FantasticLand

In a letter to Adam Jakes, Sergeant Steven A. Scott, responding on behalf of the Florida National Guard (FNG), explains FNG’s role in Hurricane Sadie’s rescue efforts. When FNG entered the park, they discovered numerous bodies. Survivors—over 200 in total—were led out in handcuffs without resistance and taken to a processing facility in Daytona Beach. Every survivor required medical attention, ranging from minor ailments to life-threatening injuries.

The Dreamland Resort, another section of FantasticLand, was examined the next day, revealing three dead bodies, an unremarkable sight compared to the devastation in the park. FantasticLand’s owner and staff cooperated with search efforts. Though survivors did not resist evacuation, some hesitated to leave. Initially, FNG found no management present but later discovered Sam Garliek locked in an office near the entrance—he hadn’t left in two weeks. Sophie Ruskin was charged with multiple shootings, but employee testimonies cast doubt on her guilt, and no physical evidence linked her to the crimes.

In the letter, Scott notes that disaster-stricken communities respond in two ways—by either bonding together or isolating. Those who form connections survive longer. He says that the difference between FantasticLand and these other cases “was the speed of the separation and then the subsequent rush to violence after that separation” (219).