Police are looking for a male suspect who is accused of grabbing a fishing net from the shelf at the hunting and fishing store in Fort Meyers in Florida.
The suspect was seen taking a 50-pound live fish from a Bass Pro Shops in Fort Myers, Florida. The man allegedly entered the store with a net and scooped a tarpon out of the store’s indoor pond.
He then fled the store with the 50-pound tarpon.
Police said that a witness captured the incident on video, in which the alleged suspect can be seen wearing dark-colored pants, a navy blue T-shirt, and a fishing hat carrying the tarpon.
“This kid just got it outta the small pond,” the Snapchat video was captioned.
Currently, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office is working with its Animal Cruelty Task Force, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), and SWFL Crime Stoppers to find the person or people involved in the incident.
“The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is aware of an incident at The Bass Pro Shop in Fort Myers involving a tarpon. We are currently working with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office to investigate further,” a spokesperson for the FWC told FOX 35 Orlando.
“I will provide updates when they become available.”
The incident was caught on camera, and Florida officials, including the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, are investigating the alleged theft. Tarpon are a protected species in Florida, and it is illegal to possess them without proper certification.
The authorities are working to ensure the safety of the fish, and they are seeking information from the public to identify the suspect.
