Heroin and prescription drugs have also been seized. 'Build it and they will come,' the sheriff said.Īmong 22 people arrested at a local bar this weekend in a narcotics sting, was a 39-year-old man from Nashville, Tennessee, who was selling the synthetic party drug, known as 'molly'. Bay County authorities believe that the naked, young woman was on a beach somewhere in this areaĪlong with hundreds of thousands of drunk, college kids pouring into the town, there was also the dangerous elements that a group this large, with money to burn and wanting to experiment, attraced. The crowd packed the beach during Spring Break festivities in Panama City Beach, Florida on March 12. Sheriff McKeithen told Daily Mail Online on Friday that his officers, along with the Panama City Beach Police, face an overwhelming wave of criminal activity during the five weeks of Spring Break, when their community swells from 12,000 people to an estimated 100-300,000. Panama City Beach in Bay County is the country's top destination for students on Spring Break. One of the men was grabbing the necklaces at her throat. The girl appeared to be trying to escape the frame but was surrounded by shirtless men. In another picture, the scene was more aggressive. In a separate shot, she appeared to be trying to cover her body while a group of men gathered around her. In one of the pictures, the young woman was bent over and dancing naked at the water's edge on a beach in the Gulf of Mexico. 'We want to be proactive about her safety.'Īn investigation is still underway into the photographs, but the extent of that is not yet known.īay County officials were alerted to the photos after they were posted to Twitter on March 11. 'She isn't in trouble,' Sheriff McKeithen said. Sheriff McKethithen told the Daily Mail Online earlier on Friday that the photos had been deeply concerning to law enforcement because of how young the girl looked, and their main priority was to find out if she was safe. 'She is seventeen years of age and although she stated her behavior and interaction with the crowd was consensual and she is safe, she did not realize that someone was taking her picture. She lives in the southern part of the United States and told investigators she visited Panama City Beach for spring break, although she does not attend college.
'They verified her claim to be the girl in the photo. 'The BCSO requested law enforcement in the same city the girl lives in to make contact with her. 'The female in the photo became aware through the media that her identity was sought, and contacted the BCSO today and spoke with investigators.