was found today after he vanished on a jet ski outing with his three-year-old son on the altair river. do we know yet what happened? >> reporter: sadly we do not. a lot of questions remain. i spoke with billy morris's wife tina today and she tells me this is incredibly difficult as this mystery continues. his last hours remain a mystery. nobody knows what happened in the cold current during this final minutes. his three-year-old son was the only witness so could this child hold the key to crucial details about his father's death? >> at least the family can get closure about what we believe is a tragic accident . >> reporter: the one thing this dad loved more than anything

and as it turns out, it during billy's job as an elephant trainer for barnum and bailey, the father shared countless adventures with his little boy. monday afternoon, the two went jet skiing as they often did. hours later, billy was missing and his son was alone on an island in the river. >> our marine unit deputies couldn't get on the scene quick enough to recover the reporter: the three-year-old was rescued when he managed to answer a facetime call from his worried mother. >> impressive that a three-year- old would have the whereabouts to answer the facetime call from his mother and tell his mom where he was, i guess the island they frequented . >> reporter: vomits after he was found, rescuers began searching for the child's father. crews in the air, divers in the water and detectives on the ground. just before noon, billy

morris had recently taken a job as a tracker working for amazon. a particularly sad sight today, his rig still parked in front of their home.>> so many unanswered questions. i guess they are up looking back trying to find out what led up to the tragedy. any hint on what could be the reason for this? >> reporter: they are hoping to get answers from the medical examiner. again, investigators are still looking at every along the alafia river. hillsborough county deputies are investigating the death of a woman whose body was found in a ditch today. somebody horseback riding in the palm river area discovered the body near the side of the road. a woman doesn't have any obvious injuries. the medical examiner's going to conduct an autopsy to figure out who she is and how she died. a polk county deputy

improving. adam pennell was in surgery for much of the day. doctors just updated his family shortly ago. they say the procedure went well but he may need another surgery on his hip. detectives are still searching for that driver. a polk county elementary school is on edge after an intruder is found inside. teachers at bartow elementary academy noticed a suspicious man trying to open locked doors in the fifth grade ha alyssa marino joins us live from the school. do we know how he got in or what he was doing there? >> reporter: officials are still trying to figure that out but witnesses say he climbed the fence, got up on to that balcony, prompting this major scare. >> he actually walked past her and a friend that were going to the bathroom and smiled at them . >> reporter: amber doyle says her daughter knew right away

their classroom door and told the teacher there was a guy without a badge in the hallway. >> you are charged in the following manner . >> reporter: police tell us the intruder was don stephens, who is now facing burglary and trespassing charges. >> it's certainly brazen on his part as school is open for session and we have kids out on campus, kids in classrooms . >> reporter: kids at bartow elementary noticed stevens monday afternoon, trying to open locked doors in the fift with a computer system or something like that. that is why he was in the school . >> reporter: when confronted, stevens took off. the school was on lockdown until he was caught a few blocks away. >> how did he get in? >> the school is working on determining how he got in . >> reporter: an email was sent to parents about the incident but they think it's not enough.

kids were actually in danger. my daughter got in the car telling me she had direct interaction with the guy so that was pretty concerning. >> reporter: parents went to school to make changes so this does not happen again. school officials tell us they are looking at safety procedures. >> melissa, do we know anything else about stevens? >> reporter: he has a long criminal record facing drug charges. his bond was denied today. >> melissa marino live in polk county. in this election season on the campaign trail tonight. hillary clinton is feeling pressure to lure voters as she wrapped up a rally at el paso -- l pasco state university. former miss universe alicia machado introduced her, detailing her experiences with donald trump, who she says

clinton avoided talking about the fbi probe into her emails to focus on trump's comments about women. >> he tried to explain it away as locker room talk. i will tell you what, a lot of professional athletes stood up and said not in our locker rooms. that does not happen. >> former president bill clinton is campaigning for his wife in pinellas county and vice president joe biden will be in tampa tomorrow. florida utility companies are spending millions in support of amendment 1 opponents claim the campaign is deceiving voters. protesters rallied outside duke energy in st. petersburg as part of a statewide rally against amendment 1. backers claim is pro-solar and consumer friendly but environmentalists and consumer advocates say that is simply not true and many voters are left confused. >> the confusion is spawned from having multimillion dollar companies with unlimited resources pumping in money to

>> duke energy released a statement that says "it's in the best interest of consumers in our state's renewable energy future to address solar advancement policies transparently. we want a balanced approach that is fair to all of our customers. still to come tonight, a new way to get across tampa bay. >> our first look at the experimental ferry service between tampa bay and st. pete and when you will be able to give it a try. they spend millions to promote tourism but what does visit tampa bay

it's now official, we have reached the dry weather season and officials are warning people to be careful with outdoor fires. there for service officials say dry conditions sparked a number of fires in the last few -- last few weeks. the new animal abuser registry is now in effect. the ordinance requires convicted animal abusers to register with the county within 10 days of their conviction. the goal of the registry is to prevent animal abusers from adopting or buying another pet. rescues are required to check the registry before adopting out in animal. the cross bay ferry is

it was the maiden voyage today of the 98 foot long million dollar vessel. it made its way across the bay this morning. city and county leaders were the first to test the ride. the ferry come -- the ferry carries 189 guests and officials want you to try it. >> i am can -- i am confident when people get to see the amazing downtown, they will use this on a regular basis. >> for now, officials will run with one vessel during the pilot program. service to the public begins >> they couldn't have a better day for a launch. >> i want to try it. from an open book to a well- kept secret. >> the tale of two counties spending millions to promote tourism. tonight, mark turns his focus to hillsboro county. by the way they promote tourism is such a big mystery.

15 billion for the regional economy, and 80 thousand local jobs. dana young is working to continue that success, by attracting high waged jobs for families who need them and fighting a bureaucracy that too often gets in the way. dana young for the florida senate. a return to common sense. this year the voters of pinellas county have an opportunity

as governor he worked with both parties to get things done and i know you can trust charlie to do the same in congress. he'll fight to protect social security and medicare. defend women's health care and planned parenthood. and take care of our veterans. charlie needs your vote, please stand with him. i know he'll always stand with you. i'm charlie crist and i approve this message. amendment 1 protects consumers from scams, promotes safe solar, and is endorsed by florida's firefighters. because amendment 1 stops their subsidies. amendment 1 ensures that if you don't choose solar, you don't have to pay for those who do. amendment 1 blocks special subsidies for special interests. it's solar done right.

at the news you need at a convenient time. >> whether you want today's news or tomorrow's weather, we have the stories you will hear first. >> right here on great 38. fighting frivolous spending. ma money because you paid for it. yesterday in our you paid for it investigation, we showed you how pinellis tourism promoters spend millions of dollars on luxury travel. if you stay in a hotel or motel in pinellas county, you paid for it. mark is turning the spotlight on hillsboro county and the big question here is how does visit tampa bay spend money to

unlike pinellas county, visit tampa bay operates as a private organization but nearly all of the money they spend comes directly from the tax. visit tampa bay just celebrated a record year. >> it's hard for me to find a word that describes this year. amazing seems like a good place to start. >> the executive director recently bragged that hillsboro bade taxes are approaching $30 million.>> possibility of adding yet another % to our bed tax. >> reporter: music to his ears because 86% of his budget comes from the bed tax. that amounted to $10 million last year, an investment he claims generates billions for tourism.>> we import money . >> reporter: in pinellas county, it's run by county workers and

spent on travel and entertainment at some of the world's finest hotels and restaurants but visit tampa operates as a private agency and the director insists his credit card records and none of our business. >> 88% of your budget comes from bed tax, why not share your credit card expenses with us? >> we are here to talk about celebration. you al their . >> reporter: he claims the $10 million in bed taxes that visit tampa bay spends aren't really tax dollars at all. >> it's bed tax dollars. unfortunately, the state statute calls it a bed tax and it can only be collected through the county but it's collected at hotels this one who are coming from outside the area.>> whoever they are paying -- whoever is paying is paying him while. his salary tops $285,000 a year

than pinellis promoters earn. celebration or not, there is no way to dance around that. >> i have already given you an answer. >> let me ask you one more question. >> you know the answer. >> you make twice as much as the mayor, why not be transparent? >> reporter: we offered to sit down with him for a longer interview but he declined. he insists that hillsboro county government closely monitors agency spending of taxes with his board of directors and he is not accountable to us in that regard. >> tourism is booming. they are obviously doing well here. it's about this trade secret issue. how legitimate is that excuse? >> we sat down with pinellas county and looked at eight months worth of credit card records and we didn't see any credit statements or trade secrets -- trade secrets in those statements. we think any agency that handles millions of dollars worth of head tax dollars,

you think this is mysterious, wait until tomorrow night when you see with the folks in tallahassee are doing about one particular tourism project that is very secretive.>> thank you, mark. a nice breeze today. 87 degrees for our high temperature. an east wind back at -- an east wind at 8 miles per hour. low 80s this evening, upper 70s for us at freedom plaza. 81 degrees with an on hoo labbe, east wind at 8 miles per hour. a nice shot from lake jackson in sebring. strong enough when striving the ways here. you can see a splash along shore with a nice-looking sky in highlands county. the high temperature 85 degrees for wednesday, 84 degrees for thursday, but note the fall off as a cold front comes through on friday and brings a slight possibility of showers along

is what after the front that will feel pretty good. our eight-day muggy forecast is bordering on the almost sticky line but not too bad. you can see by the weekend, dew points in the 50s, upper 40s and that will change the feel of the air. at 9 pm, 75 degrees, 85 degrees tomorrow, 87 degrees today. 81 degrees is our current temperature. temple terrace, 83 degrees and newport richie and mcdill. low 80s and brooksville, dade city low overall, temperatures right on schedule to fall into the upper 70s this evening. the breeze will be up a little bit. you can see our gusts still near 20 miles per hour. the same in sarasota but as the evening goes along these should become lighter. the satellite, nothing to show. high pressure continues to dominate for us. let's hope the bucs dominate the falcons tomorrow. 78 degrees for that thursday game.

high pressure to the north. we are also watching the cold front on the map. for the short-term, a few clouds move across the state and wednesday, we see that slight possibility of a shower with a week disturbance moving across the state. you will likely see a few more clouds tomorrow then you saw today. thursday, same routine. lots of sunshine and temperatures nice and mild. the next front on thursday is to our north. we use the european computer model to show the front passing through the ar the boundary. rain chances unfortunately remain kind of low. high pressure just to the north. saturday, high temperatures in the afternoon the upper 70s. a good breeze from the north and ultimately the northeast. same for sunday. 79 degrees. looks like a nice, nice evening. 68 degrees is our forecast low which is still a little warm. the next three days, 85 degrees, 84 degrees, 82 degrees

saturday and sunday as the clocks go back to saturday night before you go to bed. the days get shorter naturally and then they get short man- made. >> [ laughter ] the tampa bay heart walk is just 11 days away. we want to recognize some people for helping us get also to reaching our $100,000 goal. every dollar you donate really counts as two dollars. the heart walk is november 12. just go to www.wfla.com/heart walk to join my team and participate. the bucs make a deal at the nfl trade line. and a familiar name returns to help

i alone can fix it! like to punch him in the face. i like people that weren't captured, okay? he's a mexican! she ate like a pig... i moved on her like a [bleep] i did not say that... i love war. yes, including with nukes. blood coming out of her... they're rapists... wrong. there has to be some form of punishment. such a nasty woman. i wanna be unpredictable. ...on 5th avenue and shoot somebody... she's a slob... i don't remember! and you can tell them to go [bleep] themselves! priorities usa action is responsible

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y25ehy y16fy look who's back. today. back on the practice field. james spent three weeks with the lions practice squad after playing 20 games for the bucs over a span of three seasons. he is a good book and sit back. the bucs addressed running back depth today. what about the wide receiver position? there were hints that may be the bucs would explore a deal that could go down by the nfl

for a receiver. quarterback jonathan banks dealt to the alliance for a conditional seventh round draft pick in 2018. he was not a bad player but defensive coordinator mike smith did not think he was going to see the field in his defense. >> we went through an open competition throughout the off- season. we are going to play the guys that give us the best opportunity to win and i wish joan that's what you have got to have in this teammate is great teammates. he did everything we asked. when you're putting together a three man roster and you get into the season, decisions have to be made. >> the road to tampa begins tonight with the first unveiling of the college football playoff rankings. the national championship game kicks off january 9. raymond james stadium. tonight's top 4 should be easy. alabama, michigan, clemson and

remaining unbeaten teams. we will see if that holds up over the next month. the national semifinal games take place on new year's eve. the cleveland indians get a second chance to close out the cubs and win their first world series since 1948. jake arrieta, who took a no- hitter into the 6th inning end game two gets the start for the cubs. the game-winning pitcher, josh tomlin, gets the start for cleveland. the lightning finish up a brutal six-game ro against the new york islanders. they are back home thursday to face the bruins but a toothless been bishop says ending a three- game -- ben bishop says ending a three-game losing streak is all that matters. >> obviously after that we can think about what comes next. >> i think tonight is a good opportunity for us to go home

turning point because the last couple games haven't been great for us.>> i can guarantee you bishop wants to get home. he has appointments. >> the front angle was good.>> shot very nice. >> poor ben the manatee viewing center in apollo beach opened today for the season. the 30th anniversary is being celebrated. you will see stingrays and a brand-new touch tank will be there home from tropicana field. still free of charge, the touch tank is set to open in a few weeks.>> i hope they had a home run it tropicana field. the rays are just like what is this? i can't eat that. >> go down and check them out. >> don't go anywhere because nightly news is next followed

here tonight at 11:00. at night. courthouse. buesing files forclosures on homes critical to seniors. his law firm is accused of running up costs on a school district at the expense of our kids. trailing in the polls, buesing attacks dana young. for things she never did. so we ask... mr. buesing, will you do anything to win?

tonight, the final week frenzy after days on defense, clinton comes out swinging and trump responds, as both campaigns hit the home stretch. tonight the battleground map, wher gas shortage fears. a massive explosion knocks out one of the biggest pipelines in america, used to supplyver a dozen states. drivers could end up paying the price. windows warning. microsoft's new alert to customers about hack attacks linked to russia. and tonight what nbc news has learned about putin's efforts to rid russia of a big american name. the pot vote. marijuana on the