Florida’s ‘Lieutenant Dan’ Rescued From Milton’s Path, Tampa Mayor Says

A man in Tampa who has been nicknamed “Lieutenant Dan” joined the millions evacuating Florida as Hurricane Milton inches closer, after initially claiming he would ride the storm out in a fishing boat in a series of viral TikTok videos.
The man, who also goes by the name Joe Sea, received millions of views across multiple videos posted by TikTok user Tampa Terrence. Many of the videos are filmed from Sea’s 20-foot fishing boat anchored in Tampa Bay.
Hurricane Milton is expected to make landfall on Florida’s west coast late Wednesday. The Category 4 storm currently has sustained winds of 145 mph.
The storm is projected to move across the state and into the Atlantic Ocean.
The National Guard is deploying aerial, water, and ground search-and-rescue teams as the storm inches closer. Schools, amusement parks, businesses and airports are also closing in preparation for Milton.
It comes less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene barreled into Florida. The storm left behind a path of destruction and killed at least 230 people across six states.
Sea initially resisted increasing calls from concerned viewers to leave the boat and get a hotel room, but Tampa Mayor Jane Castor confirmed on Wednesday that he had changed his mind.
“The Tampa Police Department, this morning, just saved Lieutenant Dan,” Castor said at a press conference. “He has been rescued, and he is now in a shelter as well. If we can get Lieutenant Dan to go to a shelter, we can get anybody to do that.”
Sea originally seemed unconcerned by news that the hurricane could cause a storm surge of around 20 feet.
“It could be 120, it doesn’t matter,” Sea said in a TikTok video. “The boat floats. That’s the whole thing. If there’s water on the outside of the boat, the boat will go up with the water and down with the water.”
In another viral video, Sea went into more detail about why he was choosing to stay on the boat.
“God told me to come out here and get a boat, I came out here and got a boat,” Sea said. “And everything that he’s been telling me over the last few days is I’m doing the right thing. He’s got my back. I’m in good shape. I’m not sweating it.”
He claimed he would not be wearing a life jacket and would swim “in circles” if necessary. He said he is still able to swim despite only having one leg.
“The safest place in the world to be is on my boat,” he said.
In another recent video featuring Sea, officers from the Tampa Police Department were seen advising him to evacuate to one of nine shelters in the area.
The TikTok creator behind the viral videos, Terrence Concannon, started a GoFundMe to raise money for a new boat for Lieutenant Dan.
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