Human remains found on a sunken sailboat in southwest Florida have been identified as the final person reported missing after Hurricane Ian struck the area last September.
The body of 72-year-old James "Denny" Hurst was recovered from the boat near Fort Myers Beach on Friday.
Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said the remains were found on the "Good Girl" sailboat behind a marina and later identified as Hurst.
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A worker at the marina called the Lee County Sheriff's Office on Thursday after they spotted wreckage from a boat they hadn't noticed before. Divers identified the boat as one belonging to Hurst and later returned to remove it from the water.
Detectives later found remains inside the boat.
“I mean, you know, we all know it’s him,” said Hurst’s daughter, Shannon Vaughan. “There’s absolutely no doubt. Like I said, he lived on the boat.”
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Hurst was last seen on Sept. 28, when the Category 4 storm struck southwest Florida. He had told his family he planned to ride out the storm on the boat, officials said.
“It’s finally done. You know? It’s just finally done,” Vaughan said. “We’re glad that you’re finally found and you’re home. I love you. I miss you. We all do.”
The findings come after the body of an 82-year-old woman were found last week in the mangroves of Fort Myers Beach. The woman, identified as Ilonka Knes, had also been missing since Ian made landfall.
Hurst's death brings the total number of casualties in the county from the storm to 75, with the statewide total deaths now at 141. There were also five people killed in North Carolina, one in Virginia and three in Cuba, authorities have said.
