One of Southwest Florida’s winged celebrities is missing and thousands of her fans are holding their breath awaiting her return.

The Southwest Florida Eagle Cam watches over a mated pair of bald eagles who welcomed an eaglet less than 3 months ago, but now, mom is nowhere to be seen.

The Fort Myers-based livestream announced on its social media on Sunday, March 1, that F23 has not been seen in camera view since 8:12 a.m. Friday, Feb 27. This means that more than 72 hours have passed since she has been back to care for her eaglet.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission and the Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife (CROW) have been notified of F23’s disappearance, the social media post states.

It is currently F23’s third season being mated with M15. The year before was particularly difficult for the avian couple, after they both came down with the bird flu, which killed both their eaglets in January 2025. Mom and dad recovered.

In December, they newly welcomed E26.

E26 hangs out in the nest at the SWFl Eagle Cam nest on Monday, March 2, 2026. F23, the female bald eagle and mother of E26 has not been seen at the nest since Friday. M15, the father has benn documented bringing in food to E26.

E26 hangs out in the nest at the SWFl Eagle Cam nest on Monday, March 2, 2026. F23, the female bald eagle and mother of E26 has not been seen at the nest since Friday. M15, the father has benn documented bringing in food to E26.

Since F23’s disappearance, her mate M15 has been watching over their baby on his own, but solo parenting is no unfamiliar task for M15.

In 2023, M15’s mate of 8 years — her name was Harriet – disappeared, leaving M15 to raise their two eaglets until they could fly on their own.

Now, the couple’s human fans are sitting tight and hoping for F23’s return soon, with more than 1,000 comments expressing their feelings of concern and distress on Facebook.

“Isn’t it unusual for 2 female birds to go missing in 3 years from the same nest?” one commenter asked.

A pair of bald eagles briefly spar in the vicintiy of the SWFl Eagle Cam nest on Monday, March 2, 2026. F23, the female bald eagle has not been seen at the nest since Friday. It is unknown who these two eagles are.

A pair of bald eagles briefly spar in the vicintiy of the SWFl Eagle Cam nest on Monday, March 2, 2026. F23, the female bald eagle has not been seen at the nest since Friday. It is unknown who these two eagles are.

“My heart can’t take this!” another commenter said.

The eagle livestream, which captures the birds from four separate cameras, has attracted more than 233 million viewers from all over the world.

The nest is in North Fort Myers.

The livestream host requests that if anyone sees an injured or dead bald eagle in their area, that they contact the FWC or CROW.

The FWC can be reached at 888-404-3922, which is its Wildlife Alert Hotline. To contact CROW, call 239-472-3644 EXT. 222.

Tayeba Hussein is a breaking news reporter for The News-Press & Naples Daily News. Reach her at thussein@usatodayco.com.

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This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: No-show at the nest: disappearance of eagle raises questions in SWFL