Remains of last victim from Hurricane Helene found in Tennessee
The remains of the final missing Tennessee victim from Hurricane Helene were found two years after the storm devastated Appalachian mountain towns with floods that wiped away whole communities.Nancy Tucker, 76, disappeared along with her husband Jimmy Tucker when flooding from the Nolichucky River took their home in rural Washington County in the northeastern corner of Tennessee on Sept.27, 2024.
His body was recovered within a couple of days, but hers had been missing until Saturday, said Susan Saylor, spokesperson for the Washington County Sheriff’s Department.Their son lived in the home as well but was at work when the flood hit, Saylor said.Helene killed more than 250 people and caused nearly $80 billion in damage from Florida to the Carolinas.
In the mountains on the North Carolina-Tennessee border, rains of up to 30 inches (76 centimeters) turned usually gentle streams into torrents that moved trees, boulders, homes and vehicles, and shattered century-old flood records.Many of those killed were swept away in the flooding.
In North Carolina, the body of Alena Ayers has never been recovered.Her case prompted the North Carolina legislature last year to establish Alena’s Law, making it easier to declare a person dead if they disappear during a natural disaster.In Tennessee, first responders over the past two years had narrowed down the search area for Nancy Tucker to a portion of the Cherokee National Forest called Jackson Island.
However, they faced both physical and bureaucratic hurdles.James Matthews, with the local Emergency Management Agency, said that since February, search crews had logged over 400 miles (644 kilometers) walking through the area but could not search through the debris piles.
Some reached 40 feet (12 meters) high in places and, in addition to trees and rocks, were filled with things like cars and large propane tanks.Because the area was federal land and thought to contain Native American burial sites, local responders were not...