SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) – When Hurricane Melissa tore through Jamaica, hundreds of Americans were trapped, their hotels damaged, roads washed out and flights canceled.
But a local nonprofit stepped in when no one else could.
Many of those stranded were families and honeymooners on vacation when the storm hit. They lost power, were starting to run out of food and water, and had no way home.
That’s when a Tampa-based rescue team launched one of the largest civilian airlifts in recent history.
Grey Bull Rescue, a nonprofit based in Tampa and founded by veteran and humanitarian Bryan Stern, has already flown more than 353 Americans out of Jamaica after airports closed and roads washed away.
Stern says when every route out was blocked, his team made the call to act.
Grey Bull Rescue founder, Bryan Stern, said, “We couldn’t just sit back and wait. We had the resources, and Americans were stranded with no way out.”
This afternoon, those same families shared what they lived through, the uncertainty of days stranded in a foreign place and the moment a Tampa rescue plane finally touched down.
Stern says their mission, called Operation Island Cross, continues and they’ll be back in Jamaica tomorrow to deliver food and medicine.
Grey Bull Rescue is a beacon of hope in the darkest corners of the world operating in the complex ‘Grey Space’ where governments are unable to assist.
They area veteran-led team puts boots on the ground to save lives of trapped Americans and supported by donations. You can support the Grey Bull Rescue Foundation by going to its website.
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