Woman arrested for child neglect while swimming at Bokeelia Pier

LEE COUNTY, Fla. — A woman is now in custody after leaving a child alone in a running car while swimming at the Bokeelia Fishing Pier on Monday.

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) was alerted to a medical call to Capt’n Cons Fish House at 8421 Main Street around 10:30 a.m. on Monday, Sep. 11.

A witness told LCSO that Allison Sarah Daugherty, 41, parked her car near the pier, turned up the radio volume, jumped into the water, and began to swim for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, a little boy was still crawling around in the running car with the air conditioning on.

According to the report, people shouted at Daugherty, saying they were fishing and their hooks and sharks were in the water. Daugherty yelled back that she didn’t care about the hooks and said “She wanted to get hooked.” and “She would want to meet sharks.”

Once deputies arrived, they said Daugherty started to swim further from the coast with no signs of stopping. A Boca Grande Marine Unit brought her to shore.

Capt’n Con’s staff says they saw Daugherty and the little boy at the restaurant three times in the last week. Each time they say she was acting odd.

“We called the sheriff’s office; she didn’t seem drunk. She didn’t seem intoxicated,” staff member Jenny Wray said, “Something was just off.”

Their main concern was the little boy. They said he was still very young and in diapers. 

“He was a sweet little boy, very well-behaved,” Wray said. “He sat and ate and watched tv like oblivious to what was going on, thank god.”

Wray said while they all waited for a family member to come and pick him up and fed the little boy lunch. 

“If it was me and that was the situation, I would want somebody to take my baby in and make sure he is safe,” Wray said.

Daugherty has since been booked at the Lee County Jail and is being charged with one count of child neglect – leaving a child unattended in a motor vehicle for an excess of 15 minutes.