Body cam footage shows Alvarez being interviewed by authorities after helping rescue Lendel. Photo: Lee County Sheriff’s Office
One of the rescuers of a nine-year-old girl who nearly lost her hand in a shark attack is now facing deportation. Days after the rescue, a good Samaritan who rushed to the victim’s aid was arrested in an unrelated police stop, and has since been detained by ICE.
Nine-year-old Leah Lendel was snorkeling with her family in the waters off the coast of Boca Grande, Florida on June 11, when she was bitten by a shark. Her mother, Nadia, reported hearing a scream, and looking over to see Leah’s right hand up to the wrist covered in blood and “mostly torn off.” Once Leah and her family got to shore, they were joined by nearby construction workers and another good Samaritan, who fashioned a tourniquet for the girl and called 911.
Luis Alvarez, 31, was one of those who came to her aid. “He jumped in that area to bring her out when I was assisting Leah,” Raynel Lugo, who also came to Lendel’s aid, said in an interview with Fox4 News. “He went deep underwater, not even caring about the shark. He went really deep. He probably faced the shark.”
Days later, the Lehigh Acres resident was stopped by police around 1:30 a.m. for driving without his headlights on, as USA Today reports. According to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office arrest report, when asked for his license, Alvarez showed a picture of his Employment Authorization Card on his phone. The arrest report said Alvarez is originally from Boaco, Nicaragua and he informed the arresting officer that he had been in the United States for two and a half years.
USA Today reports that court records indicate Alvarez has no arrest history in Collier County. However, he had been previously arrested in Lee County for similar charges of not having a valid driver’s license. In three of the four cases, he either paid fines or had adjudication withheld. In the fourth, most recent case, though, a judge issued a D6 suspension, meaning he had not paid his fine.
Court records indicate Alvarez is being held in the Collier County Jail jail by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He is scheduled to appear before a judge on July 9.
