WAGONER COUNTY, Okla. — An Oklahoma family whose two houses flooded during the recent winter storms returned Wednesday morning to find their homes had been burglarized.

Rick Kirkhart, a basketball coach at Haskell Public Schools, and his family evacuated Tuesday after historic flooding pushed the Arkansas River and Verdigris River into his home. Kirkhart’s son, Chad, also had his house hit with flooding. 

The Kirkhart’s stacked their belongings up, trying to protect what they could from the incoming water before leaving to stay in a hotel. However, there was one force they didn’t count on getting into their vacant houses.

“Somebody busted in the back door and grabbed anything they could grab quickly,” Rick Kirkhart said.

When Rick Kirkhart and his family returned Wednesday morning, apart from the flood, they found a few peculiarities. There was a wagon out of place. And the front door of his son’s home was open.

Jewelry, tools, clothes and televisions were among the most immediate items discovered missing.

Kirkhart figured it happened between Tuesday afternoon and daylight Wednesday — while his family was staying at a hotel.

“It was kind of a shock that we live in a society that people take advantage of other people’s misfortune,” Kirkhart said. “It’s just like adding insult to injury.”

Kirkhart didn’t have flood insurance, so the costs of all the damage and the restoration will have to come from his own pocket, he said. He does have some hope the Federal Emergency Management Agency will come through for the flood-ravaged area.

Debbie Kirkhart, Rick Kirkhart’s wife, said making any sort of accurate assessment in the midst of flood cleanup will be difficult.

“We have no idea what they took,” she said. “It’ll probably be a week before we can inventory anything.”

The Kirkharts reported the burglary to the Wagoner County Sheriff’s Office. Wagoner County Sheriff’s Maj. Gary Handley said the matter has been turned over to investigations at the sheriff’s office.

“If you have a house underwater, most average people are going to think ‘well, their stuff is wet, so it’s probably ruined,’” Handley said. “It’s kind of surprising.”

About 30 volunteers and a couple of disaster restoration experts spent Wednesday gutting Chad Kirkhart’s home and preparing to restore it to pre-flood condition.

During the cleanup, one volunteer remarked that a Bible was not stolen.

“They should have; maybe they’d have learned something,” said another volunteer.

Grimwood writes for The Muskogee (Okla.) Phoenix