‘Start to heal’: Remains of man lost in Helene found, bringing relief to family
The remains of Russell Wilber, swept away in flooding from Helene six months ago, have been found, helping bring his family long-awaited closure.
Workers clearing debris left by remnants of Hurricane Helene found human remains March 28, in Avery County.
Sheriff Mike Henley said Tuesday morning he believed it was Wilber, but was awaiting confirmation from the N.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. His office later confirmed it was.
Wilber and his wife, Charlene, were camping near Newland when they were swept away by the North Toe River. Charlene’s body was found in October 2024.
Wilber’s daughter, Ranee LaPointe, heard long-awaited news that her father’s remains may have been found on Friday — just a day before the family’s planned memorial service for him and Charlene.
“It kind of almost feels like he was saying, ‘Here you go, this is what you need.’”
For months, the family had delayed the service, holding on to hope that some trace of Russell Wilber would be found. Eventually, they gave up, she said.
On Tuesday, when she received confirmation that the remains were her father, the news brought mixed emotions.
“I know this sounds so bizarre, but unless you can live it, there’s a small piece of you that says, ‘What if? What if I’m wrong, what if I gave up?’ And this makes me say, there’s no more ‘What if?’ This is it.”
Campground flooding
The couple, who lived in Tennessee, was staying at Buck Hill Campground when Helene hit the North Carolina mountains. The storm brought record rainfall and winds of up to 100 mph, causing catastrophic flash flooding and thousands of landslides.
Parts of Avery County received nearly 23 inches of rain from the storm, and the Toe River rose more than 20 feet in some places.
Henley said local property owners in the Bent Road area of the Ingalls community, miles downstream from the campground, were working with heavy equipment on Friday to remove piles of debris left by the flooding when they found Wilber’s remains. The property owners contacted the Sheriff’s Office, which handled removal of the body.
Charlene’s and Russell’s remains were found about 500 yards apart, a little over a quarter of a mile, LaPointe said.
“Which tells me, I think he was holding her until he couldn’t hold on to her anymore — or until they were both gone,” LaPointe said. “And there are so many questions I don’t know the answers to, but do I want to know?
“But I’m happy that we found him. I’m happy that there’s an end. I’m glad we don’t have to go on continuing to think about it. And I’m also glad that I can kind of move on and start to heal,” she said.
LaPointe said her family held the service as planned on Saturday — a small gathering at the International Storytelling Center in Jonesborough, Tenn., where family and friends from the area came together. With Charlene’s remains found earlier, her ashes were present.
“It was nice to finally have everyone together. It was something we hadn’t been able to do since they died,” she said.
After the service, close family and friends gathered at their home, choosing items that held personal meaning or memories. They shared stories, laughed, cried, and honored the couple’s lives.
Now, they have started talking about holding another service in the Northeast. Charlene spent much of her life in Massachusetts, while her father was born and raised in Maine and also lived in Massachusetts, she said.
For LaPointe, her father’s name will also live on in a more personal way. A client of hers, who she assisted as a midwife, named her son after Wilber. Her cousin, who is pregnant, plans to do the same. LaPointe’s eldest son also carries his grandfather’s name.
“So it’s nice to know that my dad’s name will live on,” she said.
Still others missing
Avery County still has one person missing from the storm. Kim Ashby was a middle-school teacher in Sanford. She and her husband, Rod, were at the vacation home they were building in Elk Park when they and their dogs were swept away as the Elk River took the house.
The couple became separated in the water, and Rod Ashby was able to grab a tree and pull himself out of the river. Volunteers have spent thousands of hours searching but so far have not found Kim’s body.
Elsewhere in North Carolina, four others remain missing: Alena Ayers of the Relief community in Mitchell County; Lenny Widawski, a musician in Yancey County; and Yevhenii Segen and his grandmother, Tatiana Novitnia, who moved to Yancey County after fleeing Ukraine with Yevhenii’s parents.
North Carolina’s official death count from the storm as of April 1, 2025, is 106, which does not include North Carolina residents whose bodies were found in Tennessee.
This story was originally published April 1, 2025 at 12:22 PM with the headline "‘Start to heal’: Remains of man lost in Helene found, bringing relief to family."
