A woman who has been missing for the past three weeks has been rescued from inside a storm drain.

Lyndsey Kennedy was found naked, dirty with superficial wounds after members of the public heard her screaming in Delray Beach, Florida.

"A passerby heard something coming from the storm drain. She heard a woman yelling," Delray Beach Fire Rescue spokesperson Dani Moschella told Local10.

"To think of a person down there for any amount of time; it is terrifying."

Moschella added: "[Kennedy] was unable to stand up. She didn’t have any clothes on. She was very dirty. She had some superficial wounds. Her knees were all scraped up."

Kennedy, who has a history of drug addiction and mental illness, was first reported missing in Florida by her boyfriend after she vanished without explanation.

A pedestrian later heard Kennedy shouting for help from inside an eight-foot-deep drain built into the pavement near the intersection of Atlantic Boulevard and Southwest 11th Avenue in the early hours of Tuesday, March 23.

The emergency services were summoned, and the Special Operations Team of the Delray Beach Fire Department removed the storm grate, lowered a ladder and hoisted Kennedy out of the hole.

Kennedy was reportedly lucid upon being rescued and despite only having superficial wounds, was hospitalized as a precaution.

Explaining the mystery around her disappearance, Kennedy later told police investigators that she'd gone swimming in a canal near her boyfriend's home.

During her swim, she claims she found a doorway that led down into a tunnel, which she followed it until she'd gotten stuck there.

However, Police are doubtful that she spent the full period of three weeks in the drain.

Commenting on the case, Delray Beach Police Department Public Information Officer Ted White later told Local 10 News:

"This was by far one of the most bizarre incidents that our officers have responded to.

"It appears she may have been in that storm drain for at least a couple of days, perhaps longer.

"For her to say she was in the storm drain system for weeks is kind of hard to believe. We're trying to piece this story together to find out what is fact and what is not fact."

Featured Image Credit: Pexels

The body of a man who went missing during Hurricane Ian in the Fall of last year has been found on a sunken sailboat in Florida.

Hurricane Ian was the deadliest Category 4 hurricane to hit Florida since the mid-30s. Reuters has estimated that it caused almost $112 billion in catastrophic damage across Florida, Cuba, North Carolina, and Virginia as it hit in September 2022.

Millions of people lost power during Ian's wake, and many people were forced to take refuge on the roofs of their homes. Around 40,000 people were displaced, and it's thought that the hurricane resulted in the deaths of at least 147 people.

The number of fatalities could very well be much higher, however, as local authorities in Florida discovered during the past week when they recovered the body of a man who went missing during the catastrophic weather event.

Hurricane Ian caused billions of dollars worth of damage when it hit Florida in 2022. Credit: AC NewsPhoto / Alamy

James Hurst, 72, had been the only person still missing after Hurricane Ian ravaged Florida, and was last known to have been onboard his boat - named the Good Girl - at the time of his disappearance. According to USA Today, Hurst's daughter Shannon Vaughn had reported him missing on October 6, after he went out on his boat in Fort Myers Beach. He last spoke with his family in the afternoon on September 28, after which he suddenly lost contact at around 3:00 PM.

His body was eventually discovered last Friday (January 13) when the Lee County Sheriff's office announced that their dive team had discovered his sunken boat in Matanzas Pass in Fort Myers Beach. "Mr. Hurst’s family has been notified. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family," the sheriff's office announced, via USA Today.

James Hurst had been on his boat, the 'Good Girl' when he went missing. Credit: SheriffLeeFl.com

Earlier in the week, the body of an elderly woman was also recovered "deep within the mangroves" on the same beach, NBC reported.

Sheriff Carmine Marceno stated at a news conference that the body of 82-year-old Ilonka Knes was discovered in the mangroves on Fort Myers Beach, saying: "These areas are impassable by boat and they're not visible by the air [...] This was a really heavily affected area."

Knes' family had reportedly requested a welfare check on October 7, however, authorities were unable to reach her. She was officially declared missing on October 15 after several failed attempts to contact her. When her body was eventually discovered last week - a mere 0.16 miles from her home - she was identified through dental records, per CNW. Her cause of death was ruled as accidental drowning.

Her husband, 81-year-old Robert Knes, had sadly been found dead shortly after the storm struck. Ilonka Knes and James Hurst were the only two missing persons that local authorities were trying to locate.

Featured image credit: AC NewsPhoto / Alamy

Police have launched an investigation after a severed human head was found on a popular beach in Miami.The gruesome discovery was made by a frightened worker who was raking the sand in the popular hotspot.Miami-Dade Police Department arrived at Key Biscayne after receiving reports and quickly cordoned off the area with tape and traffic cones as they began their investigation with homicide detectives.The police confirmed the head was human but have not determined whether it belonged to a man or woman. They are working with the Medical Examiner’s Office to identify the individual.The department shared that it is too early to tell if the decapitation is connected to any recent cases in the area, including one of a teenager who went missing.Key Biscayne in Miami-Dade County, Miami Beach. Credit: Simonkr / GettyThe stomach-curdling find has left many residents in the community feeling shaken and worried.Bahman Amini, who has lived in a nearby condominium building for 40 years, told CBS News Miami: “We have seen all things here but nothing like what was found this morning, the head of a person. It makes us scared to go to the beach that we love."“This is shocking, shocking. You don’t hear a lot about that. You heard about drugs washing up on shore and things like that, but a head!” another resident named Marcelo Borrelli said.Resident Mollie McAuliffe shared that they have "questions" about where the severed head came from. "It is pretty upsetting," she added.Even tourists visiting Florida were spooked by the discovery.Kristy Sippel, from New York City, told the publication: "It is scary. I would like to know what happened."Alex Portuondo, who used to live in South Florida, said that the whole ordeal is "pretty scary and crazy" as they've never "heard of anything like this happening before on this kind of beach"."I guess I am curious if they have any information on where it came from, if anything else has been found, if it happened here on the island or washed up on the shore," Alex continued."I guess I assume it might have happened someplace else and washed up here but I do worry because of this," they added.Featured image credit: Douglas Sacha / Getty

A woman trapped in the Miami condo rubble was heard screaming for hours - but sadly, her cries for help went silent before the search team could reach her.

Miami-Dade County Fire Chief Alan Cominsky recounted the unsuccessful effort to save the woman on Thursday, July 1 - exactly one week after the Champlain Towers South condo suddenly collapsed.

Cominsky recalled at a news conference, per NBC Miami: "They were searching for a female voice, is what we heard for several hours, and eventually, we didn't hear her voice anymore... we continued to search. And, again, that's emphasizing the magnitude of what we're going through.

"The efforts that all of our fire and rescue personnel, everyone that is here on the scene, trying to do the best we can in these heroic efforts. Unfortunately, we didn't have success."

Credit: Sipa US / Alamy

Thus far, 18 people have been confirmed dead after the building's partial collapse on June 24, and 149 people are still unaccounted for, according to the outlet.

The cause of the deadly crash is still undetermined and an investigation into the tragic affair is ongoing.

Residents of the condo were reportedly made to believe it was in "very good shape" after structural issues were raised back in 2018, per Miami Herald.

However, according to a recent report by USA Today, in October 2020, workers who had been hired to remediate concrete damage at the condo were confronted with excessive deterioration at the site and as such were unable to carry out the work.

At a news conference, the Mayor of the county - Daniella Levine Cava - spoke about the around-the-clock search efforts currently being carried out. She said, according to the New York Post: "We have people waiting, waiting, and waiting for news - that is excruciating."

Credit: Sipa US / Alamy

She added: "We have them coping with the news that they might not have their loved ones come out alive and still hoping against hope that they will. They're learning that some of their loved ones will only come out as body parts."

President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden visited the site of the crash on Thursday as they met with leaders in the state as well as families whose loved ones are still missing days after the collapse of the 12-story condo.

"This is life and death," Biden said at a briefing, per ITV. "We can do it, just the simple act of everyone doing what needs to be done makes a difference."

Featured image credit: Sipa US / Alamy

A teenage girl has sustained serious injuries after being attacked by a shark at a beach in Florida.

Per CBS News, Addison Bethea, 17, was looking for scallops close to the water around five feet deep off Keaton Beach when a shark attacked her, according to the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office.

Coming to the girl’s aid, Bethea's brother bravely fought off the shark, by poking it in the eyes in defense. Tragically, the shark ended up biting her right leg twice before swimming away.

Bethea was airlifted to a hospital in Tallahassee with serious injuries and is now awake in the ICU of a Tallahassee hospital after almost losing her life to the 9-foot beast. The hospital shared a post on Facebook detailing the attack.

The hospital posted a picture of the teen and her brother, with the caption: "Addison has devastating damage to the soft tissue in her right leg. The TMH trauma team stabilized her, and the trauma surgeon performed emergency surgery with a goal of restoring blood flow to her leg."

"She will undergo a second surgery Saturday, July 2 to further investigate the extent of the damage to her leg and determine what treatment options are available with the goal of saving her leg," they continued.

The hospital wrote that Bethea has a "long journey to recovery" and that family would like to thank their community in Taylor County for reaching out to offer prayers and support during this difficult time.

Bethea's parents also posted about the painful news on their Facebook, with her mom writing: "Right now we just ask for continued prayers for our sweet girl. She’s a tough cookie and she has a long road ahead of her but she’s alive and that’s all this mama cares about. So please keep praying because it’s working!"

Credit: Menigault Bernard / Alamy.

Sheriff Padgett announced in a statement that the news is a "tragedy" stating that, "Boaters and swimmers are cautioned to be alert, vigilant, and practice shark safety,"

"Some rules to follow are: never swim alone, do not enter the water near fishermen, avoid areas such as sandbars (where sharks like to congregate), do not swim near large schools of fish, and avoid erratic movements while in the water," the sheriff said.

Florida has reported on average 25 shark attack incidents each year over the last half-decade. The International Shark Attack File shows that the number of attacks seems to be decreasing.

Our thoughts continue to go out to Bethea and her family.

Featured image credit: REUTERS / Alamy

Authorities in Florida said they are "actively" investigating deer cam footage that potentially captured a sighting of Brian Laundrie.

Last week, 23-year-old Laundrie - who has been missing since September 14 - was named a person of interest in the disappearance of his fiancée Gabby Petito, whose death was confirmed yesterday (September 21).

Now, a local named Sam Bass who set up the deer cam in the wilderness in Baker, Florida, says he has possibly captured footage of the missing Laundrie.

Early on Monday, September 20, the camera picked up a man with a backpack who resembled Laundrie.

Sharing an image of the possible sighting on Facebook, Bass wrote: "I’m not saying this is the guy but whoever was on my trail camera this morning in Baker, Fl strongly fits the description of Brian Laundrie, authorities have been contacted but people in the North West Florida area be on the look out."

The Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office has since confirmed that they are investigating the footage.

"We are aware and are actively checking it out," the office's spokesperson Michele Nicholson told The New York Post on Tuesday. "At this point, there is no confirmation."

Police used drones in their search of the area in which the possible sighting was captured, to no avail.

In a statement, the sheriff's office said: "The OCSO did its due diligence in response to this report and is wrapping up an extensive search that took place in this area to also include nearby farmlands and a search by drone. No one - and nothing - of note was located.

"There are no known possible past or current connections between Laundrie and anyone in this area at this time to follow up on. In the meantime we will remain vigilant and if anything new of significance develops we will share."

Laundrie's parents told police he had left their North Port, Florida, home with a backpack, as he set off for the T. Mabry Carlton Jr. Memorial Reserve near Venice.

Search crews are continuing their hunt for the missing 23-year-old as an increasing number of potential sightings are reported by locals.

Yesterday (September 21), the human remains found in the Bridger-Teton National Forest, Wyoming, were confirmed to be those of travel-blogger Gabby Petito.

FBI Denver tweeted: "Teton County Coroner Dr. Brent Blue confirmed the remains are those of Gabrielle Venora Petito, date of birth March 19, 1999. Coroner Blue’s initial determination for the manner of death is homicide. The cause of death remains pending final autopsy results."

Featured image credit: Instagram/Gabspetito