PORT BOLIVAR — The discovery of a body on a Port Bolivar jetty about a mile into the Gulf of Mexico could be the county’s 16 fatality from Hurricane Ike.
Maj. Ray Tuttoilmondo, a spokesman with the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office, said Monday a fisherman discovered the remains of an unidentified man at 1:50 p.m. Saturday.
His body was found on the north jetty, which extends from Port Bolivar and protects the ship channel in combination with the south jetty at Galveston.
“A man taking a break from helping his dad clean up his property walked out on the jetty,” Tuttoilmondo said. “It may be storm-related.”
Capt. Jeremy Bane, an avid fisherman from Stafford who takes people fishing in Galveston Bay, said he and his friend, Garrett Cantrell, from Blue Ridge made the gruesome discovery.
“We were rebuilding my dad’s staircase in Crystal Beach when we ran out of lumber,” Bane said. “We went to catch some flounder, because we hammered them over there last year.”
Bane said they found the man on top of the jetty rocks, noting he was 2 to 3 feet above high tide. Bane said he believes the man, who wore some clothing but no shoes, was a storm victim, because of how high above the water his body came to rest.
“It would make sense that he’d been there from a previous higher tide,” Bane said.
The men, who caught three flounder that day, ended their trip and drove to Crenshaw Elementary to report their discovery, where volunteer firefighters from Sugar Land, Fulshear and Rosenberg were on duty at the school.
“I can’t believe we’re the first ones to walk out that far six weeks later,” Bane said.
With access on the peninsula limited to residents and property owners tending to their damaged homes, it is possible the man could have gone undiscovered since the hurricane’s storm surge inundated the peninsula beginning Sept. 12.
Ike’s Sept. 13 landfall in Galveston County caused severe flooding and damaged much of the upper Texas coast.
John Florence, a spokesman with the Galveston County Medical Examiner’s Office, said an autopsy would be performed today, which could reveal how the man died.
The man’s identity and his age remain unknown, and it is unclear how long his body was on the jetty.
Before Saturday’s discovery, the medical examiner reported finding 15 people in the county who had died either directly or indirectly from the storm and that DNA could be the only way to identify the remaining victims.
A Gilchrist woman was also found dead near a debris pile in Chambers County.
The medical examiner began collecting bone samples last week to send to the University of North Texas to compare with a state DNA database.
Florence has asked immediate family members of those who believe a loved one is missing to call the office at 409-935-9274 to schedule an appointment to give a DNA sample in the form of an oral swab.
The unidentified victims include one woman found on Pelican Island, one woman and a man found on Goat Island and the man discovered Saturday.
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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
• Unidentified woman, found drowned on Pelican Island
• 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 man found Oct. 25 on Bolivar Peninsula’s North Jetty, cause of death not determined
Source: Galveston County Medical Examiner’s Office and Chambers County Judge Jim Sylvia
