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SiestaKeyFitness.com OCTOBER 2024 | 941.312.0665 | 27TH STATE MEDIA LLC | www.SiestaSand.us | COMPLIMENTARY
Coyote attack on Siesta Key Local officials express concerns for growing dangers By Ned Steele Notice: This article contains graphic descriptions. Reader discretion is advised.
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Michael Hancock holds photo of his family's beloved Coco.
ith the recent attack and brutal death of a Siesta Key resident’s beloved small dog, pressure is growing on the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) to act against the wild coyotes roaming the Key and jeopardizing pets. The Siesta Key Association will hold a community meeting Oct. 3, 4.30 p.m. at St Boniface Episcopal Church, with FWC officials to attend and present, to call attention to the problem. FWC in conjunction with Sarasota County is also launching an educational campaign. But FWC does not plan to relocate or kill any coyotes, and that has raised concerns among local leaders and residents. Rather, FWC places other steps ahead of relocation. “This is becoming a serious and potentially dangerous situation,” said County
Commissioner Mark Smith, after being alerted to the latest attack. Late on the night of Sept. 12, Higel Avenue resident Michael Hancock watched in horror as two coyotes snatched Coco, his 15-pound eightinch tall Morkie, from his front yard. “I heard a yelp and saw her take off,” Hancock recalled. “At first I thought she was chasing a mouse.” But Coco wasn’t chasing a mouse. “I saw something violently shake her,” Hancock continued. “And when I ran up, all I could see was Coco’s collar on the ground.” The animals ran off with Coco in their grip, passing her back and forth between them. Hancock followed in pursuit in the dark in his car, and finally caught up with the coyotes down the block. The coyotes fled, leaving behind Coco’s bloodied body on the ground. “I had to watch it,” Hancock said. “The sweetest little dog. I couldn’t imagine this thing happening.”
Hancock said he, and most of his neighbors, were totally unaware that coyotes – likely hundreds of them – roam their Siesta Key neighborhoods. Commissioner Smith, who has spoken out on the issue at county meetings, now warns that even worse could happen if FWC doesn’t act. He is calling on FWC to begin a program of relocating coyotes off the island. Neighbors have asked him privately if they could shoot coyotes who threaten their pets or homes. “You mix in bars closing at 2 a.m. and visitors making their way back, there’s going to be a disaster,” Smith said. “Before someone gets hurt or worse, we need to relocate the coyotes. This can’t continue. It will get to the point where it will explode. I’m really concerned about people with guns, and someone getting killed. It needs to be taken care of immediately. Relocate those coyotes like we do with alligators.” Continued on page 25
Swimmer saved on Siesta Beach Father and son rescue man on Labor Day By Jane Bartnett
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n the Monday evening of the long Labor Day holiday weekend, Jackie and Rob Eberley, who live on Midnight Pass, went to Siesta Beach with their 27-year-old son Gray who was visiting from New York City with his girlfriend. The group decided to take a quick early evening swim. Jackie decided to stay on the beach. Rob and Gray went into the water for a swim. Lifeguards had ended their patrol day at
5:00 p.m. and had left the beach. The water, both Rob and Gray recalled, was choppy and conditions were windy. Rob, a marathon swimmer and member of the Siesta Beach open water swimming group “Meet Me at Blue,” named for the blue lifeguard chair on Siesta Beach, began swimming toward his son. Suddenly, Rob heard a man yelling and flailing his arms in the air. “I quickly realized that he was in trouble and going
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under. The water was not clear, and it was hard to see.” By the time Rob reached the man, whom both father and son believed to be in his 20’s or 30’s, he was, according to Rob’s estimation, about three feet under the water. “He was dead weight and in deep water” said Rob, who was not able to stand in the water himself. “I pulled him up in a cross arm carry and started swimming to
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Continued on page 29
Gray (left) and Rob Eberley on Siesta Beach.
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