Asheville Police returning lost photos, objects to Helene survivors

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WSPA) — The Asheville Police Department is trying to reunite people with photos and small objects that were lost in Hurricane Helene.

The day after Western North Carolina was devastated storm damage, Asheville Police Detective Sam DeGrave began finding photos in flood zones while on search and rescue missions.

“We continued to find photographs amid all of the debris, which was kind of shocking,” DeGrave said. “You’d find a whole house, but there would be pictures in trees and buried in the dirt.”

DeGrave started picking up the photos he came across. Soon, other police officers, first responders and volunteers started gathering them too.

“It was something that we could easily pick up and take knowing that it would mean something to somebody later,” DeGrave said.

More than 200 photos have since been found. Officers are still looking for the owners of about 100 pictures. They have all been posted to the Asheville Police Department’s Facebook page so their owners can find and recognize them. People began to claim photos Thursday.

“Everybody was glad to have them back,” DeGrave said. “But, we’re still providing photos to somebody who, in many cases, has lost everything – their house, their car, all of their other memories. It’s great to give that little piece back to them, but they still have a whole lot on their plate.”

Officers also picked up several small objects from the debris, such as a cycling medal and family reunion heirloom.

DeGrave said many of the photos and objects were found near the Swannanoa River corridor near Azalea Road and Swannanoa River Road. He said it is likely that some came from further up the river.

“We’ve had debris fields that we’ve been able to verify were miles from where they started,” DeGrave said.

While Asheville and Western North Carolina still face a long road of recovery ahead, officers are able to return some items to their owners reminding them of the memories they made before the storm.

“I’ve had to make a lot of difficult calls since this started,” DeGrave said. “This has been one call that I’ve been excited to make to people.”

How to claim missing photo, object

To view all of the photos and objects found by Asheville Police, head to their Facebook page by clicking here.

If you believe your photo or object was found:

• Email Detective DeGrave at sdegrave@ashevillenc.gov
• Write “Flood Pictures” in the email’s subject line
• Include a screenshot of your photo/object in the email so Detective DeGrave can find it within the collection

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