Muskogee Family Dealing With Flooding Hit By Looters

Thieves hit a Muskogee family while they were at their most vulnerable.

In a week of historic rains, the Kirkhart family is not only dealing with flooding, but also looters.

The water has gone down but the damage it left behind is everywhere you look.

“We couldn't do anything about it. I mean, the water was coming in so quick,” Rick Kirkhart said.

He said the water rose about three feet every hour Tuesday morning. They tried sandbags, but the water was too much.

“When it got to the porch, I said, 'Uh-oh, we're in trouble.' And it just got worse and worse,” he said.

Kirkhart's home and his son's - which is next door - flooded.

About four feet of water stood outside, and about three feet was inside his house. It was enough water to destroy almost all his furniture, but not enough to keep looters out.

Kirkhart said, “They had to have some kind of boat to float that stuff out and to it get over the fence, or they come through the river way, we really don't have any idea because our gate was locked.”

12/29/2015 Related Story: Rising Waters Flood Muskogee Homes, Close Busy Highway

Despite the waist-deep water, Kirkhart said thieves broke into his house and stole his wife's jewelry.

He said they kicked in his son's back door and took four TVs and two personalized high school golf bags monogrammed with his daughters' names on them.

The looters also broke in their shop and stole tools and lawn equipment.

“It's tragic when people take advantage of this time of situation,” Kirkhart said.

But he and his family are finding there might actually be more good than bad out of their tragedy.

Kirkhart said, “Ya know, we're blessed to have people that care.”

The community is helping them clean up and start over.

“We had a line of cars all day yesterday. Timothy Baptist Church was such a huge, huge help,” he said.

But the biggest blessing of all, he said, they all made it out with their lives and each other - and an optimism that will carry them into a new year.

“As we all do, we'll come back. We'll get stronger for this,” he said.

Kirkhart said he'll be staying in a camper on the property until they can move back in, which will likely be a few months.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the Kirkhart family. You can donate here.