BOLIVAR PENINSULA — The search for human remains in debris piles two stories high could conclude this month on Bolivar Peninsula and Goat Island, but recovery teams have found only one victim of Hurricane Ike since Dec. 3.
The daily search for nine people still missing is a dangerous and costly endeavor, as dog teams trek though a sea of splintered homes, staircases and patios that have rusting nails pointing skyward.
The teams as of last week haven’t needed their guns to fend off the three islands’ 300-pound feral pigs, alligators and bobcats. The wildlife — with the exception of rogue hunters popping off occasional rounds — have presented no danger.
Colin Rizzo with the Galveston County Office of Emergency Management is coordinating the search with J.R. Santana, president of Santana Funeral Directors of Baytown. Crews from the company have been combing fields since Dec. 3.
Search Could Cost $1.2M
The search is expected to cost taxpayers $1.2 million, most of which will be paid by the federal government. The county match could be from 10 to 25 percent.
“The first week out I had one, two, three hours of sleep each night,” Santana said. “Now all I’m losing sleep over is the reality that we might not be able to find all the people.”
Goat Island actually is a chain of three islands and smaller land masses just north of and separated from the peninsula by the Intracoastal Waterway. Crews last week were combing the middle island, an 8 by 1/2-mile landmass just north of Crystal Beach, which is a repository of spoils from the channel’s dredging.
Houses Floated Across Channel
The Texas Department of Environmental Quality cleared a path along the water’s edge, which leads to a couple of homes on the island that remain mostly intact.
An angry storm surge swept residences, which once sat south of state Highway 87 near the beach, off the peninsula and floated them across the channel. One of the homes rests about 15 feet above sea level. Dishes are undisturbed in kitchen cabinets next to upright appliances.
County Commissioner Patrick Doyle toured the islands two weeks ago to better understand the magnitude of the search.
“We had to do this because people are still missing,” Doyle said. “The bodies are still out there, and we had to make a good-faith effort to find closure for the families. You can’t put a dollar figure on that.”
Dogs And GPS
Dog crews search debris downwind in a zigzag pattern, said Paula Chambers of Atlanta, who guided Madison, her 7-year-old Australian shepherd, over peninsula fields Wednesday.
“When we find luggage tags that have names and addresses on them, we use the Global Positioning System to compare where the debris moved,” Chambers said.
Although searchers draw lines from homes or belongings of the missing, they cannot predict where the storm surge left bodies swept away by the storm.
Reports from those who have found belongings reveal items disbursed without traceable trajectories, seemingly scattered without rhyme or reason.
Cow Swept Into Tree
The storm surge apparently drowned a cow and deposited it 10 feet above the ground between the sturdy branches of a tree.
All that remained Wednesday were bones and skin, which covered branches like a tablecloth.
Four months after the storm, the stench remained.
Peter Sellas of Riverside, Calif., a deputy with the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Office, guided his 6-year-old Labrador named Hunter over a debris pile that another search crew labeled a hot spot the previous day.
His dog ignored another decomposing cow.
Sellas said Hunter showed no interest in the pile, meaning there was no reason to search by hand or peel back the layers with heavy machinery, Santana said.
“It’s done with the care and understanding that this could be someone’s loved one,” Santana said, noting once he has given the all clear he can be sure the area has no human remains.
Dark clouds linger over previously searched debris fields in Chambers County, Doyle said, where stacked wood was set ablaze.
As debris removal crews clear Bolivar Peninsula, it remains unclear what will become of the tons of material littering Goat Island.
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Ike Victims
Here is a list of Galveston County residents who died in the county from effects of the storm:
• Martha Ferguson, 69, of Galveston died Sept. 13, no electricity for breathing machine
• Charles Lively, 79, of League City died Sept. 15 of pre-existing health condition
• George Helmond, 72, of Galveston drowned Sept. 14, found in his submerged truck
• Yong Seng Teo, 49, of Galveston died Sept. 14 of pre-existing health condition, couldn’t reach hospital in time
• Carolyn Williams, 64, of League City died Sept. 15 of pre-existing health condition, lack of dialysis
• John Manley, 66, of League City died Sept. 15 pre-existing health condition lack of dialysis
• Jim Devine, 76, of San Leon drowned, listed date of death Sept. 16
• Robert Dort, 76, of Galveston died Sept. 20 of pre-existing health condition
• Eddie Bailey, 64, of League City found dead Sept. 23, pre-existing health condition
• Ruben Ramos, 60, of Galveston found dead Sept. 23, pre-existing health condition
• Herman Moseley, 48, of Galveston, drowned, found on Goat Island
• Gail Ettenger, 58, of Gilchrist found Sept. 23 near Chambers County debris field
• Shane Williams, 33, of Port Bolivar, found drowned Oct. 6 on Goat Island
• Walter Fisher, 70, of Port Bolivar, drowned, found Oct. 25 on Bolivar Peninsula’s North Jetty
• Jennifer McLemore, 50, of Gilchrist found Nov. 2 in Chambers County debris field, believed to have drowned
• Unidentified woman, found drowned on Pelican Island Sept. 29, cause of death not determined
• Unidentified woman found Oct. 6 on Goat Island north of Port Bolivar, cause of death not determined
• Unidentified man found Oct. 6 on Goat Island north of Port Bolivar, cause of death not determined
• Unidentified woman found Nov. 20 on Goat Island north of Gilchrist, cause of death not determined
• Unidentified woman found Dec. 21 on Goat Island north of Crystal Beach, cause of death not determined
The Laura Recovery Center’s list of missing from the peninsula includes:
• Harry Bingham, 61, Susan Shealy, 51, and Robert Williams, 54, all from Crystal Beach.
• Sandy Walton, 54, Gilchrist.
• Marion Arrambide, 78, Rose Brookshire, 72, Glennis Dunn, 70, Magdalena Strickland, 49, and Charles Garrett, 42, all of Port Bolivar.
