- November 7, 2024
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Laura Hackett found this piece of the Flagler Beach pier on Sunday, Oct. 9. Courtesy photo
Fifteen blocks south of the Flagler Beach pier, a piece washed ashore.
Laura Hackett, a five-year resident of Flagler Beach and current officer with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, spotted a plank from the pier that appears to be more than 6 feet long. Carved into the plank are the words, “In loving memory of Grandma Gail Hill.”
Hackett, who also was in the U.S. Marines for 12 years, shared the picture and wrote this on her Facebook post: “I'd love to find Gail Hill's family who paid for this board and make their day, so a little happiness can come out of the Flagler Beach hurricane disaster.”
The post went viral, being shared more than 3,000 times. Several other people commented on the post, as well, wondering about the fate of other planks memorializing loved ones.
One Facebook user named Melissa Ann Siedelhofer posted this comment in return: “That could be our board for Grandma Gail Hillis. Doesn’t it look like it’s been broken?”
Hackett said three relatives, one from Daytona Beach, have contacted her saying a board had been purchased for Gail HIllis, and she agreed that it does look like part of the board might have been broken off after “Hill.”
But even if that’s the right family, it might not be quite so simple to know what to do with the board. Does it belong to the city, or the family?
“I just want to make sure I do the right thing, and get it to the people it belongs to,” Hackett said. “It’s a tragedy.”
She said she plans to contact the city offices tomorrow, or call a city commissioner tonight (Monday, Oct. 10), if possible.
“I’m sure the city would give that back to them because (the pier is) not structurally safe,” Hackett said. “That’s between them and the family.”
Hackett said she had no idea her Facebook post would garner so much attention. She said she’s usually “a hermit,” but Flagler Beach has brought her out of her shell.
“I don’t like the spotlight,” she said. “I do my job 120%, but … that’s why I live in Flagler Beach: It’s quiet, it’s safe, it’s time forgotten.”
