The final person listed as missing from Hurricane Helene in Washington County, Tennessee, has been identified. The Washington County Sheriff’s Office announced that human remains found Saturday in the Jackson Island area of the Nolichucky River belong to Nancy Tucker. Positive identification was made through the William Jenkins Forensics Center at East Tennessee State University, and the investigation remains ongoing.
Helene made landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast on September 26, 2024, as a Category 4 hurricane before pushing north and causing catastrophic flooding across the southern Appalachians. The storm claimed more than 248 lives, caused over $78.7 billion in damage, and destroyed more than 100,000 homes across North Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia. Nearly two years later, communities in those mountain regions are still rebuilding roads, bridges, and homes.
For families here on the Suncoast, this story hits close. We know what a Category 4 landfall looks like on our coastline. What many of us underappreciated at the time was what Helene would do once it moved inland, and how long the recovery would take. This identification brings a measure of closure to a family that waited far too long for answers. Have you checked your own hurricane plan recently?
