Key West The Newspaper

Recovery efforts are still taking place in Monroe County and first responders are still going door to door and performing welfare checks on people who have not been heard from since Hurricane Irma. About 98% of homes have been checked – an estimated 15,000 homes. Search and rescue workers who perform these checks do not enter empty homes, but do check residences thoroughly for signs of people who need help or who may be deceased inside.

Currently, the Medical Examiner, Dr. Michael Steckbauer, and the Monroe County Sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit are investigating nine deaths which took place either because of the storm,  during the storm or which are somehow storm related in Monroe County, excluding the city of Key West.

A number of the people who died remain unidentified and, in coming days detectives will be working to find out who they are. Difficulty with the communications network has hampered efforts to do computer and fingerprinting checks; limited manpower has also slowed the identification process.

Anyone who has reason to believe they know who one of the unidentified persons is, or who thinks they may be the next of kin for one of these victims, can send an email to [email protected]. Make sure to leave name, contact information and the name of the loved one you think might be a victim.

The deaths include:

Roy Vincent Pardee, 60 years old, whose body was found in a crashed car in Marathon during the storm.

James Armantrout who was found dead on Shark Key in the Lower Keys. Had medical conditions which probably caused or contributed to his apparent natural death.

White male who has been identified, but whose next of kin has not been notified.  66 years old, died of apparent natural causes in Tavernier. Had just been released from the hospital. Had chronic medical conditions believed to have caused his death.

White female, 61, of Marathon who has been identified but whose next of kin have not been notified. Chronic medical conditions which most likely contributed to the cause of her death.

Unidentified older white male found in rubble on 28th Street in Marathon. The man is possibly in his 60s, with gray hair and a beard.

Older white male died while in shelter at Marathon High School, during the storm. He has been identified but his next of kin have not been identified. He had medications with him at the shelter indicating a chronic medical condition which most likely contributed to his death.

Older white male found on a partially sunken boat offshore of Stock Island. No identification found with the body. The man is possibly in his 60s, with grey hair and a beard.

White male unknown identification found across from the Big Pine Key cemetery near the shoreline.  Possibly in his 60s, grey hair and beard. Wearing a red life jacket.

White male, 59 years old, fell and was injured. He was airlifted to Ryder Trauma Center and died at that facility. His identification is unknown at this time.

One dead person found today, not believed to be storm related:

White male, 62 years old, found dead on Big Pine Key. He has been identified but his next of kin has not been notified. He was staying in a trailer in the woods on Big Pine. His death appears to have taken place after the storm and is not believed to be storm related.