Florida officials are investigating a fishy situation after a man was caught on camera walking through a Bass Pro Shops location while holding a large fish in a net.
The Lee County Sheriff’s Office said they 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 and using it to steal a live tarpon from the store’s fishpond.
The man then fled the store in an unknown direction with the 50-pound tarpon, officials said.
Police shared the video of the unusual theft in a Facebook post asking for the public’s help.
“LSCO is attempting to locate retail theft suspect. But not just your ‘normal retail theft,” deputies wrote on Facebook. “We guess you could say THIS one will o-fish-ially catch your eye.”
Police said that a witness captured the incident on video via Snapchat, 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.
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.”
