Hurricane Ian drowning victim was “the best big brother”

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Construction worker Craig Steven Markgraff Jr. was last seen clinging to a tree as rising waters from Hurricane Ian lashed areas dozens of miles inland from Florida’s Gulf Coast. One of Ian’s first publicly identified victims in Florida, the 35-year-old man’s body was found this week by rescue crews near his home in Zolfo Springs in central Florida. That’s according to the Hardee County Sheriff’s Office said. Markgraff was known as “CJ” to many of his friends. But to his sister April Rudolph, he was just Craig and “the best big brother ever.” She says that, “ If you ever needed anything, he was right there. He was the protector of the family.”