Minnesota woman anxiously waiting to hear from parents in Florida after Hurricane Ian
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A Minnesota woman says her family is having a difficult time communicating with their parents in Florida after Hurricane Ian.
Seventy-six-year-old Sharon Nelson and her husband, 81-year-old Jerry Nelson moved from Minnesota to Sanibel Island, Florida in 1990. Their family says the couple is used to the potential for severe weather.
But after this week’s storm, they’ve had very little communication with them and just want to know for sure how they’re doing.
“I’m the oldest, and I talk to my mom like every four hours and this is really, really hard for me,” said Christine Nelson Mullen, who lives in West St. Paul.
From her West St. Paul home, Nelson Mullen is checking her phone often, waiting anxiously.
Christine Nelson Mullen and her parents. (Christine Nelson Mullen)
“Their cellphones are dead, I can’t reach either of them,” she said.
Despite concerns from their kids, the Nelsons decided to stick it out through Hurricane Ian.
“We’ve all kind of said to them, ‘You got to go, you got to leave,'” Nelson Mullen said.
When the storm rolled in on Wednesday, Nelson Mullen said her family heard from their folks briefly. It wasn’t until midday Thursday that the family received just a single text.
“It says, ‘We are okay,'” Nelson Mullen said.
But despite that one text, Nelson Mullen says in the 24-plus hours since, the family hasn’t had any other communication with their parents.
“You don’t even know where they’re at right now?” she was asked.
“I do not. I hope they’re in their house still,” Nelson Mullen said. “I have not had verbal communication with them since, not at all.”
As the cleanup continues, rescue crews are still searching for thousands of people still reportedly missing. If the Nelsons are waiting it out in their home, the family is worried that no one can get to them.
“My parents are stuck, literally stuck,” Nelson Mullen said.
With power and cell service no guarantee in those areas of Florida right now, loved ones from afar are hopeful for answers.
“You never know that this could really happen and it could happen to family but if anyone sees them or knows where they are or hears from them, I would like them to call me,” Nelson Mullen said.
To make matters even more difficult, Nelson Mullen says her parents are recovering from recent shoulder and cataract surgeries, so getting around isn’t very easy.