April 26, 2023 WALTON COUNTY, Fla— Four Romanian nationals connected to an organized criminal network are apprehended in Missouri after an investigation into the theft of more than $1 million in jewelry from a business in Walton County. On the afternoon of April 11th, three individuals, including two females and one male, entered a store on 30A stealing numerous pieces of jewelry with a retail value of more than $1 million. The three fled from the area in a black SUV following the theft. A Walton County Sheriff’s Office investigator responding to the scene immediately recognized the suspects from a case he worked on in December of 2022 where a Rolex was stolen from a Miramar Beach jeweler using a sleight-of-hand technique. The same three individuals, plus another male, were persons of interest. A week after the theft on 30A, the black SUV was reported abandoned at a business on Serenoa Road in Santa Rosa Beach. Investigators were able to speak to a woman who had given three individuals a ride from the area after they claimed their car had broken down. One of the suspects had used his phone to communicate with her after she dropped them off. All three matched the description of the suspects. Video surveillance later confirmed it was the same three individuals who had committed the theft on 30a. An investigator with Walton County Sheriff’s Office immediately submitted a warrant for tracking the cell phone and was connected to a New York Police Department... Read More

Pickle’s, located at 2236 East County Hwy. 30A, is celebrating three decades in business at their original Seaside Central Square location. Founded in 1993 by Bill and Heavenly Dawson, of The Dawson Group, Pickle’s began with only 48 square feet and a limited menu consisting of hotdogs, beer, and pickles. The locally owned and operated eatery quickly became famous for their burgers and hand-spun milkshakes. Throughout the years, Pickle’s has become an unofficial historical landmark in the Seaside community and is one of the few establishments that has remained in the same location along Seaside Square. In 2023, 30A’s® Hot Spot Awards named Pickle’s the Hottest Spot for Burgers. After 32 years in business, the Dawsons sold their company consisting of the five notable Seaside restaurants, including Dawson’s Yogurt, It’s Heavenly Shortcakes and Ice Cream, Pickle’s, The Shrimp Shack, and Wild Bill’s Beach Dogs, to Clark and Ashley Beecher of Houston, Texas. Through a chance meeting and mutual friends, the Beechers met the Dawsons while they were living in Seaside during the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020. The Beechers have been longtime visitors and homeowners in the Seaside area, so they were very fond of the Dawsons’ restaurants. They knew that the Dawsons were looking for a special family to take over their company and find someone with local ties that would honor the legacy they had established. “When the opportunity arose, we knew they needed someone special to take over,” said Ashley Beecher. “These restaurants were like Heavenly’s children that... Read More