ELYSA DELCORTO

As the final segment of the Naples Daily News three-day series, two families who lost loved ones in accidents on Interstate 75 speak of their loss and their concerns.

The brother-in-law of Iris Lopez Contreras confessed to killing the Immokalee woman on Jan. 28, according to documents filed with the Collier County Clerk’s Office on Monday. Francisco Demetrio Carrillo, 36, was arrested Friday afternoon and charged with second-degree murder ...

More than 200 people attended the event, geared at educating local minority communities of the importance of participating in the decennial event.

It wasn’t how Doug Finlay planned to spend Election Day. But shortly after the polls opened Tuesday morning, Finlay, 58, a candidate for Naples City Council, was handcuffed and charged with misdemeanor battery. The charge stemmed from a ruckus over ...

Collier deputies responded to a call about 2:45 p.m. Thursday at the 100 block of N. Seventh Street, where officials said they found Lopez Contreras’ body inside.

Collier County Sheriff's Office deputies are investigating a homicide after a woman was found dead inside a residence in Immokalee on Thursday.

Traveling with a friend on an unfamiliar road in Golden Gate Estates may have led to the death of 91-year-old Naples resident Lula B. Gary on Tuesday, Collier County authorities say. “They were driving in an area they didn’t know,” ...

The search for an elderly woman who was a passenger in a car that was reported to have gone into a canal in Golden Gate went on for more than an hour Tuesday. But in spite of their efforts, first ...

Nearly a week after a plane crash claimed the lives of three Naples business men, Bahamian authorities say the investigation continues.

With Haitian nationals' homes destroyed and many of their family members dead, there are fears the U.S. could see an influx of those trying to escape the devastation of last week’s earthquake.

A leading Haitian senator told the Associated press that the death toll could reach 500,000, but conceded that no one really knew. Members of Southwest Florida’s Haitian community say it’s the uncertainty that is the worst part.

In the aftermath of 7.0 earthquake that hit Haiti on Tuesday, members of Southwest Florida's Haitian community say the uncertainty of their loved ones fate is the worst part.

A free training about human trafficking was sponsored by FGCU’s honors program, the Florida Coalition Against Human Trafficking, Global Child Rescue and the Klass Kids Foundation. The event came on the heels of Monday’s worldwide observation of Human Trafficking Awareness ...

An unexpected surprise greeted those waiting to catch the bus to the fields in Immokalee this morning outside of La Fiesta Supermarket. Workers received hot coffee and information to prevent human trafficking.

On Sunday, it will have been a year since the now 7-year-old Adji Desir was last seen playing outside his grandmother’s house in Farm Workers Village in Immokalee on Jan. 10, 2009, while his mother was at work.

There was no happy ending. An undercover operation targeting unlicensed massage therapists and prostitutes netted three arrests Tuesday, said Collier County Sheriff’s officials.

According to the FHP report, Shawn Thomas was driving northbound on Collier Boulevard in a 1996 Infiniti at a high rate of speed and attempted to change lanes when he struck the back end of a 2004 BMW driven by ...

An East Naples woman is accused of being involved in a scheme that stole more than $600,000 from frozen accounts at Wachovia Bank, according to the Miami-Dade Police Department. Mercedes San Miguel, 43, of the 100 block of Fourth Street, ...

It’s been 11 months since the now 7-year-old Adji was last seen playing outside of his grandmother’s house in Farm Worker Village in Immokalee on Jan. 10, while his mother was at work.

The mother of the two East Naples children who died in January after they locked themselves inside a box won’t face charges. According to the State Attorney’s Office, a warrant request made by the Collier County Sheriff’s Office in April ...

Hayli Murphy was admitted to the intensive care unit at The Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida in HealthPark. Doctors put her on a ventilator.

Quiet – the word emergency services staff likes to hear as the 2009 hurricane season comes to a close with barely a blip on the weather radars. With this year’s hurricane season closing Monday, shoppers at a Home Depot off ...

As Collier schools get deeper into the school year, several schools are seeing their student numbers increase greatly, as migrant students come back to town. In Immokalee, the number of migrant students enrolled in Collier County schools is 2,250, more ...

One of the biggest shopping days of the year came and went. But for shoppers trying to stretch their dollars, the Christmas shopping continued Saturday — just without the crowds getting in their way. “I just didn’t want to be ...

Jolly Old Saint Nick will doing more than making his list and checking it twice. Along with his bellowing laugh, Santa will be busting out the hand sanitizer.

Local nonprofits work to give needy Southwest Florida residents a true Thanksgiving dinner.

On Monday, it was business as usual at the former Orion Bank — now IberiaBank. With the morning chill hanging in the air, employees slowly streamed into IberiaBank off Goodlette-Frank Road before 9 a.m. A white plastic sign covered the ...

Where’s the beef? Collier County deputies didn’t have a problem finding the meat butchered from a cow found at a Golden Gate Estates intersection. Deputies say two men helped themselves to some steaks after some cows escaped from a nearby ...

Tips have nearly dried up. But in the ongoing search for Adji Desir, Collier County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Ken Becker said hope remains for bringing home the missing Immokalee boy. The breakthroughs in the Jaycee Dugard, Shawn Hornbeck and Elizabeth ...

The Collier County Sheriff's Office has released a facial reconstruction sculpture from the remains of a body of a man discovered near the Goodland Bridge in May.

A group of volunteers dug a channel and then cheered as the manatee found the open water.

Douglas Elmore Brenner, a Canadian national, had been evading law enforcement for more than 20 years and is wanted by the Waterloo Regional Police in Canada for sexual assault on a juvenile under 14.

Southwest Florida’s arts community is in mourning today, as news of the death of Phyllis "Phil" Jellison traveled through the area. She was 83. The well-known painter and author was found dead Saturday at her North Naples home.

Can a man accused of killing his wife and five children get into heaven? We posted the question to several religious experts and clergy. Here are three responses:

Jean Thomas didn’t expect to see his relative Tuesday night, let alone be on the same flight as him. But that was the case as Thomas shared American Airlines flight 1908 with his relative -- Mesac Damas, who was accompanied ...

Keeping the peace was a simple task for law enforcement on Monday. The large and confrontational crowd that officers expected never developed. Instead, protesters at Planned Parenthood on Creech Road remained quiet, and intent to cause trouble remained below the ...

Planned Parenthood has closed for the day, and protesters have largely left the area.

Savannah Howell knows how to make an entrance. And although her parents aren’t superstitious, family members suspected that the tyke would be born at exactly that time.

It’s one of the toughest conversations adult children have to have with their parents, let alone having the discussion with their spouse. But saying “give me the car keys” is easier said than done. With an ever-growing aging Baby Boomer ...

Jenkins was one of thousands of Florida drivers that made a beeline to local Department of Motor Vehicles offices around the state — trying to avoid having to pay more for the right to drive.

Gladys Beneito knows her granddaughter’s time on Earth was brief. But through her, lives were changed. On Wednesday, Beneito confirmed that 2-year-old Natalia Tuma died due to the injuries she sustained while her family was vacationing in Marco Island earlier ...

Collier County is bucking Florida’s downward population trend. But the numbers could be slightly off, meaning that the county may have actually lost residents like so many other communities throughout the state. According to data provided to Collier by the ...

Blame it on the alcohol. That and the oxycodone she took, the evening before Collier County Sheriff’s deputies knocked on her door and arrested her husband George Malless on domestic violence charges for allegedly trying to strangle her, said Susan ...

An investigation by the Florida Department of Children and Families is looking into the family of a young girl who nearly drowned Sunday in a Marco Island pool. Department spokeswoman Erin Gillespie said Tuesday that the family is being investigated ...

Collier County officials say the latest discrimination complaint against Code Enforcement Director Diane Flagg has no merit.

After attending his brother’s funeral, Doug White hired a private charter pilot to fly his family back to Louisiana. But 10 minutes into the flight, the pilot lost consciousness. The plane was on autopilot, and kept ascending thousands of feet ...

Some of the turbulent weather has finally cleared for Collier County MedFlight. But calm skies may still be far off. On Friday, Collier County officials released the findings of a Federal Aviation Administration investigation into MedFlight’s practices. The investigation had ...

For years, East Naples’ Bayshore neighborhood has tried to leave the ghost of Kelly Road behind. But for a few hours Thursday, the shadow of the days when drugs and crime were mainstays in the community reared its head as ...

Collier historian Maria Stone, who diligently documented the memories of local residents, died Saturday. Stone was 86. "She left her footprint on the pages of Collier County’s history and a vivid impression on all who knew her," said Collier County ...

The ground search may have been called off, but authorities continue to gather tips about the disappearance of 6-year-old Adji Desir and track down leads in Immokalee and across Florida. Sgt. Ken Becker of the Collier County Sheriff’s Office’s Special ...