Highlands County Sheriff’s officials report that a 4-year-old autistic youngster has died after wandering away from his home in Lake Placid. According to reports, Hunter Williamson was reported missing from his home yesterday afternoon.
Deputies were closing in on a signal from his Safety Net bracelet, when a drone spotted the youngster behind a home on Heal Avenue NW. Apparently he had fallen into a swimming pool there.
Lifesaving measures were unsuccessful.
Traffic was snarled for several hours in the north end of the county this morning due to a truck fire on Highway 27. According to reports, the semi tractor/trailer rig caught fire around 4:30 in the Southbound lanes of 27 near the intersection of Highland Avenue.
Firefighters from Highlands Lakes and Avon Park turned out to quell the flames. Workers now are cleaning up a load of frozen food that spilled from the trailer as they battled the flames.
Authorities say it appears the truck’s brakes overheated. No injuries have been reported in the incident.
Employee issues will be on the minds of Avon Park city council members when they meet tonight. Among other things, they will consider a job description for the city’s Director of Finance. Currently, Financial Analyst Danielle Phillips is filling that job on an interim basis.
The council also will look at the step pay plan and consider a buy-back program for employee vacation time.
In other action, the council will hear from Alvin Hinson. He has been cited for having scrap materials on his property and would like to get his code enforcement fine reduced.
Firefighters from Highlands Lakes brought back some hardware from this past weekend’s Florida State Firematics Championship. They finished second overall in the olympics for firefighters – which was held in Fort Meyers.
The six-member team finished ahead of the squad from Palm Beach County and just behind the crew of the City of Plantation to get the second step on the podium. Firefighters from all over the state competed in the event.
It involved hose rolling, ladder climbing and victim retreival among other firefighting skills.