All five bodies that were trapped in rising water Thursday morning have now been recovered. The body of a one year old boy was found around 4pm Friday at the Hiddenite Family Campground in Hiddenite.
Alexander County Commissioner Charman Ryan Mayberry made the announcement in an afternoon press conference in Taylorsville. Mayberry said “I’m saddened to report that we’ve been informed the body of the one-year old child has been found.” Three bodies were found on Thursday. An adult was recovered Friday morning. A 37-member USAR team (Urban Search and Rescue) began search efforts Friday at 8am.
After nearly 10 inches of rain fell in the area Wednesday night and Thursday morning, the campground was “under 11-14 feet of water” according to Alexander County Director of Public Services Doug Gillispie at the press conference. Gillispie says his office is working with the National Weather Service to determine how quickly the water reached the campers. Sheriff Chris Bowman said “It’s a tragedy that you can’t get over, I know I won’t”
On Thursday, swiftwater rescue teams evacuated 31 people from the campground. Gillespie says there are four (4) assessment teams on the ground across the county to determine the extent of the damage. Some 50 roadways across the county were compromised, with four bridge outages and six roads that are currently impassable. Closed roads now include: Millersville Road near Hwy. 16 South (bridge outage), Cheatham Ford Road (bridge outage), Rocky Face Church Road (bridge outage), Hopewell Church Road (bridge outage), Sulphur Springs Road, Macedonia Church Road, Rocky Springs Road, Berea Church Quincy Road, Ramie Mitchell Road, and Jud Smith Road.
The death toll from the storm is six including a driver killed Thursday morning when a bridge on Hopewell Church Road collapsed.
Alexander County would like to express its appreciation to the many emergency agencies that assisted, including four swiftwater teams from Mooresville Fire Department, Sawmills Fire Department, Conover Fire Department, Alexander Rescue Squad & EMS, Alexander County CERT (Community Emergency Response Team), USAR (Urban Search and Rescue), Taylorsville Police, and local volunteer fire departments.