Journalists covering Milton were sheltering in their car. Then came a meow.

Story by Jennifer Hassan



Two journalists dispatched to Florida to cover Hurricane Milton were hunkered down inside their car amid a tornado warning in the Fort Myers area Wednesday when a concerned woman banged on their window. She told the pair about a yowling sound coming from underneath their vehicle.

Heavy rain was falling, and the wind was ripping branches off the trees around them. But that didn’t stop David Barcenas, a photographer for Hearst Television’s D.C. bureau, from jumping out of the car to investigate. His colleague, reporter Christopher Salas, wasn’t far behind him.

Under the back wheel of their car — parked outside Florida Gulf Coast University, which was serving as an evacuation center — Barcenas spotted a cat. He lay down on the ground, reached out for the animal, plucked it from underneath the vehicle and tucked it inside his jacket.

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Millie is not microchipped but veterinarians described her as “well-mannered.” Once the storm subsides, she will undergo a medical evaluation. Then, Barcenas said, it is a waiting game to see if she is claimed.