OSCEOLA COUNTY

Lee County deputies arrested seven Osceola County men, accused of looting in Fort Myers after the area and its residents faced Hurricane Ian.

The family of an Osceola County woman is calling for accountability within the sheriff’s office, after she drowned in a retention pond while deputies stood on the shoreline just yards away.

A suspect holding two women hostage was fatally shot by deputies along Florida’s Space Coast following a chase that spanned three counties.

Leaders in one tourism-dependent Florida county battered by the pandemic are giving graduating high school seniors free tuition at either the local community college or the county technical school.

Deputies in Osceola County are searching for a missing and endangered teenager who was last seen Friday morning.

Residents of a central Florida 55-plus neighborhood have been awarded nearly $35 million in a civil case following a judge’s ruling that they were charged improper homeowners’ association fees.

Engineers from a private firm alerted county officials in central Florida this week to significant structural problems that were discovered at a condominium complex two months ago but never addressed by the homeowners association. The warning came days after another condominium, the 12-story Champlain Towers South, partially collapsed in Surfside, Florida, killing at least 18 and leaving 145 people still missing. In central Florida, the Orlando-based firm Farmer Architecture told Osceola County officials they had warned the homeowners association at the Images Condominiums in Kissimmee that three buildings at the complex were “unsafe and in danger of collapse” on April 30, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

Walkways at risk of collapsing could pose a threat at the Kissimmee complex, officials warned a week after a condo building near Miami Beach partially collapsed.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The number of people hospitalized in Florida with “primary” diagnoses of COVID-19 topped 5,000 on Tuesday, as case numbers and deaths continued to climb. As of early Tuesday evening, 5,103 people were hospitalized with primary diagnoses of COVID-19, up from 4,931 during a Monday count, according to the state Agency for Health Care Administration website. Miami-Dade County had the largest number of people hospitalized Tuesday with 932. It was followed by Broward County, with 514; Hillsborough County, with 300; Duval County, with 286; Palm Beach County, with 283; Pinellas County, with 241; Orange County, with 234; Polk County, with 155; Pasco County, with 136; Escambia County, with 126; Sarasota County, with 125; Lee County, with 124; Osceola County, with 119; Lake County, with 114; Volusia County, with 110; and Collier County, with 109.

OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. – As of Monday morning, every school district in Florida has started its school year. But one Central Florida school was open Monday after it became the first school in the state to have closed due to COVID-19 after reopening for the year. According to sister station WKMG, Harmony Middle School in Osceola County shut its campus down for in-person learning for the next two weeks after 10 staff members tested positive for COVID-19. Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran addressed the school closure during a news conference on Monday. So we need our adults in the school system to be very safe,” Corcoran said.

OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. – Leaders in Osceola County held a news conference Friday to provide updates on the COVID-19 pandemic. During the news conference, a new emergency order was announced stating that those in Osceola County will be required to wear a face mask when in public. “It’s not meant to be a punishment, we’re doing this to stop the spread of this virus,” Osceola County Sheriff Russ Gibson said. “Wearing a face cloth will help someone who doesn’t know they have it (COVID-19) from spreading the virus,” officials said. As of Friday morning, Osceola County had 300 positive cases of the coronavirus.

CLOUD, Fla. - The search for a Central Florida mother reported missing earlier this week led to Fridays discovery of possibly human remains in Osceola County, authorities said. Its unclear if the remains are those of 33-year-old Nicole Montalvo, who was reported missing after she did not show up to pick up her 8-year-old son from school Tuesday, ClickOrlando.com reports. Osceola County Sheriff Russ Gibson said the remains were discovered behind a home near St. Cloud that belongs to Montalvos estranged husband and his parents, according to the websites report. Montalvo was last seen Monday afternoon when she dropped her son off at the home.

The search for a Central Florida mother reported missing earlier this week led to Friday's discovery of possibly human remains in Osceola County, authorities said. Copyright 2019 by WJXT News4Jax - All rights reserved.

OSCEOLA, Florida (CNN) - Oakland Raiders wide receiver Antonio Brown's tumultuous offseason continues, but this time, he'll have to defend himself in court over a bill for $38,521.20. Brown is being sued by Stefano Tedeschi, aka the "Sports Chef," in Osceola County, Florida, court on charges of breach of contract and unjust enrichment. The lawsuit alleges that Brown wrongfully terminated the contract on January 27, 2018, and would not allow Tedeschi to retrieve his equipment and leftover food from the property. Brown, Tedeschi and his attorney did not respond to a request for comment. Brown recently lost a grievance against the NFL Players Association over the expiration of an old model of helmet, and he is recovering from frostbite on his feet.