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Daughter's resolute effort to find North Carolina mom who got swept away during Hurricane Helene, 'Not giving up’
The daughter of a North Carolina woman who went missing during Hurricane Helene has been working day and night to find her mom.
The daughter of a North Carolina woman who went missing during Hurricane Helene has been working day and night to find her mom, with many praising her determination and resolute effort. Kim Ashby remains missing after the storm swept the family home into a river. Her husband, Rod, survived.
The couple had been married for five years, and had driven from Sanford, North Carolina to their vacation home to retrieve important items from the garage before the tragedy struck.
Ashby’s daughter, Jessica Meidinger, has been posting constant updates on Facebook. She has been keeping loved ones updated about the search efforts.
‘Mom, we’re not giving up’
In one of her recent posts, Meidinger said, revealing that her mom is still missing, “We’ve continued to narrow down the potential areas where mom might be. The big change is that the Avery County Sheriff’s Office has joined the search again. They’re supplementing the resources we have and working WITH the folks who have been on the ground searching for the past 2 weeks. The search is still going strong and for that we’re thankful.”
In another recent post, Meidinger wrote, “Mom is still missing. Short post tonight. Teams on the ground did more recon along the river marking more potential spots where mom might be. We’re gearing up for a busy weekend excavating multiple places. Every day we get more information. Every day, someone is boots on the ground dedicated to mom’s search. Every day we’re getting closer even if it feels like we’re making no progress. Mom, we’re not giving up. More prayers pour in every day. I miss you.”
In another post, Meidinger provided updates about the team on the ground, appreciating their efforts. "The team on the ground this week being run by Carole Strickland and Jon Mitchell are walking the entire distance from the location of mom and Rod’s house to Lake Watauga along the river,” she wrote.
Meidinger continued, “They have a wonderful K9 handler with three dogs and they’re dropping coordinates for any alert, hit, or debris pile that has yet to be searched. They’re sending pictures constantly throughout the day to identify bits and pieces in the piles to see if they came from the house. All possible areas of interest, no matter how small, are being built into a map to plan and resource the search appropriately. Resources are being provided from several locations including by contacts of Danny Wolf and by Diane Fontaine through the Cajun Navy. These amazing people have told the family to take a break. They’re not stopping until mom is found and we can trust them to get the job done.”
In another post, Meidinger detailed “digging out the large area that had around 6-8ft of sediment” and “fully breaking apart the 300m long debris pile.” “Unfortunately, we’re running out of plausible areas to search that we haven’t already searched in depth. We’re not done yet, but we know our odds are not high for ever finding her. That reality is very difficult to swallow, but it is a reality we must face,” she wrote.
Meidinger has also set up a GoFundMe for her mother and Rod. “Kim and Rod have dedicated their lives to public service, Kim as a NC teacher for over 20 years and Rod serving in the U.S. Navy and retiring after 30 years of service. With everything they've given to our community over the course of their lives, it is our turn to help them in their time of need. We can't do much to help them physically or emotionally, but we can help lift the financial burden this disaster has caused them,” the page reads.
Meidinger listed what Rod and “hopefully Kim” will need help with, including “the loss of their home and property not covered by insurance” and “Medical bills/ mental health services.”
