Dozens stay lacking per week after Hurricane Ian decimated Lee County’s barrier islands

FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. — A week after Hurricane Ian made landfall in southwest Florida, dozens of families are still waiting to know if loved ones are alive.

Despite mandatory evacuation orders from Lee County leaders, many chose to weather the storm on the offshore islands of Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel, and Captiva.

In the days that followed, search and rescue teams saved hundreds of people alive, but also recovered the remains of 55 people in Lee County alone.

Despite the number of people rescued, dozens remain missing. One of those people is 73-year-old James Dennis Hurst.

“He said, ‘I’m fine. He should reach 30 miles [away] in Port-Charlotte. I should be fine. Get in touch with me in a few hours.’ And that was the last I heard from him,’” his daughter Shannon Vaughan said.

People who know Hurst know him best by his nickname “Denny”.

What they also know is that this Navy man has never actually set foot on a boat. But it was his lifelong dream to go to sea one day.

He lives on his 30 foot sailboat called the Good Girl.

This is the last place he is known to have been before Hurricane Ian slammed into the island and did not spare the rear bay where he was anchored.

“I’m combing through every picture looking for his boat,” Vaughan said. “It could be under one of those giant shrimp boats. I have no idea. Every picture. Every time they show an elderly person being evacuated, I’m like, ‘Okay. Let me stop this. Is that my father?’”

Like many other families, Shannon is desperately trying to find their father, mother, sister or brother.

As the number of days continues to increase, the likelihood of their loved ones being found alive decreases.

“I mean, there’s always this hope that he is, but the reality is that he probably isn’t,” Vaughan said. “It’s just not knowing. Dead or alive, I don’t care. Just find him.”

Vaughan said Tuesday night she received word that her father may have been found. However, she could not confirm whether this was true. She is waiting for an official message from the Lee County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO).

NBC2 asked LCSO for the total number of people reported missing since Hurricane Ian made landfall. The sheriff’s office hasn’t released any numbers yet.

If you have a family member who is missing, you can file an online missing person report through the state website.