"Not knowing is killing me": the agony of families searching for their missing loved ones after Hurricane Ian

By Elizabeth Chuck, Melissa Chan and Jon Schuppe -

Hours before Hurricane Ian decimated a small marina in Fort Myers Beach on Florida's east coast, James "Denny" Hurst's daughter sent him a panicked message.

“It has moved south,” wrote Shannon Vaughan after seeing the weather forecast on the news.

"Please, if you can, get off that ship," she asked.

"I'm not and can't leave my ship right now," responded Hurst, who uses a walker and carries a portable oxygen bottle. 

James "Denny" Hurst has been missing since Ian rampaged through Florida. Courtesy Lee County Sheriff's Office

The 72-year-old man did not move.

Vaughan's calls and messages to his father have since gone unanswered.

“I have panic attacks.

I cry a lot.

I am angry.

Vaughn said.

"Not knowing is killing me," she acknowledged.

More than three weeks after sweeping through parts of South Florida, Hurst is one of at least five people still missing statewide, according to a tally by authorities.

At least 135 people have died from the hurricane, according to figures confirmed by NBC News, and their families have already begun to celebrate their funerals.

But the relatives and friends of those still missing are stuck in limbo: unable to mourn an unconfirmed loss, and increasingly doubting that they will ever see their loved ones again.

"We have accepted the fact that, for all intents and purposes, he is deceased," Vaughan said.

“But you just have to find the body.

If they find the boat, they will find the body."

Ilonka Knes was 82 years old.

Her husband was found dead.

Courtesy of the Lee County Sheriff's Office

Ilonka Knes, 82, is one of three missing Lee County residents.

Her husband was found dead near her Fort Myers Beach home after drowning in the storm, authorities said. 

“She wouldn't have let him.

He wouldn't have left her.

If they were going out, they were going out together,” reiterated Amy Keenum, a family friend who lives in Fort Myers.

“There are so many questions [unanswered].

Has she gone with the water?

Is it somewhere on the island?

It's devastating,” she admitted. 

Desperate for information, many have spread the disappearance of their loved ones on social media.

In a Facebook group called “Key West Lost, Found and Stolen,” amid posts about lost keys and a stolen bike, a woman asked for help locating her mother and stepfather, Betsy Morales. Soto and Omar Millet Torres.

"Looking for a vessel named SALTY MERMAID," the message read.

"Please, any information or update contact me as soon as possible," she requested.

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The Monroe County couple was last heard from on September 27, the night before the hurricane made landfall, when Millet Torres texted her mother: “Please pray. for us," he wrote. 

"She was already asleep," explained her older sister, Lorraine Millet.

“When she woke up, she tried to contact them.

But there was no communication.

That night, the couple had reported that their boat's anchor line had broken and the boat was adrift, according to the US Coast Guard.

The two were on board with their dog near Wisteria Island in the Lower Keys.

Although Morales, 47, and Torres, 44, are still considered missing by the sheriff's office, the Coast Guard ended the search operation on October 4.

The family of Betsy Morales Soto and Omar Millet Torres has hired a private detective to try to locate them.

Courtesy of Lorraine Millett

"The decision to call off a search is never easy and is only made after careful consideration of all available facts," Lt. Cmdr. Elizabeth Tatum, Sector Key West search and rescue mission coordinator, said in a statement. 

The sheriff's office said it's not actively looking for the couple, but the case remains open, it said, and if any evidence of their whereabouts turns up, it will be investigated further.

The family has hired their own private investigator.

“We have to do what is in our hands,” Millet said.

“I won't have peace of mind until I see them.

Every minute counts, every second.”

Among so much desperation, there are stories that fill the families of the disappeared with hope.

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For 23 days after the storm passed, Jessica Byrd, of Picayune, Mississippi, did not hear from her brother, David Weaver, 37, who is homeless.

The last time he was contacted was when he was in the Lee County jail, where he spent several weeks failing to show up for a previous court date before being released in July.

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The woman desperately tried to find out the whereabouts of her brother, but did not know how to locate him.

On Friday morning she got the call she was waiting for.

Weaver had survived the hurricane by hiding behind some buildings.

With no phone, he was unable to call his family until a cousin who lives in the area found him and put them in touch.

Although civic groups encouraged homeless people to stay in shelters before the storm, many did not accept the offer, said Therese Everly, executive director of the Lee County Homeless Coalition.

Since Ian, various organizations have tried to locate those who remained on the street, he added.

But some people refuse help, and others don't want to be in contact with their family. 

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“Even before Ian, it was like that.

Now, he has been magnified,” Everly stressed.

It's like he's not real."

The search for Hurst continues and has involved divers and other teams, according to the Lee County Sheriff's Office, which is overseeing the investigation. 

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Hurst had made his boat, called "Good Girl," his home for a decade.

He retired from a job in the telecommunications industry and spent his time on his sailboat, trading by day and enjoying the sun — usually shirtless, according to his nephew, Christian Hurst, who described his uncle as “the pirate of the family." 

Denny Hurst had suffered from numerous health problems.

In 2019, he fell off his bike and broke his leg, his daughter Vaughan said.

During surgery, he had a massive heart attack while under anesthesia and nearly died, the family said. 

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He was on a ventilator in an induced coma for a couple of weeks and then spent several months in a rehab facility. 

His family does not know how much food and water Hurst had on board.

"I can't say for sure," Vaughan said.

"I can safely say I had beer."

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The family's wait for news was complicated by false information.

Six days after the storm, a group that said it was helping with reunification efforts assured them that Hurst had been found safe. 

The family was elated.

But when two days went by with no word from him, Vaughan called the sheriff's office and was dismayed to find that authorities couldn't corroborate the information. 

While waiting for news, Vaughan has been keeping busy focusing on her job as an accountant and talking to family members. 

"We're all kind of numb and in shock," he said.

"It's like it's not real."