The distraught son of an Irish retiree who perished in Hurricane Helene declared, “I lost my superman, not just my dad.”
At his one-story home in Pinellas County’s Indian Rocks Beach, Aidan Bowles, 71, was discovered dead. An evacuation order was in effect for the area, ordering inhabitants to leave, but the Irish man stayed put. When a storm is predicted to produce major damage and pose a serious threat to safety, local authorities issue the directive.
Sam, Aidan’s son, posted a heartfelt tribute to his father on social media. “I don’t even know what to say, today I not only lost my dad, I lost my superman,” he wrote in a post. This man was the smartest and strongest person I have ever encountered, and he had a genuine influence on everyone he came into contact with as well as myself.
“I’m truly lost without him,” Sam continued. “We were not just father and son; we were best friends, business partners, and my hero.”
“Unfortunately, my father passed away in his home early this morning after not making it through Hurricane Helene last night.”
John Comer, a neighbor, discovered the former lawyer and proprietor of the Salt Public House on Saturday morning. The man spent his early years in Ireland. When Mr. Comer went to check on Mr. Bowles, he discovered his lifeless body coated in muck and wedged beneath a dresser.
Investigators think Mr. Bowles, a New York-based lawyer, drowned to death. Mr. Comer said to The New York Times, “It’s not something you can get out of your mind easily,” in reference to the unfortunate discovery. According to his neighbor, Mr. Bowles had been taking vacations to Indian Rocks Beach since the 1980s, but around 15 years ago, he made the decision to move there permanently from Kentucky.