The City of Marco Island may have a new mascot following Hurricane Milton.
Bob Sanford, a resident of Moon Court, discovered a 4-foot-tall, 200 pound manatee shaped mailbox under his dock after stormwaters receded last weekend and fished the large piece of debris out of the water. It most likely floated from another property to his due to storm surge.
"It took five of us to get to get Milton out," said Sanford.
Following the rescue and a quick power wash.
"It took five of us to get Milton out. Power washer in hand, we got him a quick shower, and then the Milton thing began. It just took off from there," said Sanford.
Sanford then posted the story of Milton the Mailbox Manatee on Facebook, chronicling the piece of Hurricane Milton debris and his journey to find the owner.
"I just think that Milton has now become a landmark, a local celebrity," said Sanford.
A costume contest ensued, drawing even more attention to the mailbox, and bringing in hundreds of comments and likes across social media.
"Somebody wanted me to ship them the mailbox. They were going to Venmo me $2,000 to ship Milton up to Connecticut. I was like, 'Oh, boy. I mean, some of the instant messages I got were pretty wild," said Sanford.
On the third day, Sanford decided to take Milton the Mailbox Manatee on a Marco Island world tour, drawing even more attention on social media and from local residents.
"Before I knew it, it was, I was 4.5 hours into taking them to these landmarks around town, and I said, what am I doing? Is this is this what my life is down to now?" said Sanford.
Sanford tells NBC2 News that his social media campaign was all about tracking down the mailbox's previous owner, but despite the attention, he hasn't been able to locate them. In the meantime, the piece of Milton-debris turned local celebrity has found a new home.
"When I took Milton on a ride yesterday, he seemed to have a little reaction to the Snook, whatever is what, maybe it was the big canopy over there," said Sanford.
The owners of the historic Snook Inn on Marco Island and Sanford connected, and now the mailbox and piece of Hurricane history will be placed in front of the restaurant for all to see.
"Wow, what a story. It's just beautiful. There's a lot of negativity throughout the world nowadays, especially going through a storm," said Luigi Carvelli, the owner of the Snook Inn.
The manatee will be located at the front desk of the Snook Inn, where staff tells NBC2 a throne will be built for the mailbox to turn it into a display.
"Why don't we make the Snook Inn Milton's home forever so it can be part of our family? We'll dress him up for Halloween. We'll dress him up for Christmas. New Years. He'll be part of the family. It's a beautiful thing," said Carvelli.
Both men hope to create a picture opportunity outside of the Snook Inn, where photos can be taken in combination with charitable donations for those who saw damage and destruction from Hurricane Milton.
"There was so much hurt ... If we can provide a smile and a little help, we can turn this from something silly to something powerful," said Sanford.