KEY WEST, Fla. — Restoration has been completed on Key West’s Southernmost Point marker, one of the most photographed landmarks in the Florida Keys, following damage from a fire intentionally set early New Year’s Day.
City public works staff finished repainting the marker Thursday night. It designates the southernmost land point in the continental United States, a replica of a marine navigational buoy with red, yellow, black and white stripes.
Key West police have obtained arrest warrants for the two men suspected of torching a Christmas tree next to the landmark buoy. Officers said the men set the tree ablaze sometime between 3 and 3:30 a.m. on New Year's Day.
They have been identified by police as David B. Perkins, Jr., 21, of Leesburg, Florida and Skylar Rae Jacobson, 21, of Henrietta, Texas. Both face charges of criminal mischief with damages over $1,000.
Police say both Perkins and Jacobson have made arrangements to turn themselves in. The men were caught on camera in footage that spread quickly across social media.
The cost of the damage is estimated to be more than $5,000, according to police.
The 20-ton concrete monument, installed beside the Atlantic Ocean in 1983, bears lettering that proclaims it stands just 90 miles from Cuba.
10 Tampa Bay's Andrea Chu contributed to this report.