Update: Lieutenant Dan has been evacuated to a Tampa Bay shelter.
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor delivered the good news during a press conference held Wednesday.
“The Tampa Police Department, this morning, just saved Lieutenant Dan. He has been rescued, and he is now in a shelter as well. If we can get Lieutenant Dan to go to a shelter, we can get anybody to do that.”
Original story follows below.
Time is running out for Florida residents to evacuate as Hurricane Milton barrels towards the state’s Gulf Coast. While the majority have heeded the Tampa mayor’s evacuation orders, some have stayed behind whether by choice or necessity.
One such man, nicknamed “Lieutenant Dan”, has caught the attention of the internet, authorities, and The Weather Channel’s Jim Cantore for his refusal to leave his 20-foot boat anchored in Tampa Bay.
“The water’s going to come in, it’s going to rise. If you’re on land, it’s going to flood. You’re risking drowning. I’m in a boat, so the boat goes up with the water… it’s really the safest place to be, on my boat,” the man, who goes by Joe Sea, said.
A TikToker, who goes by Tampa Terrence, has been following Lieutenant Dan ever since he rode out Hurricane Helene in late September on his boat in Tampa Bay.
But now, fans of the man, who shares a nickname with the Forrest Gump character who is also an amputee, are worried he won’t survive the much stronger Hurricane Milton that is expected to slam into the coast sometime late Wednesday into early Thursday.
Shown through a series of videos, Terrence attempted to convince Lieutenant Dan that he needed to abandon ship and seek shelter in a house or hotel.
The seafarer refused, stating he was better off on his boat. Since his boat was all he had to his name, he wanted to do everything he could to save it from the hurricane.
Even the local police paid Lieutenant Dan a visit and provided him with information about shelters in the area, but nothing could convince him. Not even The Weather Channel’s Jim Cantore.
“I know that God didn’t bring me this far for something to happen to me,” he told the meteorologist and on-air personality for The Weather Channel.
“The more you go through it, the more you learn,” he said, referring to surviving Hurricane Helene. “I’m confident in my ability to ride it out unless it turns into a Wizard of Oz-type situation, and I wind up in Kansas.”
“I’ll be here. I’ll see you Friday,”
As of October 8, Lieutenant Dan has decided to stay put.
I pray that he makes the right decision and even if it’s at the last minute, I hope he seeks shelter somewhere on land. There are many people who are now concerned for his safety.