News & Updates

A Georgia man died Tuesday evening after being caught in a riptide in the Gulf of Mexico near the Okaloosa Island pier. Firefighters and Okaloosa EMS crews worked to try to save 36-year old Ulysses Williams after he was pulled to shore around 6:10 p.m., but he was...

An Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Deputy who underwent training May 29th on how to administer a life-saving drug to opiate overdose patients put that training to use early this morning. Deputy Wes Haggan was called to the Tom Thumb store at 1480 Highway 98 outside Mary...

CHEATWOOD ARREST REPORT A Crestview man faces multiple charges by the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office after he became violent with his live-in girlfriend Wednesday evening, then shot out a window inside their home with a shotgun. 37-year old William “Dale” Cheatwood...

ARREST REPORTS An Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Deputy who stopped a suspicious car west of Mary Esther last night discovered heroin, methamphetamine, and powder cocaine inside. Two people have been arrested. The Deputy conducted a citizen contact on Creekwood Road around...

BOYERS ARREST REPORT A Fort Walton Beach teen used a baseball bat to rescue his mother from a man she says entered her bedroom and sexually assaulted her early this morning. The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office today charged 24-year old Xavier Jamar Boyers of 23...

ELMORE ARREST REPORT A Baker man faces a trio of felony charges and two misdemeanors following the execution of a narcotics search warrant at his home. Arriving deputies found 36-year old John Martin Elmore of 1551 Perry Smith Road in a shed on the property May 27th....

HERTZING ARREST REPORT The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office arrested a Destin man this afternoon in connection with a hit and run accident that injured a bicyclist on Highway 98 earlier today. The victim was riding his back eastbound near Restaurant Row when he was...

First District Florida Congressman Jeff Miller paid special tribute today to the men and women of local law enforcement for their “heart, level of courage, and commitment to service that we all aspire to achieve”. Congressman Miller was the featured speaker at the...

ARREST REPORTS A Shalimar man trying to flee Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office deputies nearly hit a patrol car before eventually crashing Thursday night. He now faces multiple felony charges. Two passengers were arrested as well. The deputies had spotted suspicious...

The School Resource Officer at Meigs Middle School used a photo of a written bomb threat to catch the teen responsible for posting the message on a bathroom wall at Meigs Middle School May 17th. The SRO sent copies of the photo depicting the writing to teachers and...

***UPDATE*** KAYLA FIRNSCHILD HAS BEEN LOCATED The Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office is hoping to locate missing 19-year old Kayla Virginia Firnschild of Jamestown Avenue in Fort Walton Beach. Kayla was last seen on Monday, May 16th. Her whereabouts are unknown and...

A Fort Walton Beach woman is the latest victim of con artists who pretend to represent the IRS. The 66-year old got a phone call May 16th from someone with a heavy Hispanic or Indian accent, claiming to be from the IRS, and stating she owed the agency $5233 in back...

The School Resource Officer at Meigs Middle School in Shalimar says someone wrote a bomb threat on a wall in a boys’ bathroom. It was discovered today. Anyone with information on who may have written the threat is asked to contact SRO Deputy T.J. Bye, school...

The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office is investigating after a third grader at Wright Elementary reported that a man in a green van offered her a bag of candy as she rode her bicycle to school. The 9 year old says she was heading east on Pelham Road around 8:30 a.m....

The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a shooting that injured three people early this morning at the Red Rose Gentleman’s Club, located at 106 Santa Rosa Boulevard on Okaloosa Island. Deputies were called to the scene around 4:00 a.m. Sunday morning...

ELLIS ARREST REPORT The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office has tied a man caught smashing a glass door in Destin on May 10th to a series of prior burglaries in the area, including at Destin United Methodist Church. 43-year old Kenneth Cade Ellis, Jr. was charged with...

A Niceville man who say he pulled over on Racetrack Road while experiencing car trouble was approached by an armed robber, not a Good Samaritan. The victim says he pulled into a convenience store at 213 Racetrack Road around one a.m. this morning after his car started...

On May 5th, a 10-year old Niceville girl said a man had attempted to coerce her and a friend into a van on two separate occasions within the past couple months in the Blue Pine Village Subdivision in Niceville. Over the past 24 hours, OCSO Investigators have conducted...

BRADLEY ARREST REPORT The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a school cafeteria manager for the theft of around $30,000 from student cafeteria funds in small increments over an estimated two year period. 40-year old Lydia Faye Bradley of Mayo Trail Court in...

The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office was notified that the 1st Judicial Circuit Medical Examiner’s Office has made positive identification via dental records of the human remains recovered on 04/28/2016 at a Fort Walton Beach home as being that of missing person Marie...