WALTON COUNTY, Fla. – The Walton County Sheriff’s Office has reportedly made significant headway in its investigation surrounding a party-ravaged, multi-million dollar mansion in Seaside that deputies said was broken into and vandalized last weekend by hundreds of teenagers while its owners were out of town.
News4JAX sister station WKMG said that according to published media reports, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office confirmed Wednesday it had “identified many of the kids” at the party.
Deputies said the teens photographed and recorded themselves on social media platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat damaging and stealing from the home, with the footage even showing “where some of the people attending turn the foyer of the $8 million home into a boxing ring.”
According to statements given to the NY Post, the sheriff’s office has not released the names of the “kids” involved pending the determination of who stole what, including a signed Peyton Manning football, a $1,500 bottle of wine and expensive handbags.
The Walton County Sheriff’s Office broke up the illegal party after it received a noise complaint from security in the area of South Walton, which is about 30 miles from Panama City Beach. They were called to Blackwater Street in Watercolor, a beachside community that features “luxurious resorts,” according to its website.
Related: Video: Florida teens break in to $8M home, throw party, post evidence on social media | Signed Peyton Manning football among items stolen during rager at $8M Florida home
The owner, who did not want to be named, of the ransacked home told the NY Post the teenagers should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
The owner said she believes the home was targeted because it is currently up for sale -- and there was a for sale sign out front. She said she lives with her husband and two small kids, and they were out of town when she got a call from the police asking if she knew about the party inside her home.
“I was just shocked,” she recalled to The Post of her initial reaction. “It was a feeling of disgust that these kids would do that. We’ve lived in the community for six years, we raised kids here.”
The owner told WJHG they plan on “pressing every civil and criminal charge possible against everyone involved in the burglary of their home.”
She said the community is outraged and helped clean up the mess before they arrived back home. They had collected 10 bags of trash in the process, The Post reported.
She said the footage of the rager the teens bravely posted on social media made her stomach turn. (Watch evidence below)
Public Information Officer Corey Dobridnia told The Post that other sheriff’s offices, school resource officers and even some of the individuals’ parents have helped to identify some of the partiers.
Dobridnia told WJHG that apart from the damage caused and the items stolen, it’s a complete violation of someone’s home that you can’t put a price on.
“It’s not even so much about the items at this point, about what was stolen, or what was destroyed, it’s about people going into your closet and trying on your clothes, and people being in your bathroom, in your bed, all of that,” Dobridnia told the Florida station.
The sheriff’s office said they know someone made a flyer for the party and passed it around. Now they want to find the person who made that flyer.
If you have information regarding this incident, please contact the Walton County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 892-8111 or you can remain anonymous by calling Emerald Coast Crime Stoppers at (850) 863-TIPS.