Florida Man Nicknamed "Lieutenant Dan" Remains on Boat During Hurricane

In the days leading up to the landfall of Hurricane Milton, residents of Florida battened down the hatches to keep themselves safe. However, one Florida man, who the internet has dubbed "Lieutenant Dan" after some TikTok videos went viral, refused to shelter anywhere but on his sailboat. But who is Lieutenant Dan from Tampa, Fla., and did he ever get off his boat to find safety amid the hurricane?

The nickname stems from the fact that, like the fictional Forrest Gump character of the same name who lost both legs in the Vietnam War, the nicknamed man called Lieutenant Dan is missing the lower part of one of his legs. The internet has a way of taking something and running with it, and Lieutenant Dan is no different. He first went viral on TikTok, and from there, he continued to gain traction as other users on social media shared videos about him and demanded an update.

A TikTok user by the name of Terrence originally shared a video of Lt. Dan when he found him determined to ride out Hurricane Helene on his sailboat. And when there were rumblings about Hurricane Milton, Lt. Dan made the decision to once again ride out the storm in his boat. While it's still unclear what his real name is, locals and now the internet have dubbed the man Lt. Dan and the nickname has certainly stuck.

In more TikTok videos that followed Terrence's original one, Lt. Dan shared more about his story. And the way this Lt. Dan lost the lower part of one of his legs is vastly different from the fictional character he was nicknamed after. According to him, he lost it when he got into an accident with his scooter and a car and slammed his leg into the back windshield of a car he hadn't seen coming.

Following the success of Terrence's videos about Lt. Dan, the user started a GoFundMe for him. But don't go thinking that Lt. Dan has any intention of using that money to set down roots.

"I'm upgrading," he says in another TikTok video, "I really want something, like 35 foot, that was the last boat that I lived on. I only bought this because it was in my price range. I was on social security, disability for 22 years [and they] said I'm no longer disabled. I used to get a check every month. Now, I don't got nothing."

However, he added, he is being "blessed every day" by people who help him out with food and other necessities as he continues to live on his boat.

Before Hurricane Milton arrived in the Tampa area, the mayor went out to Lt. Dan's boat to try and convince him to take shelter on land somewhere. But Lt. Dan remained on his boat.

And as of late night on Oct. 9 after the hurricane, Lt. Dan was filmed on his boat, still docked, and still alive and well. Now, social media users expect him to remain in place if Tropical Storm Nadine picks up steam.