© 2024 All Rights reserved WUSF
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Famous Key West buoy burned after 2 set tree on fire

tourist attraction in key west florida with burn marks
AP
/
City of Key West
This photo provided by The City of Key West, Fla., shows Southernmost Point buoy on Saturday, Jan. 1, 2022 in Key West, Fla. Police are searching for two people who burned a part of Key West’s famous Southernmost Point buoy early New Year’s Day after setting a fire near the landmark tourism icon.

Webcam images of the buoy show two people lighting a Christmas tree on fire near the marker.

Police are searching for two people who burned a part of Key West's famous Southernmost Point buoy early New Year's Day after setting a fire near the tourist attraction.

Authorities said two males lit a Christmas tree on fire in front of the buoy around 3:30 a.m. Saturday and the flames charred sections of the colorful, 4-ton cement monument that reads "90 miles to Cuba, Southernmost Point, Continental U.S.A."

Archival webcam images of the buoy from a marketing company show two people lighting the tree on fire near the marker, with the flames leaving a large black burn mark on the monument.

WUSF 89.7 depends on donors for the funding it takes to provide you the most trusted source of news and information here in town, across our state, and around the world. Support WUSF now by giving monthly, or make a one-time donation online.