Only in the Keys

1930 – The Coast Guard, while chasing a rum running boat near Key West, opened fire to stop it, and three men were arrested. The men claimed that Willie “Twisteye” Demerritt had been shot and fell overboard. A search failed to find his body. Local authorities tried to charge the Coast Guard crew with murder, but they left town and charges were dropped. Demerritt was never seen again.
I saw Demerits all through high school.
 
1966 – Key West Police received reports that a masked man wearing a hat was jumping out and scaring people along Whitehead Street. Old timers feared it was the resurrection of the “Bonnet Man,” a mysterious figure who had prowled through nighttime Key West years before.
 
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