‘Worst I’ve ever seen.’ Death toll rises, toddler’s body found in flooded NC campground
The body of a 1-year-old boy was found Friday at a flood-ravaged Alexander County campgrounds north of Charlotte, bringing the death toll from that site to five, authorities said.
Earlier in the day, an adult male’s body was recovered at Hiddenite Family Campground. Authorities had been searching for them for much of Friday after Thursday’s deadly floods.
Three other people died there Thursday after waters engulfed the complex. Some 31 people were rescued from the 30-acre camp site along the South Yadkin River.
“I’ve been in law enforcement for 41 years, and this (death and destruction) is the worst I have ever seen,” Sheriff Chris Bowman said. “(The floods) came so fast, they just didn’t have time.”
The child’s body was found around 4 p.m., said Ryan Mayberry, chair of the county board of commissioners.
“The devastation is beyond anything I’ve ever seen,” said Mayberry, who grew up in Hiddenite. “This just breaks my heart.”
The raging waters at the campground ran 11 to 14 feet deep, said Doug Gillispie, county public services director.
Bowman said the strong rains that caused the flash flooding started around 2 a.m. Thursday. Searchers found the man’s body around 11:10 a.m. Friday “under a bunch of brush,” Bowman said. The victim and his camper had been swept 700 to 800 feet away from where they had been.
County authorities who were busy with the search and recovery said they have not yet talked to the campground owner as of Friday evening.
Kids toys, tricycles and bicycles littered the scene, and a number of camper trailers had been washed into a line of trees. One of the trailers ended up aside an old black hearse that had been parked at the site.
A 37-member Urban Search And Rescue Team is at the site. Searchers clad in bright yellow shirts and helmets traversed dense undergrowth looking for the missing child. Two big front-end loaders were brought in to help.
‘It’s just overwhelming’
Lisa McHargue, who lives in Iredell County and had stayed in the campgrounds last year, rushed to the scene Friday morning to offer to volunteer for the search.
“It’s just overwhelming,” she said, fighting back tears. “It’s devastating.”
McHargue, 53, said she knew some of the people who died at the campsite an hour north of Charlotte, and called them all “good souls.”
McHargue also said the campground owner was vigilant about staying up late watching water levels on the river, and letting people know if they needed to evacuate. She said people at the site were often permanent residents.
The names and ages of the victims have not been released yet. There were no new updates as of mid-afternoon Friday.
The search for those missing ended at 6 p.m. Thursday and started up again at 8 a.m. Friday. Charlotte Fire Department members were there helping local authorities, and a drone was sent up to help too.
Voluntary evacuation order
Including the Alexander County deaths, at least eight people died in the Charlotte region after intense flooding wreaked havoc across the area as flood waters closed roads and parts of Interstate 85, damaged property and prompted water rescues.
Also Friday, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Emergency Management issued a voluntary evacuation order for a series of streets bordering the Catawba River in northwest Mecklenburg County. The order went into effect at 6:45 a.m. and includes Riverside Drive, Lake Drive, Beagle Club Road, and Hart Road in the Harwood Lane community.
On Thursday in Charlotte, firefighters responded to 112 flood incidents. They rescued 23 people from homes and 12 from stranded cars. In all, 63 roads across Mecklenburg County were closed.
Over two days, through Thursday afternoon, the storm dumped nearly 9 inches of rain on uptown Charlotte, according to the National Weather Service.
This story was originally published November 13, 2020 at 8:10 AM.