It won’t bring her back. It won’t change any of this, but it will do something to help people in the future,” said Kelly ...

RELIEF – When Tropical Storm Helene swept through Western North Carolina on Sept. 27, it hit the small Mitchell County community of Relief, where Alena Ayers lived, particularly hard. Floodwaters from ...

House Bill 537 — dubbed "Alena's Law" — would allow someone who disappears during a disaster to be presumed dead 90 days ...

Families with missing relatives who likely died in a natural disaster would be able to obtain a declaration of death without ...

Kelly White poses for a portrait with a photograph of her missing cousin, Alena Ayers, on Sunday, March 16, 2025 in Hickory, N.C. Ayers and her husband Stephen Ayers were swept away during the ...

27, it hit the small Mitchell County community of Relief, where Alena Ayers lived, particularly hard. Floodwaters from the nearby North Toe River, which turns into the Nolichucky River before ...

Extensive damage to roads and property in the Chimney Rock Village area of Rutherford County in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene are seen in this aerial image on Nov. 10, 2024. Alena Ayers and ...