Death in the Everglades: Accidents, Foolhardiness, and Mayhem in South Florida

by Randi Minetor

Hidden in the tall grasses and shallow waters of the Florida Everglades are true tales of mysterious deaths, clandestine crime, and disasters, both natural and manmade. Desperados fled here after escaping from prison, rum runners gunned down their enemies, and killers slipped their prey into canals as food for reptilian wildlife. Commercial airlines crashed and burned in the sawgrass, while smaller planes vanished from view. Hurricanes tore through the region, forcing Lake Okeechobee to overrun its banks and wipe out entire towns. And every once in a while, an alligator made someone its lunch. Collected here are some of the most gripping accounts in Everglades history, caused by natural forces, crime, operator error, or human folly.

Genres: Nonfiction

260 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 1, 2022

About the author

Crisscrossing America since 1992 in a quest to see all 50 states (done!), 431 national parks (76 to go), and more than 700 species of birds (623 so far), Randi and Nic Minetor bring their expertise and their love of the wilderness, American history, and birding to readers who share their many passions. A working writer for more than 40 years, Randi is now the author of more than 80 books in print under her own name, and a number of ghostwritten books on a wide variety of topics.

Reviews

[Josh Liller · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned of this book looking for the other book of the same title (Death in the Everglades: The Murder of Guy Bradley, America's First Martyr to Environmentalism). This one is part of a series by the author about deaths and other notable mishaps in various national and state parks around the country. Just one problem, which the author acknowledges in the Introduction: without mountains or grizzly bears, a surprisingly small number of people die in Everglades National Park. Neither it nor the adjacent Big Cypress National Preserve have even had a fatal alligator attack since they became public land. Thus the net for this book is cast much wider, both geographically and chronologically.

About a third of the book covers some high-profile events and individuals: Ed Watson, Guy Bradley, John Ashley, the Chillingworth Murders, the 1926 & 1928 hurricanes. If you're not from Florida, these will probably be fascinating; I'm an almost lifelong resident for whom these were all too familiar.

I found the most interesting chapter to be about the four commercial airline crashes in the Everglades. Valujet happened in my lifetime, but I only knew the broad strokes; the other three crashes were completely new to me.

The rest of the book - accidents, murders, a few missing persons, and a handful of gator attacks on the fringes of the Everglades - is okay. I do appreciate that the author is grounded and reasonable in her coverage of the events.

Although I've known about this sub-genre of true crime for many years, the only book I've read in before is Trail of the Lost: The Relentless Search to Bring Home the Missing Hikers of the Pacific Crest Trail. I found it less interesting than I anticipated, but it's definitely a case of YMMV.

If the author writes a book in this series about Shenandoah National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway I'd give that a shot.

[Eric Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this a must-read for any South Floridian. You can tell the author spent a lot of time and effort researching all of the interesting stories that are in this book. I’ve always been a little wary of the Everglades, but I’d open to exploring it a bit more now (especially after reading the epilogue!). I’d definitely read more of Randi’s “Death in…” books in the future.

Side note: I vividly remember the ValuJet crash “command center” outpost off of the Tamiami Trail when I went bass fishing with a cousin in spring/summer of 1996. I’m glad the author included a short story about the ValuJet because I don’t think I ever found out what happened on that fateful flight.

[Emily Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was expecting alligator/lost in the swamp stories but it’s more a lot of murders (mostly unsolved) and car/airplane/boat crashes. very different from other “death in _____ national park” books I’ve read, and not as interesting to me

[Marty Durham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the stories especially since it is my backyard. I would read more of hers as I travel to the National Parks

[Lynn Bergmeyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorite of her Death in National Park books