NEW ORLEANS (AP) — When a Florida man saw a news photo of a man rescued from Hurricane Isaac's floodwaters, he was sure it was his brother. It wasn't — but the mistaken identity started a search that ultimately reunited that homeless man with the two daughters he hadn't seen in 16 years.
The saga began Aug. 30, when The Associated Press published a photograph of the soaked, bearded man being helped by two rescuers in Slidell after he nearly drowned, swept away in waist-deep water. Although he has since been identified as 60-year-old Larry Bailey, his identity was then unknown.
Bailey has since relocated to a nursing home to be treated for bipolar disorder and alcoholism. One daughter came to visit him earlier this month. The other, Heather Atkinson, says she now speaks to her father daily.
