Due to the approach of a low pressure system in the southern Gulf of Mexico (Investigation 91), Gulf Islands National Seashore will close Fort Pickens Area to all public use effective 4:30 pm on Wednesday, June 5.  All visitors and campers currently at Fort Pickens will be asked to leave and return to the mainland areas. 

When announcing this closure, Superintendent Daniel R. Brown said, "With this weather approaching and the associated wind and high tides, we anticipate that low lying sections of the Fort Pickens Road will end up being overwashed and covered with sand.  We want to make sure that visitors and staff do not end up being trapped and unable to leave should the road become impassable.”  The park will begin removing any sand from the Fort Pickens Road after the storm has passed and staff have an opportunity to mitigate any hazards resulting from the storm. 

Fort Barrancas will be open Thursday- Sunday,  June 6-9, so that visitors may enjoy an alternate site while Fort Pickens is closed.

For additional information, contact park headquarters at (850) 934-2600 in Florida or (228) 230-4100 in Mississippi, or visit the National Seashore website at www.nps.gov/guis.

OCSO Investigators are trying to identify and make contact with the individual in a home surveillance video to see if he can provide any information that may help in the death investigation of Misty Medrano. The 30-year old Medrano was found deceased around 7 a.m. the morning of April 14th in the waters of Rocky Bayou Bay, near the area at the end of 11th Street in Niceville. Investigators want to find out if the man in the video driving the light-colored pick-up truck, who may have been fishing or kayacking in that area the evening before, saw or heard anything that could benefit the investigation.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office at (850) 609-2000 or Emerald Coast Crime Stoppers at (850) 863-TIPS. Autopsy results on Medrano are still awaiting toxicology analysis.
Link to video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8o81B-hWNyg

The general election to select whether Republican Mike Hill or Democrat Jeremy Lau will fill the seat of the late House District 2 Rep. Clay Ford will be held Tuesday, June 11.  To read more, subscribe online or pick up a copy of the June 6 Navarre Press.

A groundbreaking was held at the site of a new community center for South Santa Rosa County on May 31, with local and state officials and community representatives on hand. To read more, subscribe online or pick up a copy of the June 6 Navarre Press.

A automobile crash near the the main entrance of Holley by the Sea/Sunrise held up lunchtime traffic for about 30 minutes while the vehicles were cleared and the drivers and passengers were removed from the cars and transported to hospitals.

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Fitting perfectly with the Navarre Fishing Rodeo, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) will be allowing a saltwater license-free fishing day this Saturday, June 1.

A freshwater license-free fishing day will also be held on June 8.

License-free fishing days are a great opportunity for Navarre residents and visitors to cast a line into the water and get hooked on saltwater and freshwater fishing. Anglers are not required to have a saltwater recreational fishing license on June 1 or a freshwater recreational fishing license on June 8.

“We hope visitors and residents alike will be able to join in the excitement of Florida’s saltwater and freshwater fishing this year by participating in one of our license-free fishing days or attending an event surrounding the days,” said FWC Executive Director Nick Wiley. “This is an excellent opportunity to share the fun and togetherness of a fishing trip with the entire family or to introduce someone to a lifetime hobby of fishing.”