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    • Asheville: flood rescue and search for the missing
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    Asheville: flood rescue and search for the missing

    Umito Posted on

    ASHEVILLE – Tears filled Asheville Police Chief Mike Lamb’s eyes Oct. 24 at the department’s downtown headquarters.

    Lamb was speaking to the Citizen Times four weeks after Tropical Storm Helene plunged much of East Asheville, the River Arts District and the Biltmore Village area underwater.

    “I’m sorry. There are many, many emotions,” Lamb said, clearing his throat after a pause.

    He remembered several stories about his officers’ rescue efforts along the Swannanoa River on September 27, from Moffit Branch and Azalea and Swannanoa River roads.

    After going door to door to ask people to evacuate earlier in the morning, officers were stationed at different locations along the river, calling for help from the whitewater team in partnership with the Asheville Fire Department.

    APD, Whitewater Team Rescued Woman ‘Floating Down River’

    Specifically, Lamb detailed the moment a detective spotted Asheville resident Megan Drye “floating down the river.” Seeing her begin to get stuck between two Conex crates (steel shipping containers), the officer called the Swift Water team, who pulled her from the river.

    Drye was with his parents and young son on Sept. 27 when the family home collapsed into the Swannanoa River. All three are dead.

    Three days later, the same detective who spotted Drye discovered Micah Drye, 7 years old a quarter mile away.

    “That was the end for him,” Lamb said through emotion. “(The officers) were able to help a lot of people, between evacuations and rescues. It was really, you know, they saved a lot of lives that day.

    Breaking down Helen’s numbers and recovery efforts

    In the days immediately following the storm, as cell service was knocked out, city police received an “influx” of emails, many from people outside the area hoping to ensure the safety of their loved ones, a Lamb said. Officers made a list and checked first those they determined were the most urgent and vulnerable.

    With phone lines down, officers visited neighborhoods in person. It took a little over a week to go through the list of about 350 people. As of October 24, the APD had nine active disappearance cases linked to Hélène, against 60 on October 7.

    More: “Forever changed”: Asheville vigil honors those who lost their lives because of Hélène

    Of the list of 350, police determined that three were likely dead because of Helen before their bodies were later found, Lamb said. We now know that six other people died as a result of Hélène in Asheville, including the three members of the Drye familywho Megan Drye previously described as brave, gentle and loving.

    “There were three others that we couldn’t find initially, but we knew they had gone into the water,” Lamb said. “Of these three, we were able to recover two. There’s still one we haven’t collected yet.

    More: Asheville family – including 7-year-old child – swept away by Helen’s floodwaters

    APD continues to investigate, looking for activity on cell phones and in financial accounts, just in case. But now the father is considered “presumed deceased”.

    Fate of missing Asheville resident: ‘presumed deceased’

    To locate the only Asheville resident who has yet to be found, police are working with neighbors to piece together what happened. A group of neighbors managed to rescue the resident’s two daughters, who were “hanging on, trying not to be swept away by the floodwaters,” Lamb said.

    During the Citizen Times interview, Lamb shared a heartbreaking reality about the floodwaters: “There’s really no rhyme or reason to where people ended up. »

    “From the stories we had about where people got into the water, there were so many different places along the river where they were picked up,” he said.

    In addition to debris and buildings, 354 cars were swept away by the river, Lamb said. Police first used drones to search the cars, ensuring no one was left inside before they could safely enter on foot.

    “I think at one point there was just a massive influx of water,” Lamb said, noting how the river took with it an entire section of the concrete bridge from Azalea Road to Gashes Creek Road, where he remembers going as a child.

    More: Asheville community pharmacist mourned after Helene floodwaters washed away his apartment

    The day after the storm, 515 officers from 96 different agencies began canvassing Asheville in groups of 100. The city’s police worked with the North Carolina National Guard, the FBI, New Jersey Search and Rescue and the Los Angeles Search Rescue, using cadaver dogs to scour the area.

    Lamb said as reconstruction continues, more people could die and be buried in the silt.

    Grateful for the support of the outside police and city residents after Helene

    Personnel from numerous outside agencies assisted local police in a variety of ways: from search and rescue to securing barricaded roads, guarding distribution points and escorting FEMA resources and Duke trucks Power.

    Of the APD personnel, five or six “lost everything or had significant damage to their homes,” Lamb said.

    Lamb spoke about the emotional weight these officers have carried over the past month and stressed the importance of help from outside agencies, which allows city police to take days off. Lamb also expressed gratitude for how community members and neighbors have helped by cutting down downed trees, providing food to police officers or simply writing letters to the police department.

    “I’m really proud of the Asheville community because everyone came together,” he said.

    More: Photos discovered in Helen’s wake tell the story of Asheville area families

    More: One month later, an Asheville family moves forward amid Helen’s destruction

    Ryley Ober is a public safety reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today network. She graduated from Indiana University and was a Citizen Times summer reporting intern in 2022. Email her at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter @ryleyober

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