Just to the east of where Hurricane Ike moved ashore it is believed hundreds of residents may have still been on Bolivar Peninsula in such low-lying areas as Gilchrist and Caplen. Though search and rescuers have been able to get on what is now Bolivar Island, there have not been many reports of discovered fatalities. So today the search begins at another location where it is believed debris (and lost cattle) from Bolivar Peninsula may be: across Galveston and East Bays in Chambers County.
It is not unheard of for storm surge to sweep unfortunate souls out to sea or push them inland. The Galveston Hurricane of 1900 achieved notoriety for the several thousands of Galveston residents the storm swept to sea or pushed inland up Galveston, Trinity, and East Bay. Bodies that were recovered on land were attempted to be buried out at sea, only for the tide to bring the bodies back onshore within a few days.
Though no one will say an identical scenario unfolded on Bolivar Peninsula early on the morning of September 13, it is known up to several hundred individuals were forced to ride out the hurricane where they were.
They had chosen not to evacuate well before the storm. By Friday morning, residents awoke to find Hurricane Ike’s storm surge had already covered much of the area. Calls for emergency assistance went out immediately. The US Coast Guard rescued approximately 60 from the vehicles in which they tried to flee, or the rooves from which they tried to stay dry. But, as promised well before the storm hit, rescue operations would cease once storm conditions made flight impossible. They cannot say they were warned; the National Weather Service Houston/Galveston had even issued a statement before the storm hit: “Those who stay behind face certain death”.
Now, one week later, the search is on in the only other place potential fatalities can be found. There have already been thousands of bodies discovered across the waterways in Chambers County. But, those bodies are of cows, horses, and other animals. They’re flesh rotting in the mid-September sun, some being devoured by disoriented yet hungry alligators.
No one quite knows what to expect. How many people, in fact, were left on the island? Is it possible they were able to survive the storm and are still in their shelter, waiting for a sign of outside life? Hundreds of families and friends await the results of today and this weekend. Some know even if their loved ones are not found soon, it doesn’t bode well. The Gulf of Mexico may reveal their true resting place somewhere on the beaches of southeast Texas. Just as she did 108 years ago.
