SIESTA KEY, Fla. — As the rebuilding process continues on Sarasota's barrier islands, we are learning more about individuals who stepped up in heroic ways during the height of Hurricane Helene.
Two Siesta Key men most recognized for their entertainment contributions to the small beach community are now credited for saving their neighbors as the storm pushed Gulf waters into homes.
On a normal day, Wayne Bundy, who also works at the Circle K in Siesta Key village, hosts a flag ceremony at Patriots Pier in Siesta Key. At the same time, his next-door neighbor Chris Connolly plays in a band at several restaurants.
However, during Hurricane Helene, they suddenly found themselves on rescue missions, and it all began with a startling sight: water started rising.
"As I came out, there was a family. They walked by this way and I saw them as they passed the tree, and they were up to their chest with water holding the babies up like this [in the air]," said Chris Connolly of Siesta Key.
Seeing that and how fast the water was rising sparked concern for their elderly neighbors in single-story buildings who they knew didn't evacuate because they didn't expect that the storm surge would be as high as was predicted.
"Chris was getting phone calls and I knew that my two neighbors were out there and they needed help to get over here, and so I waded out and got them and Chris went and got his friend, Lonnie," said Wayne Bundy.
Lonnie once lived in the same neighborhood as Chris several years ago and was now in a wheelchair.
"I just got a vision in my mind of a guy in a wheelchair and I said, 'I've got to go, I've got to go,' and I went," Connolly said.
Connolly said he paddled his kayak on what would have been a 15-minute walk to Lonnie's house and said he got there just in the nick of time.
"He was floating out of his wheelchair, holding onto the wall, and trying to keep himself up. All of his furniture was floating in the back room. It was probably up to maybe close to my chest, the water there," he said.
Word spread through the Facebook Group 'Siesta Key Ask A Local' and another family asked for help getting their 84-year-old grandfather to safety. A total of 8 people, including children, were taken in and sheltered in their attic.
"When I went out in the kayak and the wind kicked up, the kayak was spinning around and it was crazy," he said.
Local community organizers are now trying to assist the men and some of the affected families. They are also hoping to put a spotlight on the brave and selfless life-saving actions of Bundy and Connolly.
"They didn't think twice about going out. They went in to help strangers that they didn't even know, and bringing strangers into their home during a desperate time. It's just unbelievable. There's a couple of people that are displaced and they've actually allowed them to stay here as well," said Jenifer Hoffman, an organizer with the group 'Siesta Key Ask A Local'.
The organizers have helped set up GoFundMe pages to help Chris, Wayne as well as Lonnie who is now in a care facility and has lost all of his property.
"Because we are siesta strong, we love our neighbors and we want to take care of them," Bundy said.
"It was an amazing experience. I'm glad I was able to help those people," Connolly said.
First responders arrived after the storm passed the following day to evacuate the vulnerable seniors among the rescued in an ambulance.