him since thursday and if you see him, don't approach him, just call 911. >> we don't know what he's going to do. we just don't know. so someone who could commit a crime like this is a violent person. >> reporter: he was last seen in a 2007 suzuki forenza. deputies say he may be attempting to travel out of town to see friends and family. a new effort to keep you safe on the beach is popping up. the pinellas county parks department put out a lot of signs to warn people about the dangers of rip currents.

these beaches at their access points. >> the best way to get through it is not fighting, not panik when you notice you're in one, try to swim parallel to shore then back to shore once you feel you're not being pulled out any farther. >> and currents could be stronger this year thanks to el nino. good afternoon, everybody. seeing a lot of this, and we could take it for granted know the rules. but we have a lot of folks visiting for spring training, beautiful. the only thing on the radar

a controlled burn around the bartow area. clearly there's no rain out there. temperatures right now east of i-75 in the mid- to upper 70s, and closer to the beach in the upper 60s thanks to the cooler waters. look for partly cloudy skies in the afternoon and evening, a pleasant evening if you're going outside for a walk. temperatures will be mild, 70s right now and by tomorrow closer to 80 degrees. a closer look at that coming up in a couple minutes. taking a live look at the roads during rush hour, looking pretty good out there. we have a warning about some overnight construction projects. >> we have a few overnight construction projects going on this week.

to 54th avenue south is completely closed wednesday 7 to 6:00. and we have some closures at howard and armenia under 275, although they won't be closed at the same time. this is overnight all this week. the good news, you can still get on and off the interstate at those roads. a couple other projects, memorial highway, eastbound ramp to 75, southbound 75 exits to lois and dale mabry closed this week. westbound entrance ramp from fowler to i-75 also closed overnight this week. for more follow me on facebook. developing right now, erin andrews taking the stand,

hotels and the man convicted of stalking her. >> shallow breathing, you experience that? >> every time i breathe. >> have you had bouts of sleeplessness over this? >> yes. >> explain. >> just, i mean, start thinking in the middle of the night why didn't i just put a bathrobe on. instead i should be thinking why did the marriott put him next to me. why didn't they ask me or call me and tell me they were putting him next to me? head. >> that was live, erin andrews taking the stand there just

she is blaming marriott and her stalker for the secretly viral. >> did you request a room next to ms. andrews? >> yes, i did. >> what for? >> noticed the maid was cleaning the room next to her room and that person was checking out. so i said, could i check into that room. >> reporter: today the jury heard michael barrett's prerecorded deposition as erin andrews sat in court fighting for herself. the 37-year-old reporter and dancing with the stars cohost is suing barrett for filming her naked through the peephole of a hotel room door. she's also suing the owners of the marriott, arguing the hotel

film her in the nude. >> i heard the door slam next to me, like a little alcove area. room. peephole. >> reporter: he posted the video online and despite her best efforts, it's still online. her family says she's a shell of herself. >> she's not the girl we used to know. >> reporter: the hotel remains barrett was a criminal who access to andrews. now to the battle for the white house, registered republicans in florida will see candidates who are no longer running on the ballot. 8 candidates are out, leaving

but because the others haven't withdrawn, their names have to be on the ballot. >> it's illegal for us to show favor to candidates or parties by law throughout florida. so even if we wanted to, it would be illegal for us to tell voters about the candidates who are suspended the campaigns. >> absentee votes for the candidates with suspended campaigns will still be counted. coming up, going inside the new mission to protect your children from predators. you will have no idea that it's going to slide. >> one child is dead, two others fighting for their lives after a deadly snowstorm. next at 5:30, the reason they never saw it coming.

incompetent to stand trial, but a long waiting list means a mentally ill man is stuck in

new tonight, thousands return from battle with a sense of service and a lot of fight left in them. >> and some are butting their skills to work, chasing down child abusers. >> reporter: it's training day for former army ranger tom block. block and 23 other elite war veterans from the u.s. special forces, which the military spent more than $1 million each training to be exceptional, now prepping for a new mission. >> just the completely unique program it is, it gives the veteran and opportunity to not only take on a mission but really go out and make efforts to rescue children. >> reporter: jay christian, a

team as head of the nonprofit called protect. they are partners with the homeland security and u.s. special operations command to train and place veterans with law enforcement agencies around the country. >> you see groups of children being abused the average american can't fathom, and the abuse seems to be getting more documented and worsed. >> reporter: the united states is the world's largest producer of child pornography, images too horrible even to describe. but for these heroes, the idea option. >> what we're doing is actually capturing of crime scenes it gives you the sense of urgency to be sure you're there as fast as you can. the main objective is to aid in child rescues.

in order to qualify for the program, the veteran must have been wounded, ill or injured in service to their country. block, the 2014 time's soldier of the year, was wounded in afghanistan in 2013 when a suicide bomber charged him and his team. the explosion went off 8 feet from block. >> we lost four friends from that night due to an ied blast. leveled most of the house, threw me 30 feet back into the ditch, wounded a bunch of others. >> reporter: getting back to fighting shape wasn't easy. after learning to walk again, sergeant block endured several reconstructive surgeries. doctors couldn't save his right eye but he decided to use a setback to make a statement. >> i think the captain america shield, i think it represents

he doesn't like bullies. neither do i. >> and we first told you about this program three years ago when a pasco county marine joined the fight against child exploitation. after three deemployments in afghanistan, just tin gartner lost both legs and finished two months of intensive training. homeland security made room for his dog, who carries evidence in his backpack. a snowslide in eastern idaho kills a 2-year-old child. her 7-year-old sister and a friend are recovering in a hospital tonight. it took more than 30 minutes to dig the girls out of more than 7 feet of snow. they were all life flighted to the hospital but the 2-year-old night. >> it's horrible.

loss of the young one. >> a snow slide is like a mineny avalanche because of the different consistency of the layers of the snow. tonight we are taking action for your money. when you put dishes in the dishwasher tonight, you expect to have them cleaned. but how well does your appliance really dry them? which dishwashers dry the best and tricks to get the dishes drier. >> reporter: wet dishes from the dishwasher, not something you think about typically. but some dry better than others. >> we actually rate dishwashers on how well they dry. >> reporter: after loading them up with grimy dishes, they placed two plastic cuts inside the top rack of the dishwasher. >> we use plastic because it's

>> reporter: this one still has a lot of droplets and this one is dry. >> manufacturers use different methods. some use heating coils, others use a fan, others heat the water and use the residual heat to dry the dishes. >> reporter: some good choices? a kitchen-aid for $1,000 offers excellent drying and cleaning. whatever dishes you have, consumer reports recommends using a rinse aid. >> that helps break the bond between the water and dishes plus prevents spotting. >> reporter: and when loading, place dishes so they don't touch. use the high heat option, and as soon as the cycle is finished, open the door to let

and top ratings go to cascade complete action packs as far as detergents go. remember to keep those out of the reach of children. to see other stories go to abcactionnews.com. for you. i think we have now hit the sweet spot for weather. a little cool in the morning, then the afternoon just gets perfect. >> did you knowed to is the last day of meteorological winter. the first day of meteorological spring is tomorrow. st no, ma'amically it's still three weeks away. there's a look from river gate,

we had a few clouds early. temperatures are significantly cooler along the beach. there's the sea breeze. that water temperature, 63 degrees. when it warms up over the interior counties, that air rises and it's filled in from the cooler air coming in from the coast. you see 60s along the beach, mid-70s east of i-75, and there's the sea breeze. perfect example, west winds right there and then the winds going calm. you can see the cooler air and that cooler water, making beaches a bit cooler this time of year. temperatures in the low 70s right now, and there's the sea

this winter has been anything but normal. but if you think about it, today, this is the way it should be any given day this time of year, lows in the 50s and highs in the low 70s. again, west northwest winds coming in off the gulf about 10 to 12 miles an hour. satellite and radar, we saw some cloud cover this morning. then it kind of burned off, went away by later this morning. that led to a nice day with temperatures where they should be. maybe just a hint of early morning fog, primarily around polk county. visibility might be about 9 or 10, nothing to worry about. by late tuesday into wednesday,

front. most of these fronts this time of year, and this year especially with el nino, have been rough. we have been dodging severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, heavy rain. not this go around, with nothing more than a sprinkle. behind it, temperatures stay about the same. on tuesday, right back in the upper 70s near 80 degrees. it will be cool in comparison with temperatures on the coast not as warm. there's a look at the seven-day forecast, 76 on tuesday. wednesday, first thing in the morning, could be a couple showers. it's not a big deal. 10% rain chance is about it. another weak front comes in friday. at this point i'm not even putting rain in the forecast. 76 on sunday, sunny skies both days.

folks visiting us from up north, the weather should be perfect. now we have breaking news in central florida, fire and rescue working to put out a brush fire in oak hill right now. the flames are threatening nearby structures and that is covering 5 to 10 acres of land at this point. no word on what sparked that fire.

new tonight, an idaho state lawmaker is questioning whether or not rape can lead to pregnancy. >> it happened during a discussion about a bill that would require abortion

they could get an ultrasound. >> i'm under the understanding that in many cases of rape, it does not involve any pregnancy because of the trauma of the situation. that may be true with incest a little bit. >> one expert says there is no scientific evidence showing any truth to those claims. >> this idea may come from the fact that sometimes chronic severe stress will affect fertility. but the acute stress of rape or incest does not affect that. >> the representative says he read the information years ago but can't remember where. vice president rick scott? where the governor stands on a possible run with donald trump. and the major swap that will

>> reporter: owners potentially losing their home over a $75 debt, and legally there's not much they can do about it. what you need to know to protect your home. >> reporter: mentally ill, mentally challenged, and has been in jail more than 100 days. now his mom is speaking out. >> reporter: well paying jobs to support your family. we're breaking down the most in

that's crazy. i'm going to lose my house over 75 bucks. >> and he's not alone. the law that's not on your side and the subdivision that's likely to get you. >> the reason a bay area man is still in jail despite a judge's order and the one thing that has to change to keep it from happening again. >> a man found incompetent to

go mental help he needs only after spending months in jail for a property crime. >> when mentally ill or people with low iqs are charged with crimes, they are often sent to local or state hospitals where they're offered help. as one man learned, help often doesn't come quickly. >> been tested, iq scores is 60, 52, 52. >> reporter: chris' mother says her son has dealt with mental illness. >> he hear voices, he change his voice. november 9th she drove him to a hospital to get him help after trying to jump out of a moving car. knocking stuff over. >> reporter: cops were called and he was arrested, charged with criminal mischief.