A New Smyrna woman just wants her animals back.

"They disappeared," Bobbie Trevarthen said. "If you had a 12-year-old girl all of a sudden disappear, how would you feel? That's how I feel about these guys."

Trevarthen, who has been breeding animals since 1965, said she looks forward to waking up every morning to feed her chickens, ducks, turkeys and even goats. But Thursday morning, something was off.

"That's usually full," she said, referencing an area where she keeps the animals. "(It's) usually full of chickens and there was nothing there. It's devastating. You come out. They're my kids. They're my babies. I come out
and they're all gone."

Trevarthen said someone stole the animals while she slept, and that a fence chain was left open and her pens were wiped clean.

"I don't know how they got in," she said. "I have no idea how they did it -- about four or five nights in a row, they come in and help themselves to some more."

She now counts 35 hens, nine ducks and one turkey missing. One duck, Trevarthen said, she's had for more than 10 years.

"Somebody's taking my animals and that can't happen," Trevarthen said. "I have a lot of health issues and these guys are what I wake up for in the morning, you know?"

She said she has taken precautions and she already put up multiple cameras on her property.

"I'm addicted now," Trevarthen said. "I'm watching this thing all night long to see if anybody is coming in this yard. I live and breed these animals. That's my life."

Trevarthen said she's worried the person is selling them or eating them.

If you have information, call the Volusia County Sheriff's Office.

(WJXT)--Lies and deceit by others can mean your hard earned money is being ripped right from your wallet. Florida's insurance fraud is mounting and you're paying for it. Everywhere from doctors' offices to our roadways, crooks are finding ways to make big bucks at your expense.

We uncovered local cases that show how this growing problem is adding up to millions of stolen taxpayer dollars all across Florida.

We obtained surveillance video from the US Department of Justice of Army veteran and Lake City resident Crystel Riedling at Disney World. Investigators said the 44-year-old lied to collect hundreds of thousands of dollars in disability payments from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

In the hidden video taken by undercover agents, Riedling uses her right arm at the theme park over and over again. She claimed 100-percent disability on her right arm for more than six years, collecting nearly $304,000 in disability payments from VA. It was one piece of evidence federal prosecutors used to prove their disability fraud case against her.

Riedling was at federal court in April for sentencing after being found guilty by a jury. Prosecutors argued the government theft would have continued to this day it if had not been exposed by a tip from Riedling's physicians.

She faced up to 15 years in federal prison, but citing her decorated military service and her family's pleas for mercy, the judge didn't see a need for jail time. The judge ruled she is disabled -- just not 100 percent as she claimed -- and sentenced Riedling to three years of supervised probation and six months home detention.
Riedling and federal prosecutors refused to speak with us on camera, but Marshall Boykin with Boykin Associates Investigative Agency did.

"To a lot of people, it's a quicker way to get paid," said Boykin.

He provided us video evidence of his own similar investigations of worker compensation and disability fraud over the past two years. He said the people he caught on video show no signs of the disabilities they claim to have.

"I've seen subjects claiming they are injured, but they are walking around the house. Before they go to appointments, they put on their injury braces, that's what we call them," he explained.

Nationwide in 2015, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office's most recent statistics, $60 billion in taxpayer money was lost to fraud waste, abuse and improper payments. Authorities were able to recover only $3.5 billion meaning there was a national loss of nearly $57 billion.

As for Florida in 2015, more than $2 billion ($2,190,967,801) was lost to fraud, waste and abuse. The health care company Medic FP estimates Floridians lost more than a $5 million a day to health care, Medicare and Medicaid fraud.

Another fraud that's damaging your bottom line as a taxpayer directly for years is insurance fraud -- and it's happening in many different forms.

One in particular that stands out in Jacksonville, as well as South Florida, is organized groups staging auto accidents. In fact, Florida lawmakers have been trying to get a handle on it since 2010.
These insurance fraud scams caught our attention after we noticed the arrest of 20 people this year by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office for conspiring to stage an accident with the intention of collecting insurance payouts.

"It's a problem because it affects everyone, your insurance rates, all of them are rising in Florida. All the major carriers are rising and the reason is because of fraud," explained Joe Licandro, who heads the State Attorney's Office Economic Crime Division.

Licandro said the arrests we inquired about are all related to a complex racketeering scheme, a scam that took in over $100,000 by fraudulently billing at least 20 different insurance carriers.

This elaborate crime ring, which originated at a Jacksonville pain clinic, was disrupted in 2012, and legislation was created to battle it. But, criminals are finding new ways to keep this type of insurance fraud alive.

"The other thing we see a lot of is vehicle jump ins, where you have legitimate accidents that occur, meaning it really was a true accident, and you've got somebody who was not actually in one of the cars -- and not even on the police report -- and then going getting treatment and saying, 'Oh, I was part of this accident that occurred two days ago.' And they're even calling the police to say, 'Hey, you didn't get my name on that report, but I was sitting in the backseat when this happened,'" Licandro explained.

Insurance fraud creates a hidden tax on every Floridian who drives a car or owns a home. The average two-car family in Florida pays nearly $100 more in auto premiums -- thanks to these no-fault scams.

The latest scam to hit Florida hard is property insurance fraud, where homeowners are taking advantage of a loophole in a law that allows a third party to handle your insurance claim.

Basically, contractors are getting homeowners to sign a form that transfers your insurance claim to another person or business, and then that person tries to get more money from your insurance company -- keeping a cut for themselves.

Industry experts said, as a result, water damage claims are up across Florida nearly 5 percent. But new legislation is being drafted to try and put an end to this.

Two men were caught on surveillance video stealing rent checks from an office at the Magnolia Trace apartments on NE 14th Street.

The men can be seen on the video taking the envelopes and then opening them up.

Police said they men got away with cash, checks and MoneyGrams.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call 352-789-3674.

The Kissimmee Police Department is warning parents to be aware of a new feature added to the Snapchat application.

The new Snap Map feature allows for a user's friends to track their exact location. The feature also gives users an option to share videos with strangers.

Kissimmee police are advising parents to make sure the "ghost mode" setting is active to prevent their child from being tracked by the GPS software.

"If you pay for that phone, you have every right to be looking in that phone, and making sure that the settings are correct, so your children are safe," said Stacie Miller with the Kissimmee Police Department. "If they can look up any video that's been posted a school, they can find just about anything on these apps."

Kissimmee police said that oftentimes, teenagers don't know every person they add as friends on Snapchat, so checking your child's privacy settings is critical.

"It's scary for obvious reasons," said parent Wolfgang Leitao. "I mean, if kids don't know about these things, they don't see things the way (we) do. So if a stranger, for example, can see that my daughter is right here at this park for whatever reason, if I were not to be present, that's a big danger."

Snapchat said the software is aimed at helping close friends stay connected.

"The safety of our community is very important to us and we want to make sure that all Snapchatters, parents and educators have accurate information about how the Snap Map works," Snapchat representatives said in a statement. "With Snap Map, location-sharing is off by default for all users and is completely optional. Snapchatters can choose exactly who they want to share their location with, if at all, and can change that setting at any time. It's also not possible to share your location with someone who isn't already your friend on Snapchat, and the majority of interactions on Snapchat take place between close friends."

A 5-year-old was airlifted to the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children on Monday after the child was involved in a water emergency, the Reedy Creek Fire Department said.

Firefighters learned of a situation possibly involving a drowning at Disney's Art of Animation Resort on Animation Way and headed out to investigate, along with the Orange County Sheriff's Office.

The child was taken to the hospital as a precaution, and is now listed as stable and "well."

No further details are known at this time.

Snapchat recently released a new Snap Map feature that allows users to see their friends' locations via an in-app map, but for some, the update poses a privacy concern.

For social media users who would prefer to keep their location under wraps, the app has offered a ghost mode setting that will prevent their whereabouts from being shared.

Using Snap Map is as easy as a pinch, literally. When the app opens in camera mode, make a pinching motion with your thumb and index finger on the screen.

The first time users open the new feature, they'll be given the option to choose between three privacy settings: ghost mode, meaning only you will see your own location on the map; my friends, meaning anyone you're mutual friends with will see your location; or select friends, meaning you can choose specific people to share your location with.

Privacy settings can still be changed even after the initial set up by clicking the gear icon on the upper right corner of the app screen.

Aside from friends' locations, the Snap Map feature also shows user-generated stories submitted at popular attractions and landmarks, such as Disney World and Legoland, or at breaking-news type events.

Note that even if you are using ghost mode, your Snap can still appear on a location-based story if you submit it through the app.

Users who come across inappropriate content on the Snap Map can report it to administrators by pressing and holding the offensive Snap until a flag icon pops up in the bottom left corner.

Then chose an option as to why the Snap should be removed, whether it contains nudity, hate speech, violence or violates the terms of service in another way.

More information on how to use the new Snap Map feature is highlighted in the video below.

Traffic and fire officials are monitoring a fast-growing marsh fire in Central Brevard for potential impact on Interstate 95 and surrounding roadways.

Florida Highway Patrol troopers also could begin placing signs along the interstate to warn motorists of potential changes in visibility as the fire grows in the wildland, which is overseen by the St. Johns River Water Management District, News 6 partner Florida Today reported.

Fire officials reported that the blaze may have started as the result of a lightning strike. The marsh fire was first spotted about 3:15 p.m. Monday and was located just off of Tucker Road with heavy fuel in the area west of Central Brevard.

The fire was 800 acres as of 9 p.m., officials said. It is south of State Road 520 and west of Interstate 95.

No homes or other structures were endangered. Authorities report that they plan to allow the fire to burn out on its own.

Several engines were at the scene with firefighters working to gain access to the area.

The Florida Forest Service was also en route to the site to assist with firefighting efforts.

A large black column of smoke was seen hovering above the site. Officials plan to burn out 5,000 acres if the fire is still lingering on Tuesday.

Check back for details.

A man was arrested Monday after Orlando police said he threw a concrete block through the window of a Lynx bus.

Police said the incident happened on West Anderson and Lee Court at 6:47 a.m. Witnesses described a man without a shirt, later identified as Randy Griffin, 53, throwing rocks at the bus.

The Lynx bus driver told police that he was on his routine route when he heard a rear passenger window shatter, directly next to where two passengers were seated. Some glass scraped one of the passenger's leg and arm.

Another passenger told police that the concrete block nearly missed hitting him in the head. He had cuts to his right hand, according to the arrest report.

Police found Griffin in the middle of the intersection at Jernigan Avenue and West Anderson Street. Griffin was screaming about being a shooting victim and that a group of men refused to pay him back for a kilo of cocaine he bought the day before, according to the police report.

Police found a glass smoking-pipe in Griffin's pocket, which tested positive for cocaine, while taking him into custody.

A witness from the Lynx bus positively identified Griffin as the person who threw the rock, police said.

The Orlando Police Department is investigating a rash of smash-and-grab break-ins in the Lake Eola Heights neighborhood this past weekend.

Police say the report isn't finished yet, but residents say crime in their neighborhood seems to be getting worse.

"It's really upsetting," resident Matthew Simmerman said.

Simmerman woke up Sunday morning to find his truck's window shattered.

"There was glass on the ground," he said. "It had to have happened late Saturday night, probably early Sunday morning. From what the police told me, they probably were looking into cars to see if there was anything of value."

Surveillance video from a neighbor a few doors down proved just that.

In the video, you can't make out who it is, but you can see three men with flashlights in their hands looking into cars around 2:32 a.m. Sunday.

Simmerman believes that's when they broke into his truck and stole his backpack. Inside? Months' worth of networking contacts he's been building for his insurance job.

"Absolutely nothing of value to them. If you can consider pens, pencils, and a bunch of paperwork of value, yeah, but for me, it was really precious," he said. "It was really something I worked hard for and they, unfortunately, targeted me."

And it wasn't only him.

Down Ridgewood Road, News 6 found a red Ford Focus also had been burgled. Through the shattered glass window, a blue purse could be seen in plain sight.

"Get a job," Simmerman said, admonishing the thieves. "Do something productive in the community."

News 6 contacted OPD officials for comment about the break-ins. They say the report from over the weekend isn't completed yet. But Simmerman doesn't want to wait to get the word out.

"I'm doing this because I want to raise awareness for the neighborhood that is this is going on," he said. "Hopefully, I can prevent this from happening to someone else and maybe we can find justice for the people that are making everyone else's lives that much harder."

News 6 has some tips to help you keep your car out of harm's way. Click here.