Sworn Statement

They are the underwater experts. They are the specialists we turn to when it comes to retrieving anything from the murky, mucky, often dangerous water ways of Collier County. And with 307 square miles water, CCSO's Dive Team plays a vital role in protecting our community. On this episode dive team members share stories of rescues, recoveries and alligator encounters. Lots and lots of alligator encounters.

Hurricane season is just a few days away, and we want you to be ready. In this episode we tell you what you can do to prepare and ways to stay safe during a storm. We also tell you how the Collier County Sheriff's Office gets ready for hurricane season, and what our deputies do before, during, and after a storm. This week's guests are Lt. Laura Lopez of our Emergency Management Division, and Lt. Stephen Macera, from our Real-Time Operations Center.

When people see a law enforcement helicopter overhead, they often assume there's a crime in progress, but that's not always the case. The CCSO Aviation Unit performs a diverse variety of tasks to protect Collier County. In this episode, Lieutenant Dennis De Rienzo and Chief Pilot Ed Henderson explain how they do much more than locate bad guys – they battle fires, they find and save people, and they support and protect deputies on the ground. They also tell us how the speed and reach of our helicopters are essential to patrolling a county that is bigger than two U.S. states.

In a large-scale emergency, like a hurricane or wildfire, first responders need all the help they can get. That's why Collier County Sheriff Kevin Rambosk is introducing the Community Emergency Response Team, or CERT. In this episode we look at how these citizen volunteers will be trained to protect themselves and their communities in the event of a disaster, and how that benefits everyone in Collier County.

For the past 45 years, the Collier County Sheriff's Office has given students an inside look at law enforcement through its Explorers program. This program gives hands-on training with CCSO deputies and offers valuable lessons, even for students who aren't interested in a career in law enforcement. In this episode, we talk to two deputies who run the program, and two students who currently are Explorers explain how the program prepares them for life after graduation.

A nationwide shortage of 9-1-1 dispatchers could mean longer wait times in an emergency. To solve this problem in Collier County, Sheriff Kevin Rambosk is thinking outside the box. In this episode, we'll explore the creative ways Sheriff Rambosk is working to find the next generation of 9-1-1 telecommunicators through CCSO's Public Safety Career Academy.

Why do people get pulled over? Why do speeding tickets cost so much? Why is safety on the roadways so important? Do cops have monthly ticket quotas? In this episode, Sergeant Anna Horowitz and Corporal Scott Harle from the Collier County Sheriff's Office Safety & Traffic Enforcement Bureau answer everything you've ever wanted to know about traffic enforcement.

What happens to victims once a crime is over? They can be scared and confused. That's where CCSO's Victim Advocates step in. In this episode CCSO Victim Advocates Angela Larson and Jackie Borchers tell us how they help people get through trauma by supporting them and connecting them to the resources they need. Our advocates also share how difficult their job can be, especially when it comes to delivering death notices.

This season we're exploring the lesser-known aspects of the Collier County Sheriff's Office, starting with our K9 Unit. Our deputies – both the dogs and their human handlers – do more than catch bad guys. They find missing people, they sniff out dangerous items, and they're the first ones to enter the most volatile scenes. In this episode our Cpl. Diaz and Cpl. Walker explain the unique challenges and the joys of living and working with their K9 partners.

The Collier County Sheriff's Office turned 100 this year. Sheriff Kevin Rambosk spent 2023 honoring our past, but also looking ahead with innovative public safety initiatives. In this episode, we look back on CCSO's Centennial year and all that the agency has accomplished in the past 12 months. NOTE: This is the final episode of our fall season. Sworn Statement will return after the new year with all new episodes for our spring season. Subscribe wherever you get podcasts to get notified when we return.

The holiday season means more people shopping, spending more money than usual. That means more opportunities for criminals to come after your hard-earned cash. In this episode, we talk to Collier County Sheriff's Office crime prevention deputies about the holiday-themed scams and frauds they've seen, and how you can protect your pocketbook when you shop.

It's International Fraud Awareness Week, but the Collier County Sheriff's Office works year-round to stop scammers. In this episode members of CCSO's Financial Crimes Bureau break down three of the most common scams, tell you the techniques criminals use to defraud victims, plus how to avoid them.

Margaret Gallaway, 80, spent six days trapped inside a garage with no food and little water. Thanks to the efforts of the Collier County Sheriff's Office, with help from other agencies and the public, Margaret is alive and well. This episode takes you inside the search and rescue mission. Detectives describe the exhaustive efforts to find Margaret, while her family tells us about the relief and joy it brought them.

A brand new task force is targeting criminals who prey on the most vulnerable. The Collier County Sheriff's Office is part of the Southwest Florida Intercept Task Force, which is fighting child exploitation and trafficking. In this episode we explain how the task force is saving children and provide tips on how to protect your kids from online predators.

With drug overdoses at an all-time high, Sheriff Kevin Rambosk has created an extensive and innovative plan to fight it in Collier County. This episode explores how the Laced & Lethal campaign brings awareness and prevention to all areas of the community with the most thorough fentanyl-fighting program in the country.

When Collier County opened its first new public high school in 19 years, the school district needed a name that signified service to students. The new school would be named for one of the seven men who have served as Sheriff of Collier County, and someone who dedicated his life to helping local children. In this episode we look at the namesake of Aubrey Rogers High School and explore the programs Sheriff Rogers created that are still protecting and serving the youth of today.

How can you avoid being a victim? In our season finale, we look at how the Collier County Sheriff's Office works to prevent crimes before they happen. We also give valuable tips to help you avoid some of the most common crimes of opportunity.

CSD stands for Community Service Deputies. They're the Swiss Army knives of the Collier County Sheriff's Office, doing a little bit of everything to keep citizens safe. In this episode we dive deep into the role of CSD: what they do, how they're different from (and the same as) law enforcement officers, and how it's a job that is rewarding for people of all backgrounds and experience.

Collier County is always expanding. In the past 50 years alone our population has increased ten-fold. The Collier County Sheriff's Office has worked hard to keep pace with that growth. In this episode, find out how CCSO has evolved to serve our ever-changing community, and how the Sheriff's Office plans to keep pace in the future as Collier County's growth shows no signs of slowing down.

As threats against schools rise on social media, how does law enforcement tell the difference between a hoax and a credible threat? How does CCSO weed out the fake threats and keep students safe from the real ones? In this episode we explore how the Collier County Sheriff's Office's unique relationship with the schools keeps kids safe, and we look at a real-life example of how a threat is assessed and investigated.

The Collier County Sheriff's Office Corrections Department is an essential part in helping us achieve the mission set forth by Sheriff Kevin Rambosk of protecting all citizens – even those who are incarcerated. In this episode we talk to Lieutenant Craig DeMange who dispels some of the myths about Corrections and tells us why it's been a worthy and fulfilling career for him for the past 17 years.

Only seven men have served as Sheriff of Collier County. Today we're looking back the Sheriff who had the shortest tenure, but had an indelible impact on the county in its early days. Hear how Sheriff Roy O. Atkins maintained law and order from 1953 to 1956 from someone who knew him best.

Autism is the fastest growing developmental disability in the world, and Sheriff Kevin Rambosk wanted to know how the Collier County Sheriff's Office can better serve that segment of our community. In 2021, Sheriff Rambosk created CCSO's Autism Support Project. In this episode we examine how our innovative and proactive approach is protecting vulnerable citizens by training first responders to provide specialized care.

Sheriff Kevin Rambosk and the Collier County Sheriff's Office are strengthening efforts to find and process invisible evidence – and it's leading to more arrests in the crimes that affect citizens the most. In this episode we examine how the Sheriff's Office is using Touch DNA to solve these cases through a program known as the Property Crimes Initiative.

The Collier County Sheriff's Office is celebrating 100 years of protecting the community. Since its start as a two-man agency in 1923, CCSO has grown to more than 1,300 deputies protecting close to half a million people. In this episode honoring our Centennial we take a look at how CCSO has developed into a first-class agency that keeps Collier County one of the safest places to live in the country.

Scams and Fraud Episode 3 by CCSO Media Relations

Scams and Fraud Episode 2 by CCSO Media Relations

Scams and Fraud Episode 1 by CCSO Media Relations

Scams and Fraud Trailer by CCSO Media Relations

In January 2021, the Collier County Sheriff's Office identified an unnamed hiker found deceased in Big Cypress National Preserve in 2018. The details were immediately shared on our Facebook page, but we're updating the podcast as well.

Three women discuss their careers in law enforcement at the Collier County Sheriff's Office in light of Women's History Month.

In this standalone episode of Sworn Statement, we're revisiting a 2018 unsolved homicide case. Karl Lievenese was found dead in his North Naples office in April of that year. Detectives are still looking for tips in this case and SWFL Crimestoppers has rewards in place for tips leading to an arrest.

In this episode of Sworn Statement, we answer some commonly asked questions about forensic genealogy after the agency announced it would be partnering with Othram labs to use this technology in the case of the deceased hiker known as Mostly Harmless.

Two years after the body of a deceased hiker was found in the Florida Everglades, deputies at the Collier County Sheriff's Office are still working to identify the man. This episode of Sworn Statement is an update on the 2018 case, providing new details into the case, including excerpts from the hiker's notebook. For more on the case of the deceased hiker known as Mostly Harmless, listen to all three episodes of Season 1 of this podcast.

Season 2 Episode 1 -- Florida Man Gets Help by CCSO Media Relations

Season 2 Episode 3 -- The Safety Net by CCSO Media Relations

Season 2 Episode 2 -- Breaking The Cycle by CCSO Media Relations

Season Two of Sworn Statement will focus on the mental health crisis in Southwest Florida and what deputies at the Collier County Sheriff's Office are doing to help. Season Two is comprised of three episodes.

Episode 3 of Sworn Statement is the third and final episode exploring the case of the deceased hiker known as Mostly Harmless. In this episode, we look at some of the reasons why Mostly Harmless might have earned his trail name. And we also discuss some theories behind why he might have kept his identity private. Host: Kristine Gill, Media Relations Specialist for the Collier County Sheriff's Office Guests: Kim Cherney, Criminal Research Investigator with the Collier County Sheriff's Office Kevin O'Neill, homicide investigator with the Collier County Sheriff's Office Brandon Dowell, thru-hiker Jeremy Knoff, thru-hiker Simon Jones, actor Kelly Fairbanks, trail angel Thanks to Tyler Socash of Foot Stuff Podcast for background on the thru-hiking community. https://www.footstuffpodcast.com/ Clips from the Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy audio book, Eddie Vedder's "Guaranteed" featured in Into the Wilde Music: Art of Silence by Uniq https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3V-pYCGx0C4 For photos of the hiker, and more on the podcast, visit www.colliersheriff.org/news/sworn-statement.

Episode 1 of Sworn Statement explores the case of a deceased hiker whose body was found in the Florida Everglades in July 2018. We start with what the 911 caller saw and follow the investigation as detectives learn that the man was a thru-hiker. After that, the case goes cold. Host: Kristine Gill, Media Relations Specialist for the Collier County Sheriff's Office Guests: Kim Cherney, Criminal Research Investigator with the Collier County Sheriff's Office Kevin O'Neill, homicide investigator with the Collier County Sheriff's Office Kelly Fairbanks, trail angel Nichalaus Horton, 911 caller and hiker Misti Little, thru hiker and host of the Orange Blaze podcast on the Florida Trail http://orangeblaze.thegardenpathpodcast.com/about/ Thanks to Tyler Socash of Foot Stuff Podcast for background on the thru-hiking community. https://www.footstuffpodcast.com/ Music: Art of Silence by Uniq https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3V-pYCGx0C4 For photos of the hiker, and more on the podcast, visit www.colliersheriff.org/news/sworn-statement.

Episode 2 of Sworn Statement is the second of three episodes exploring the case of the deceased hiker known as Mostly Harmless. In this episode, we explain how missing persons databases work and why DNA may or may not help to pinpoint the hiker's identity. We also follow the trail investigators used in tracking Mostly Harmless' hike, the places he stopped and the people he met along the way. Host: Kristine Gill, Media Relations Specialist with the Collier County Sheriff's Office Guests: Carrie Sutherland, Lori Napolitano Kim Cherney, Criminal Research Investigator with the Collier County Sheriff's Office Kevin O'Neill, homicide investigator with the Collier County Sheriff's Office Mike Gormley, trail angel Kelly Fairbanks, trail angel Bob Gabrielsen, proprietor at Top of Georgia Hostel Matt Mason, employee at Mountain Crossings and thru-hiker Thanks to Tyler Socash of Foot Stuff Podcast for background on the thru-hiking community. https://www.footstuffpodcast.com/ Clips from Fox News and Forensic Files Music: Art of Silence by Uniq https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3V-pYCGx0C4 For photos of the hiker, and more on the podcast, visit www.colliersheriff.org/news/sworn-statement.

The Collier County Sheriff’s office, under the direction of Sheriff Kevin Rambosk, presents Sworn Statement, a podcast exploring local cases and public safety issues all unfolding right here in Southwest Florida. The first three episodes of this podcast will focus on the mystery of the deceased hiker known as Mostly Harmless. Music: Art of Silence by Uniq https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3V-pYCGx0C4 For photos of the hiker, and more on the podcast, visit www.colliersheriff.org/news/sworn-statement.