese python ever captured in Florida. “I saw him go on the ground which was a little risky,” Siewe said. Then she hopped into action. “So I told two of the kids to pull the tail, I got the coil off of his shoulder, I came around and told him to sit all the way on top of her, and so then I wrapped her mouth up,” she said. Waleri also talked to Florida’s Fourth Estate about the experience. “It felt incredible. I thought this was just a big snake at the time. I thought it would maybe be 16 or 17 feet. I never dreamed that it would actually be the record holder,” he said. Waleri donated the snake to the Conservancy of Southwest Florida. But he kept the skin for himself. “I’m going to turn it into some leather and make a nice trophy out of it,” he said If you are interested in being part of the solution, you can join the Python Elimination Program or learn the ropes from Siewe, who also teaches people the basics of Burmese python hunting, and make some big money along the way by taking part in the Florida Python Challenge. Learn more on Florida’s Fourth Estate. You can download it from wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also watch anytime on News 6+. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It was a typical spring afternoon in southwest Florida’s Myakka River. Jeffrey Heim strapped on his mask, fins and head-mounted GoPro and eased into the murky water to begin his favorite hobby: hunting for massive megalodon shark teeth. The hobby would later become a career for Heim, who now owns a company called SHRKco which collects and sells the ancient shark teeth and donates profits for ocean research organizations. “I did know the dangers but I don’t think I took them seriously enough back then,” Heim told Matt Austin and Ginger Gadsden on the latest episode of Florida’s Fourth Estate. While sifting through sand on the river bottom, Heim says he felt what seemed like a boat strike his head. “It was very powerful. It seemed a lot larger than it actually was,” Heim said. “I saw her. She did bite me twice before I knew what was happening.” The GoPro strapped to his head was recording at the time and the footage shows a large jolt and bubbles in the cloudy water as the camera sunk to the bottom of the river. Heim then realized a large female alligator bit a section of his scalp and his hand — and was coming back for another strike. “You never want to thrash or splash or act like prey, so I stayed calm,” Heim said. After avoiding two more attempted bites, Heim managed to make his way onto the riverbank and call for help. He was rushed to the hospital where nurses put 34 staples into his head and treated severe puncture wounds on his hand where the gator chomped down. Heim believes his injuries could have been much worse if it weren’t for the waterproof camera strapped to his head. “I still don’t think I felt the full force of that bite. And if I did, my head would’ve exploded,” he said. It has been over two years since the attack and Heim’s scars have healed while his passion for megalodon tooth collecting has only grown. “Eventually someday when I’m old I want to have a museum of my best finds... and then pass that story on when I’m no longer here as well,” he said. Heim’s most well-known megalodon tooth find came about two months after the gator attack when Heim uncovered a “miracle” 6 inch megalodon tooth. Watch the full interview on Florida’s Fourth Estate at the top of this story to learn what happened to the 8-foot alligator that bit him and Heim’s advice for finding ancient megalodon teeth in Central Florida. You can download the podcast from wherever you listen to podcasts or watch anytime on News 6+. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On July 24, 2015, Austin Stephanos and Perry Cohen left on a fishing trip. The two 14-year-olds took off from Jupiter Inlet on a 19-foot fishing boat. When they didn’t return, the Coast Guard started a massive search but never found them. Both of their families were left devastated. Perry Cohen’s Dad, Phil Cohen, recently discussed how he has dealt with the grief of losing his only child in a Ted Talk. Now he is sitting down with Matt Austin and Ginger Gadsden on Florida’s Fourth Estate to talk about how he is using this devastating experience to help others. “Losing a child has been known by and said by many to be arguably one of the most profound and painful things that a human being can endure,” Phil Cohen said. The father said he didn’t know how to cope. “At one point I actually went online, and I Googled ‘How to grieve,’” he said. He said the results were dominated by The Five Stages of Grief. Then he realized those were actually created for people diagnosed with life-ending cancer, not for those grieving the loss of a loved one. So, he decided to focus his Ted Talk on what he calls The Grief Continuum. He said it suggests navigating grief is different for everyone. “We don’t all start at the same place, graduate through the same stages to eventually arrive at the same destination. Rather that grief would be more accurately represented on a continuum with acceptance in the middle and negative emotions on this side and even positive things that can happen after acceptance,” Phil Cohen said. “I believe grief is something that we move back and forth through forever; from good to bad, to good to bad, this never-ending cycle of back and forth as opposed to going from one step to another to reach this place where you’re like ‘Alright I made it,’” he added. Phil Cohen said he also leans on his faith to deal with losing his son, an experience he calls “indescribably painful.” “God is good. He has brought me through it. Quite honestly, I don’t even know how people make it through something like this without God. It’s ultimately my relationship with Jesus Christ that really helped me break through this,” Phil Cohen said. To hear more from Cohen and how he is helping others to cope with loss listen to Florida’s Fourth Estate. You can download it from wherever you listen to podcasts or watch anytime on News 6+. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices