Bernie Montás
•8/17/2026
Manny, a mannequin and familiar figure at Norm's Beach Parking in Fort Myers Beach, is missing an arm after it was taken Saturday night, sparking a community effort to recover it. Albert Hill, who has worked at the parking lot for three months, said Manny is a dependable presence. "I look forward to seeing him every day. He's always on time," Hill said. When Hill arrived at work Sunday, he noticed something was wrong. "I came in and opened up and noticed Manny was looking distressed. And so, when I walked up to check on him, his arm was gone," Hill said. The parking lot's owner posted on Facebook, offering a full day of free parking to anyone with information leading to the return of Manny's arm. Crystal Evans, a longtime visitor to Fort Myers Beach, shared her thoughts on the incident. "It breaks my heart to see that after all this community and this beach area gone through, that there would be people that would come down and do harm and vandalize," Evans said. Hill said this isn’t the first time Manny has been vandalized. "He's been through a lot, but he's still standing through his struggle," Hill said. Nearby, Greg Jenkins, who works at the Detroit Dawgs food truck, said items at his workplace have also been damaged. "Enjoy yourselves, but you don't have to go and destroy anybody else's items or anything like that," Jenkins said. Hill hopes the person responsible for taking Manny’s arm will return it. "Hey, man, you wrong for that. You need to return the arm and respect the idea that the beach Manny, and we would like to see back," Hill said. Some people on Facebook have pledged to look for Manny's arm, which has yet to be found. DOWNLOAD the free Gulf Coast News app for your latest news and alerts on breaking news, weather, sports, entertainment, and more on your phone or tablet. And check out the Very Local Gulf Coast app to stream news, entertainment, and original programming on your TV.
