SWANNANOA, NC — Shalana Jordan, who had been holding out hope that her elderly parents were evacuated to safety amid the flash flooding in western North Carolina, said Wednesday that authorities believe they have found their bodies.
Shalana’s story went national as she searched in vain for her parents, who lived in the Avery Wood Mobile Home Park in Swannanoa, North Carolina, a town in a valley of the Appalachian Mountains. She hoped by some miracle that her parents — who could not swim — were evacuated to safety.
She posted on October 5 to Facebook:
My dad is turning 70 years old today. I should be getting on his nerves, calling him an old man. But instead we’re searching for him. I need a little mental break tonight folks. I’ve been at this from sun up to 2 am every day and night since Saturday Sept 28th. I’ll resume replying to messages and comments tomorrow. Goodnight FB fam.
Breitbart News visited her parents’ destroyed home on Saturday, October 12, as volunteers were trying to help salvage what they could from it.
They found photos of Shalana when she was just a few years old, smiling with her father. They found plaques honoring her father as Employee of the Month at two separate jobs at Walmart and Cracker Barrel. They found a diploma for her mother for Cecil’s Business College. They also found china that had been placed inside a curio cabinet.
Kristina Wong/Breitbart News
Kristina Wong/Breitbart News
That Saturday was already two weeks after Hurricane Helene hit Swannanoa on September 27, but Shalana was hoping that they had been rescued and taken to a hospital or shelter and just could not contact her.
The last time they were seen alive was in a video posted on TikTok by a neighbor, which showed her 69-year-old father on his porch, the flood waters already waist high. Authorities had found a plastic bag with their photo identification and other belongings, indicated they might have tried to evacuate.
Breitbart News on Tuesday flew in a private helicopter over Swannanoa and nearby towns that were the worst hit by Hurricane Helene. Most mobile homes parks had been entirely swept away — without evidence they ever existed.
Shalana’s parents had secured their home to its foundation, but it was then rammed into by another mobile home that had been swept away by the storm.
Kristina Wong/Breitbart News
Jordan posted on Facebook on Wednesday:
Authorities believe they’ve found the bodies of my parents, Nola Ramsuer and Robert Ramsuer. I gave DNA samples yesterday and today for the County and the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office to compare to confirm that it’s my parents. The M.E. I interviewed with said he clearly “cannot say anything on the record, but he has no reason to think these aren’t my parents”. DNA results will take a week to week and a half, and will give us a definitive answer.
She wrote about just seeing her mother, with whom she was repairing her relationship with, the weekend before the flood.
She wrote:
It’s no secret to anyone that knows us that I’ve had a strained relationship with my parents. But my mom and I have worked on our relationship for the past few years and slowly gotten closer and closer. She even helped financially support me and my children when she could, when I was sick and dying and fighting for disability.
We finally talked her into coming to visit us… the weekend before the flood occurred. She came and stayed the whole weekend and we had the best time. We relaxed, ate good food, caught up with eachother, hung out with Ed and the kids and just had an amazing time together. I talked to her more in that weekend then I had in most of my life. We were talking about Thanksgiving and Christmas plans next. Had things we wanted to do.
When she came she brought alllll of our Christmas and Birthday presents for winter 2024 (in September). I thought it was silly and asked why she did and she just softly said “I don’t know, I just thought I should…”
It’s like she knew
I thought I had more time… women in our family live for a very long time. My mom’s oldest sister is 80 and still active. My grandmother was 96 when she passed. My great grandmother passed when she was 102. So I honestly thought we’d have another 20 years with my parents.Authorities Believe North Carolina Woman’s Parents’ Bodies — Swept Away by Hurricane Helene — Have Been Found But that just isn’t the case. I lost so many years and there’s nothing anyone can do about it. My oldest aunt was very close with my mom, so we talked her into coming back with us while she waits for her community to regain water…so that small thing gives me some solace.
Life is so fragile and can be gone in an instant. I think I’m still in shock. We JUST saw them 5 days before the flood.
Thank you to the Swannanoa community, the multiple volunteers and volunteer groups, friends and family, 828 SAR ( Ashley Ketron and company), Fire and Rescue officials, the NC Medical Examiner’s Office, strangers from Facebook in Swannanoa who were more then willing to help, the Buncombe County Sherriff’s, my parent’s neighbors who were willing to share their stories, and whoever else I forgot. The massive response of people willing to help us and pray for us has been amazing and makes me cry every time I think about it.
And lastly thank you for the stories. I received dozens and dozens of sweet stories, conversations and memories from coworkers, family members, friends and people from the community who all knew my parents well. They lived in Buncombe County for 70 years…and it shows, because everyone knew them and had wonderful things things to say.
She ended with, “Hug your mamas and dads. Work out your issues with them if you can. Perfectly healthy people can be gone in an instant. Don’t miss out on all the time I missed out on.”
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