WEEK OF OCTOBER 12, 2022
VOLUME 37, NUMBER 42
Murphy reflects on damage, lives lost, looks ahead Fort Myers Beach mayor optimistic about rebuild By NATHAN MAYBERG
nmayberg@breezenewspapers.com
Fort Myers Beach Mayor Ray Murphy said he is going to rebuild his home after it was left uninhabitable by Hurricane Ian though he said “I don’t know how.” Murphy was more optimistic about the town he has served as mayor since
Ray Murphy
2020, in his second stint since first taking over as mayor in the 1990s. “It’s going to be a while” before the town returns to some semblance of the community it once was,” Murphy said. “People are making progress,” Murphy said on
Monday, a week and a half after the hurricane brought unprecedented destruction to Fort Myers Beach in one of the worst disasters Florida has experienced. Fort Myers Beach was utterly devasted by Hurricane Ian, an untold number of homes were completed ruined, and lives were lost — nobody has yet confirmed how many. Murphy knew some of them. A fishing buddy, Daymon Utterback, was
among the dead. Utterback, who was in his 50s, drowned in his home, where he had stuck it out during the hurricane. Another Fort Myers Beach casualty of Hurricane Ian was Jim Ohliger, who Murphy knew from their membership in the Church of the Ascension. “He was a very active member,” Murphy said. Murphy said Ohliger also was active in the local chapter of the Knights of Columbus. Ohliger, who was See MURPHY, page 3
PHOTOS PROVIDED
ABOVE: James Hurst of Fort Myers Beach BELOW: Gary Luke of North Fort Myers
Fort Myers Beach, North Fort Myers men reported missing By NATHAN MAYBERG
nmayberg@breezenewspapers.com
Residents in shock amid mountains of debris, destroyed homes By NATHAN MAYBERG
nmayberg@breezenewspapers.com
The torrent of devastation that Hurricane Ian left behind in Fort Myers Beach is an incalculable destruction that human beings are not programmed to process or even comprehend. All Fort Myers Beach residents were able to finally return to their homes Sunday, a week after the island was closed off by the fire department and National Urban Search and Rescue to allow for rescue efforts. Residents who returned were still processing the shock of the storm’s magnitude. “Send help,” said Miramar Street resident Steve Martin. Every building on Fort Myers Beach
It’s going to take a long time to clean up. Old Fort Myers Beach, our charming little musical island, is never going to be like it was. It’s going to be different now. Hopefully it’s up to us to build it as good as we can.” —Steve Martin, Fort Myers Beach was damaged by Hurricane Ian, a Category 4 storm blamed for more than 50 deaths in Lee County and more than 100 deaths statewide. The exact figure for Fort Myers Beach hasn’t yet been released. More numbers will arrive down the road — how many homes destroyed, how much property damage, but it is safe to say that no building was spared and Fort Myers Beach will never be the
same. The cleanup will take months and the recovery will take years. See RESIDENTS, page 3 Residents of Miramar Street (left to right) on Fort Myers Beach are Jodi Bellefeuille, Ryan Cavanaugh, Sara Cavanaugh, Laurie Martin, Jacquie Velazquez, Chris Rusk. Steve Martin and Jennifer Rusk. NATHAN MAYBERG
Search efforts were under way Friday for a Fort Myers Beach resident and North Fort Myers resident as part of Hurricane Ian search and rescue operations, Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno announced. James Hurst of Fort Myers Beach and Gary Luke of North Fort Myers both were reported missing as a result of Hurricane Ian, Marceno said. Marceno released photos of the two men, who are both in their 70s. Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said there were still more than 600 wellbeing checks remaining though he believes most of those are for people who are safe. “We want to do everything we can to help everyone we can,” Marceno said. “We are asking the media and everybody to look, if you know anybody, if you have any information come forward.” The Lee County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that more than 100 people remain on Fort Myers Beach, who never left.