Man hikes 11 miles up storm-ravaged mountain to find stranded parents

CHARLOTTE — Sam Perkins was in Charlotte on Sept. 26 when he spoke on the phone with his elderly parents who live in Spruce Pine, a small town in the mountains. Tropical Helene was already making its impact in the region.

“I just wanted to see them and make sure they were OK,” Perkins said.

Perkins said he wished them well while he weathered the incoming storm at his home in Charlotte.

Then he saw the devastation in western North Carolina. He said he spent the next two days trying to contact his parents with no luck.

So Perkins set out to check on them himself and ventured west.

Perkins said he realized he was 11 miles away from his parents’s home and he couldn’t drive any farther. So, he walked.

“It gets worse and worse as you go up. More landslides, more trees down, more trees that are snapped high up where it looks like tornadoes went through,” Perkins explained.

Perkins said as he climbed those 11 miles and 2,200 feet in elevation. He saw trees and limbs everywhere.

There were roads covered in mud, roads crumbling down hills, and destruction beyond comprehension.

He went on to say that his sense of dread grew with every step until he finally saw the best thing he could: His father clearing out his yard.

“My dad kind of described it as seeing a ghost or something because all the trees are down, so I kind of snuck up on him, and he was out trying to do what he could. Gave him the biggest hug and bawled. It was the happiest I had been,” Perkins said.

Perkins said he dropped off bottled water and a portable charger and then left because he did not want to use up his parent’s resources. He later identified a route for them to get to his home in Charlotte, so they did.

On Wednesday, the three of them went to Raleigh to meet with Gov. Roy Cooper and President Joe Biden to discuss what storm victims needed.

Perkins later described how an unbelievable week that began with dread ended with him being face-to-face with the president.

“I’m in a fog myself right now. It’s amazing,” Perkins said.

Perkins said he knows his story is a blessing and thinks often about what so many people have lost.

He said everyone’s goal should be to help in any way they can.

VIDEO: Helene: More than 8 feet of floodwater decimates small mountain town

Helene: More than 8 feet of floodwater decimates small mountain town

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