Strange but True

BRADENTON, Fla. — A romantic first date of sushi and jet skiing turned into a rough lesson in survival on an isolated stretch of river in southwest Florida.

"It was like ’Survivor,”’ said Jessica Lucarini, 26, who was on her first date with 28-year-old Michael Eckhoff on Tuesday when things went awry.

Their jet ski broke down about 6 p.m., stranding them in mangroves on the bank of the Myakka River. The couple stumbled over branches in waist-deep water for three hours until they found a damp patch of sand. They made a small fire and shared sips of water until a sheriff’s helicopter spotted them at about 1 a.m.

The couple said they clicked during their ordeal.

"There will be a second date,” Lucarini told The Herald in Bradenton.

Fake lawyer

LEWISTOWN, Pa. — A man with a criminal record masqueraded as an attorney for months after stealing the identify of a lawyer with the same name, authorities said.

Jeffrey P. Riddell, 40, of Hershey, has never held a law license in Pennsylvania, but claimed to be another attorney with the same first and last names, authorities said. At the time, the real attorney was living in Russia.

Riddell was jailed Tuesday and faces a charge of unauthorized practice of law. Prosecutor Stephen S. Snook said he also hopes to file identity theft charges.

Snook’s suspicions started when he got a letter from Riddell on behalf of a defendant in a drug case in March. Written on the lawyer’s stationary, the letter was threatening and "goofy,” he said. "The letter was just not what you would expect an attorney to write,” Snook said.

He ended up getting more letters from Riddell and almost daily phone calls. Then, when he saw Riddell at a hearing, Snook said he started getting very suspicious. Snook and police believe Riddell assumed the identity of attorney Jeffrey A. Riddell after he had left the country and deactivated his law license with the state.

"Maybe he Googled his own name one time,” Snook said. "Somehow he knew about him.”

Jeffrey P. Riddell was being held on $50,000 bail. Snook said Riddell planned to represent himself in court.

Psychics predict panda pregnancy

ATLANTA — Lun Lun the giant panda may be pregnant.

That, at least, is the consensus of two psychics, enlisted Friday by Zoo Atlanta to predict the 8-year-old female panda’s pediatric prospects.

It was all done "in the spirit of good fun,” according to a news release from Zoo officials.

Atlanta-born psychic Helene Frisch said she telepathically connected with Lun Lun using "tone vibration,” the release said. Frisch said she discerned that not only is Lun Lun pregnant, but she will likely bear a male cub by Sept. 4.

Another psychic — Andy Liu, a native of China — used the ancient I Ching to calculate a 65 percent chance that Lun Lun is pregnant.

Zoo spokeswoman Jennifer Waller said officials have another reason to suspect that Lun Lun is expecting: The panda was artificially inseminated last March. But panda pregnancies are notoriously difficult to diagnose. Waller said officials should have definitive word on her condition this month.

Last July, Zoo Atlanta officials thought Lun Lun was pregnant but learned in August she was not.

Speeder helps cop

GREAT FALLS, Mont. — A state Highway Patrol officer who crashed while trying to catch a speeding motorist got some aid from an unlikely source — the speeder.

Patrolman Frank Nowakowski, who uninjured in the crash Wednesday, was nearing the end of his shift along Interstate 15 when a vehicle sped by at more than 95 mph in the opposite lanes. He crossed the median and took off after the driver, reaching speeds of 120 mph in an effort to catch up.

Nowakowski said he had just decided to end the pursuit for safety reasons when one of his cruiser’s rear tires blew out, sending his patrol car careening off the highway.

"This happened in a heartbeat,” he said. "I had no idea.”

Moments later, the man he had been trying to stop, whom the patrol identified only as a Bozeman man, was at his side.

Trooper David Braggs said the driver apparently was unaware that Nowakowski was trying to pull him over, but saw a large cloud of dust in his rearview mirror, knew there had been an accident and turned around to help.

The man, who later confessed to being late for an appointment, agreed to give officers a statement, and if nothing else, had the opportunity to apologize.

"It was very heartfelt,” Nowakowski said. "He felt bad because there could have been some lousy consequences.”

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