As the official death toll from Hurricane Helen exceeds 220, there are hundreds of missing persons cases across the southeastern United States and concerns about recovering bodies.
There are still 75 spaces available. inquiry CNN reported that as of Friday, only Asheville, North Carolina, was the only missing person.
He said Julie Le Roux's fiancé desperately searched for her for several days after she went missing in a flood that ripped through a friend's home in the nearby town of Marion. said of news and observer.
Jonathan Norwood was also injured when he was swept away by the strong water, but said: “It happened too soon.”
“All I remember was lots of crashing and being underwater, that's all,” he told the media.
somewhere else interview Norwood told ABC News that after her leg was crushed by debris, she “screamed and crawled around looking for her and couldn't find her.”
There's a disappointing update to Norwood's GoFundMe after search and rescue teams searched relentlessly. page It was revealed that Le Roux's body had been found.
“We are heartbroken to hear of the passing of John's fiancée Julie. Unfortunately she did not survive the storm,” Norwood's sister Maggie wrote. “We are relieved to know that she is at peace and no longer suffering. Julie was a truly kind-hearted person and a match made in heaven for John. We are now without her. You have to learn how to live life.”
Mr. Le Roux Obituary She was 33 when she died in the storm, and said she was a beloved artist who “approached every experience with enthusiasm and wonder.”
Homeland Security Advisor Liz Sherwood Randall told ABC News that up to “600 people could be missing.”
According to CNN, the missing include Rosa Maria Andrade Reynoso and Stephen Cloyd from Tennessee, and Kim Ashby, Omar Khan and Lynn McFarland from North Carolina.
Their families, friends and neighbors described their horrifying final moments before being taken away by an uncertain fate.
Karina Alonso last heard from Reynoso, a 29-year-old cousin and mother of two, when she called him from work at the Irwin Impact Plastics plant because of rising water levels. .
“She knew she couldn't go out, especially since she doesn't know how to swim,” Alonso said. “That's when she just lost it.”
By the time the plastics manufacturing plant's management fired the workers, Alonso said, “it was already too late because the cars were running away with the water.”
Since then, impact plastic has be attacked Testimony from several employees who narrowly escaped with their lives after six employees were swept out of the parking lot. Three people were confirmed dead, and three others, including Reynoso, are missing.
Kelly Cloyd said she called her son Matthew Cloyd to let him know his father was in danger after receiving the frightening email that he was “starting to float.”
Matthew and his brother drove 1,100 miles from Rockford, Illinois, before Steven's Jeep was found about a quarter mile from their home, but he was not inside.
His son described his father as a tough guy with “the biggest heart.”
“He'll give you the last $5 he has in his pocket,” Matthew told CNN.
Ashby, a 20-year veteran teacher, was described by her daughter Jessica Meidinger as “the glue that held everyone together.”
Ashby's husband, Rod Ashby, took extensive measures to ensure the home he built for them “with his own hands” was above flood levels from the nearby Elk River. I even took a lecture on it.
“When building the house, he marked where a typical flood would reach and the trees that would reach the highest flood levels in history, and then built the house on top of that,” Meidinger said. “So it was about 20 feet above the ground.”
Despite these precautions, the Ashby family's home was not tall enough to withstand the flash floods that roiled the area.
“He heard a crack. He went outside again and noticed the footer of the house was missing,” Jessica's wife, Lauren Meidinger, said of her in-laws. “He ran in and said to Kim, 'Hey, I need to get dressed. We need to evacuate.'
It was too late, and their home was washed away in “seconds,” CNN reported.
Rod managed to grab Kim and her dog as they were thrown downstream, but the part of the wall they were clinging to gave way.
“That was the last time I saw my mom,” Jessica said.
Lauren said her stepfather was “not in a great place” mentally and just “wanted to find Kim.”
“Overall, he just needs to be close to his family, but he also wants to get back there and keep looking,” she said, adding that Kim is a “warrior” who previously survived breast cancer. Ta.
Omar Khan's neighbor couldn't help but feel guilty for not being able to save him.
“I can't get his face out of my head,” said the woman, identified only as “KM” by CNN.
Khan was last seen trapped on the balcony of her Asheville apartment, screaming for help from two other neighbors.
“As the building shifted, all you could hear was screams and that was it,” KM said of how the apartment rose. “We want you to know that we were trying to help. We tried.”
“I'm disappointed I couldn't really reach out to him. We all tried from this end,” she added.
Khan's estranged wife revealed his last message to CNN.
Zubira Shafiq told the outlet on Friday morning how she received a final message from her neighbor's cell phone: “I love you and the boys.” Please tell them that. I hope everyone is safe. ”
Khan and Shafiq have two sons, ages 7 and 9.
“We drove everywhere in the city. We went to every evacuation site. I kept asking, 'Where else can I go? Where else can I go?'” the heartbroken wife told the magazine. spoke.
She hasn't stopped searching, even as hopes of finding survivors in her community have waned.
“I told (the children) that we're looking. We're going to keep looking. We're just going to keep looking for daddy,” Shafiq said through tears.
Lynn McFarland's sister-in-law, 68, said she last heard from him on Sept. 26, just before Helen wreaked havoc on her Asheville neighborhood.
He was last seen by neighbors floating on a roof with his dog Poco, CNN reported.
Jennifer Hepler even said her brother-in-law's house was built to drain floodwaters.
“His garage has doors on either side that open and the water just flows through them,” she said.
“He was on the roof of the house,” said Tony DiLaurentis, McFarland's neighbor. “And the last thing I saw was as I ran down the hill. His house was gone. I heard people screaming from the porch outside. And I saw a man on the roof. I thought it was Rin.
Hepler said it was “heartbreaking” waiting for more information on her family's whereabouts.
She added that she hopes McFarland is somewhere safe, but has simply not been able to contact his relatives.
“That's kind of what we're hoping is that we can track him down just because he's somewhere and we can't get to him right now,” Hepler said. “We just remain hopeful and hope for the best.”
