FORT MYERS, Fla. — The social media team with the Lee County Sheriff's Office took to Facebook on Thursday to put to rest a handful of rumors making the rounds online in the week since Hurricane Ian's landfall.
A video posted to Twitter this week claimed that there may have been unreported deaths at both the Lee County Jail and at a juvenile facility. LCSO's post denies those claims, and points out that the juvenile detention center in question is not operated by the sheriff's office.
"Our inmates have potable water and food," they added, as well as stating that there has been no structural damage to their jails.
Other claims denied by the sheriff's office include those that deputies are prohibiting supplies from getting onto barrier islands and that residents who wished to stay on Fort Myers Beach or Pine Island were being forced out.
As previously reported, FEMA and the National Guard are assisting with supply distribution, to say nothing of the dozens of individual businesses and organizations that have set up their own distributions since last Thursday.
The Sanibel Lighthouse is still standing, despite continued reports to the contrary. And, as LCSO also debunked, the Matanzas Bridge has not collapsed.
"Yes," they added, "you should stop at all non-operational lights and treat it like a four-way stop."
