The St Petersburg woman who attracted a barrage of public derision after she was photographed riding a manatee at Fort De Soto Park in September has been arrested.
Ana Gloria Garcia Gutierrez was taken into custody Saturday morning while working at the Sears store in Tyrone Square Mall, the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office said. She is charged with violating the Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act.
On Sept. 30, deputies received a call from beachgoers reporting that a woman was riding a manatee north of the Gulf Pier. Investigating deputies couldn't find the woman, but a photographer gave deputies a series of images showing a woman in a white hat, red shorts and black bikini top trying to straddle a manatee in shallow waters.
The photos made it onto social media websites and then onto television and news websites after the law enforcement authorities launched a public campaign to identify the woman. Two stories the incident on Baynews9.com had a combined 54,000 page views.
Sheriff Bob Gualtieri even held a news conference, during which he advised the then-unidentified woman to "go ride a jet ski" and "don't use animals."
Soon after the news conference, Gutierrez called the sheriff's office and admitted touching and riding the manatee. She said she did not know it was against the law to touch the gentle sea cows. But she could face a $500 fine or up to 60 days in the county jail if convicted of the second-degree misdemeanor.
Gutierrez was released from the jail Saturday on $1,500 bond.