Ike Coverage: Update on inmates of Galveston jail

Information continues to be scarce about the over 1,000 inmates in the Galveston County, Texas jail who were inexplicably not evacuated for Hurricane Ike.

A report in yesterday's Galveston County Daily News echoes our report that the inmates appear to be safe:

Galveston County Judge Jim Yarbrough said search and rescue efforts would be fully under way today as more help streamed into the county.

The sheriff's office didn't evacuate county prisoners, and Yarbrough said they were unharmed as Saturday's storm surge failed to reach the county jail or Justice Center on 57th Street.

But Judge Yarbrough is next quoted as making the following statement:

"The good Lord took care of those 1,050 inmates," Yarbrough said. "There was no rising water, but some wind-driven rain did make it into the law building."

Is it the policy of Galveston officials to rely on divine intervention to ensure the safety of 1,000 people in government custody in the face of a deadly hurricane?

Our calls to the Texas Attorney General's office and the mayor of Galveston, Texas have not yet been returned.