North Carolina
Asheville mother recounts last moments with son before he was swept away by Helene floods: ‘He became my hero’
Three members of a North Carolina family, including a 7-year-old boy, during the disastrous flooding from Helene. Now, the survivors share their story of immense grief and comforting faith.
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Not all heroes wear capes – and sometimes, they’re only 7 years old.
Just ask Meghan Drye, the mother of Micah, a little boy who wanted to be a superhero for Halloween, but was tragically swept away by floods that struck Asheville, North Carolina, last week.
The floodwater rose high enough that Drye and her son, along with her parents, had to climb to the roof of their home for safety. However, the flood became so powerful that it broke the home apart.
At that moment, Drye said her son called for Jesus to save him.
Micah.
(Meghan Drye / FOX Weather)
“He reached for something past flesh, past human, past anything that even grown adults, I think, would reach for,” she said. “My son called out to the one God Almighty. And I think at that moment he was rescued, and he became my hero, and I think all of them carried me through that moment.”
All four were sent downstream, with Micah being torn away from his mother.
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Drye spent three hours in the water, becoming entangled by roots and trees. She said she held on to the vegetation, but something greater told her to let go.
View from Drye’s rooftop, where she, her son and parents sought refuge from the flood.
(Jessica Drye Turner / FOX Weather)
“In the midst of the chaos, all I heard was God telling me to be still and to stop fighting the water,” Drye recalled. “That was Him, that was prayers. That was prayers that told me to be still and to let the water carry me to where I needed to be rescued.”
She then found herself between carriers for two hours, which allowed her to be spotted by a man and then provided for by a rescue team.
Micah’s body was recovered about a quarter-mile away from where Drye was rescued.
“My grief today is unfathomable. I’m sorrowful. I feel broken,” Drye said. “But what is the main thing that I take away from grief is the uplifting of all the prayers that I have received.”
Drye’s parents, who were lost in the flood.
(Meghan Drye / FOX Weather)
Remnants from Hurricane Helene drenched the state of North Carolina last week, dropping nearly 30 inches in some spots – or about 4-months-worth of rain – in only three days.
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To support Drye and her family in remembrance of Micah, you can visit their GoFundMe page here.