Another drowning confirmed
Authorities have reported a third drowning in west Houston caused by Harvey-related floodwater.
All three fatalities happened at addresses along Buffalo Bayou that are south of Interstate 10 and west of Interstate 610.
The latest, Robert Arthur Haines, 71, died Sept. 3 inside a Memorialarea “flooded residence” in the 700 block of Langwood, according to a report issued Tuesday by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences.
The report on Tuesday brings Harris County’s official storm death toll to 34. More than 70 people have died or are feared dead from Hurricane Harvey in the Houston region and beyond.
Though much of Houston has dried out, some westside neighborhoods near Buffalo Bayou remain plagued by standing floodwater.
After previous attempts ham-
pered by flooding, the HPD dive team on Friday recovered Haines’ body. The one-story, brick house near Terry Hershey Park still had about four feet of water inside.
Kirby Haines, 33, believes his father’s demise may have happened more than a week earlier.
The two last talked around 3 p.m. Aug. 27 — the Sunday of the storm — as waters rose in Buffalo Bayou. Kirby Haines said his dad mentioned a problem with his cellphone charger and they agreed to talk on the internet-connected home phone. Overnight, the elder Haines left two voicemail messages, about a half-hour apart, which his son received the next morning.
Those recordings said the water was rising and had reached a couple of feet high but was not lifethreatening, Kirby Haines said.
The son tried Monday morning to reach his dad on both phones, but to no avail. The devices could have been under water by then.
“He was supposed to have a caretaker with him,” Kirby Haines said. “That’s why we think my dad died alone. There was no one there to save him.”
Officials began opening the Addicks and Barker reservoirs early Aug. 28. Most of the water flowed into Buffalo Bayou and likely contributed to water rising higher in the home.
The house had a history of minor flooding from bayou overflow in the dozen years Robert Haines had lived there, which is one reason why the voicemails didn’t register as dire.
The retired stockbroker for decades had been obsessive about storms.
“He would watch the weather channel for many hours a day and talk about the weather,” Kirby Haines said. “Any sign of not-sunny weather in Houston and he would start to panic.”
That’s the second reason why Kirby Haines didn’t think his father’s life was in jeopardy. The third, his son said, was a mental decline in recent years that was believed to be mild dementia, substance abuse or a combination of both.
“My dad is a survivor. He was in the Vietnam War,” Kirby Haines said. “My dad was the most persistent person and to think he drowned is just incredible to me.”
Relatives await the autopsy’s toxicology report.
The elder Haines, a grandfather, retired from financial advising in 2011, his son said. HPD suspected the death early last week, but didn’t pull the body out until Sept. 8. The stormrelated death was reported to the morgue Sept. 3 and confirmed Tuesday, institute spokeswoman Tricia Bentley said.
“This severe weather, the water in the house and the caregiver not being there — did he just give up on life?” Kirby Haines wondered aloud. “I try not to think about it because there is no answer.”
Last week, the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences reported two other Memorial-area drowning deaths related to Harvey.
Cathy Harling Montgomery, 71, was found Thursday in a “residence with flood damage” in the 12600 block of Memorial. She lived in the Pines Condominiums, which is behind Memorial City Mall and west of Piney Point Village.
Jill Renick, the Omni Hotel’s spa manager, vanished during the storm’s early downpours and was missing for 11 days. The 48-yearold’s body was located near an elevator, according to a statement released Friday by HPD. Renick was found after multiple searches of the luxury hotel by the HPD dive team and the Houston Fire Department. The unsuccessful efforts were impeded by flooding, HPD reported.