GALVESTON, Texas -- Three more bodies have been found close to where Hurricane Ike thundered ashore, bringing the Texas death toll to 36 and the national total to 71.

AP

A search-and-rescue team Saturday made the discovery in debris fields on Goat Island, located off the devastated resort area of Bolivar Peninsula. Two of the bodies were taken to the Galveston County medical examiner’s office.

Galveston County Sheriff’s Office Maj. Ray Tuttoilmondo said he had no other information about the victims except that one is male and the other is female.

The third body was found on Sunday. It's a woman, but crews said they need heavy equipment, possibly a crane, to get her out because she is buried under heavy debris.

Last weekend, three other bodies were discovered amid storm debris in Galveston and Orange counties. 

Volunteers with Texas Equusearch discovered the body of Greg Walker. He had been missing since September 13th, when he made a 911 call for help after he got caught in Ike’s storm surge.

Lt. Jimmy LeBoeuf with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office says Walker was trapped by rising water while driving back to his home in Port Neches after taking his family to Louisiana. 

In Galveston County, fishermen found the body of a man on Goat Island, off the Bolivar Peninsula. According to the Galveston County Medical Examiner’s Office, the body was that of a white male, who was wearing blue jeans and one black tennis shoe. 

The body of a woman was also found last weekend on top of a debris pile on Pelican Island. The body was that of a white female wearing a black tank top. They have not been able to identify her.