Franklin family hoping to hear from stranded loved one in Florida after Hurricane Ian
By Jordyn Jagolinzer, WBZ-TV
FRANKLIN - A local family is looking for their niece, after learning their family off the coast of Ft. Myers has been displaced.
Thomas Bishop of Franklin recounted the scary moments as Hurricane Ian hit his family's Pine Island home. "The last text I got from my mom was I love you, I'm so scared, the ocean is surrounding the house," said Bishop.
Bishop's mother and siblings are in a Florida shelter after losing their home and all their belongings to the storm. Now the Bishops are raising money to bring their family home to Massachusetts.
"The bridge and the community has been decimated, 95% of it is gone," he continued.
Bishop said they haven't heard from his niece Lexi Parker since Friday, although they usually would via Facebook or Snapchat. He has been checking social media every hour waiting to see if she's okay.
"We still haven't heard anything about where she might be or where she is or anything."
Massachusetts Task Force 1 is currently providing rescue assistance to Pine Island.
"There are currently no services whatsoever on the island we're on," said Massachusetts Urban Search and Rescue team member Anita Arnum.
"We're going to be conducting targeted searches to assist with Florida as far as accounting for everyone on the island," said Arnum.
The Beverly Team is one of several from across the country combing through debris for survivors.
Meanwhile, families like the Bishops still await news on their loved ones, like Lexi.
"We've got her picture all over the place, we've got multiple posts on any social media we can get on, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, just trying to get as much exposure as possible," said Bishop.
FEMA has evaluated more than 56,000 building structures and has had nearly 4,000 human and animal interactions in their rescue efforts so far.
The Bishop's family was evacuated from the Island by the Coast Guard and they hope they can raise money for things they need and transportation to Massachusetts.
