TAMPA, Fla. — University of Tampa senior Terrence Concannon was walking his usual route from school in mid-September when he encountered something out of the ordinary: a man in a sailboat, caught in the wind and being dragged out to sea.
“Not a single person would help me,” Concannon recalled the man explaining after the rescue. “They all think I’m crazy or something.”
But Concannon told NBC News that he did help, dragging a rope and pulling 54-year-old Tampa, Florida, resident Joseph Malinowski safely back to the dock — where he vowed to stay, rain or shine.
The encounter was the beginning of what would become a viral saga and national news story, with Concannon documenting Malinowski’s determination to stay on his boat through Hurricane Helene, and now Hurricane Milton, for millions of TikTok viewers.
Follow live updates on Hurricane Milton
As Hurricane Milton barrels toward Tampa, where it’s forecast to make landfall late Wednesday or early Thursday, social media followers and local officials have expressed concern for Malinowski, who has refused to leave his sailboat and get to safety as of Wednesday afternoon.
Forecasters have warned of a potential life-threatening 15-foot storm surge, and local officials have warned people in evacuation areas to leave or face the reality of potentially being killed by the hurricane.
Malinowski, now known on TikTok as “Lieutenant Dan,” recently moved to Florida and lives on his 20-foot sailboat at the Tampa Bay Harbor. He said he has been homeless for the past 10 years — living on the streets, on his scooter and now on his sailboat.
Malinowski said that at 16 years old he had his leg amputated after he was hit by a car. After their encounter, Concannon compared Malinowski with Forrest Gump’s Lieutenant Dan, a veteran amputee whose shrimp boat was the only vessel to miraculously make it out of “Hurricane Carmen.”
Malinowski accepted the nickname, telling NBC News he views it as the “character [he plays] on TikTok.”
Concannon first posted a TikTok video featuring Malinowski captioned “Lieutenant Dan vs Hurricane Helene” on Sept. 25. It’s been viewed 1.2 million times. As viewers flocked to his account, they became increasingly concerned with — and enthralled by — Malinowski’s story.
