Hurricane Helene flooded her and her husband’s home in Elk Park, Avery County, less than two miles from the Tennessee state border, on Friday. Kim Ashby, a middle school maths teacher at SanLee Middle School in Sanford, remains missing today.
Ashby is among hundreds of western New Yorkers still missing or unaccounted for two days after severe floods ravaged cities and villages. Ashby and her husband Rod were at their mountain house along the Elk River when surging waters swept it downstream, according to family social media posts and NBC News.
After 72 hours, searchers still search for Kim, but Rod Ashby was discovered safe.
The storm has impeded communication and accessibility in the region, but Ashby’s daughter Jessica Meidinger told NBC News that the family still hopes.
“We’ve been able to piece things together from different accounts of neighbours with Starlink satellite,” Meidinger added. “It remains scary, but more touchpoints give you hope.”
A Facebook page seeking storm victims lists Ashby as one of several missing people. Ashby lived at 3 Water Sound in Elk Park, North Carolina, and her husband was found two miles away. A nearby Ring doorbell snap showed the residence floating in the river. In red shirt and black trousers, Ashby was last seen.
According to current updates, Hurricane Helene, a Category 4 storm that slammed Florida on Friday and moved north to the Appalachian area, killed over 120 people in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee. Some died from drowning, while others were killed by falling trees or wind- and rain-damaged roads in their homes.
The Asheville Citizen Times reported 35 deaths in and around Asheville on Monday. The whole western part of the state was dealing with flooding, damage, impassable roads, and power and water disruptions moving into the new week.
The west of the state has 500–700 missing people. Communication challenges in the region kept more than 100,000 households and businesses without power on Monday.
Ashby’s disappearance was reported to Lee County Schools on Sunday. That afternoon, SanLee Middle School Principal Christian Chaney emailed parents to pray for her and her family and recognise that their children may have questions or concerns when they return to school on Monday.
We are devastated to deliver the distressing news that Mrs Ashby, beloved seventh-grade maths teacher, is currently missing after the storm washed away her and her husband’s home’, Chaney said.
As we join together as a community, our team is available to support students, teachers, and families who need it. We’ll also have the Mental Health Team, school counsellors, and school social workers on campus to help during this uncertain time.
Ashby teaches maths at SanLee and coaches the chess team. In June 2023, The Rant featured him in a report about the game’s growing popularity in Lee County Schools. Ashby enjoyed watching her students improve at the game in the narrative.
“About half the club members are chess beginners,” she remarked. “I see amazing improvement in just a few months. Many of them have advanced swiftly and can beat me.”
Governor Roy Cooper urges donations to the North Carolina Disaster Relief Fund to help towns recover after Hurricane Helene. See nc.gov/donate for North Carolina Disaster Relief Fund donations.
Lee County Schools partnered with Downtown Sanford, Inc., Visit Sanford, and others to collect items for flood victims. You can send donation items on the list below with your kid to school or bring them to the Visit Sanford Welcome Centre (229 Carthage St.) Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.