A mother wants to bring daughter, a Dayton woman killed in Hurricane Ian, home for burial

DAYTON — A mother is desperate to have authorities locate the remains of her daughter, a Dayton woman who was killed in Fort Myers, Florida, during Hurricane Ian.

Michele Harris recounted to News Center 7′s Mike Campbell the harrowing circumstances that left her daughter, Nishelle Harris-Miles, one of at least 54 people killed in Lee County alone, according to Monday’s reckoning.

>> RELATED: Tribute given for Dayton woman killed in Hurricane Ian

Harris-Miles was with her sister, Rochelle, a cousin and a friend in a vacation home they rented when the storm, one of the strongest to hit the United States.

“I still haven’t been able to get in touch with nobody to find out where her body is,” Mother Harris told Campbell. “I wanna bring my baby home.”

She said she begged them all not to go to Florida for the planned vacation once Ian became a hurricane.

“We kept telling them not to go, not to go but the lady reached out to them and said it was OK.”

The four women found that all was not OK once the ride share driver dropped them off. Every house in the city -- except the one they had rented -- was boarded up. The rental owner moved them to a second-floor apartment.

As the storm rolled in and the water rose, the frightened women -- who had decided to tie themselves to each other and turn a mattress into a flotation device -- recorded their plight on Facebook live:

“If it comes up high we are going to the roof,” one of them said in the recording. “I’m sharing my location with everyone I love, I’m sharing my location with everyone I love.”

The rising water pushed the mattress against the roof.

The four of them, trapped, were unable to call for help.

The pressure from the force of the water caused the roof to collapse.

That’s when a nail apparently punctured Harris-Miles’ neck.

She died as Rochelle comforted her.

Mother Harris said her daughter, known as Nene, is the second child she’s lost.

Her only son, Brandon, was a victim of homicide in 2019 and the family just went through an emotional trial where the man accused in the slaying was convicted and sentenced.

“I done already lost one child, I have lost two now, never in my imagination would I think I’d have to put two of my babies to rest,” she said.

She said she knows the coroner’s office in the Fort Myers area is busy dealing with other Hurricane Ian victims, but she said she needs word on where her daughter is so she can make arrangements to bring her child home.

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