More than two weeks after Helen hit the mountains, it's difficult to report how many people are still missing.
WLOS contacted FEMA, the N.C. Department of Public Safety, Buncombe County and other agencies and found that none had an official count.
This has left many families frustrated and looking to multiple agencies for answers.
“He loved it there,” Katie Traina said of her brother, Christopher Traina. Trainor's family has not heard from him in more than 17 days. “He was wandering around the Asheville area, just exploring the area,” she said.
Traynor's family, who live primarily in Florida and have also recently experienced damage from hurricanes Helen and Milton, contacted Chris in the days before the storms. Chris Traina had a cell phone, but nothing since the storm.
“We have to be hopeful and grateful that the time will come and they will find him,” said Katie Traina, who wept as she worried about her brother.
Christopher's family shared photos of Christopher on social media and reported him missing to United Charities and the Red Cross. They said they are grateful for the thousands of hours of volunteer service provided by local, state and federal search and rescue efforts, as well as organizations like the Buncombe County Rescue Squad.
“The Register of Deeds has thousands of cases active, and we have probably 200 on the upgrade list,” said Jeff Stilber, Buncombe County Rescue Team search and rescue unit chief.
Due to their training and conditioning, rescue teams take on escalated cases.
“There were landslides in those areas, so you couldn't get in. The bridge was washed away, so you had to hike in,” Stilber said.
They found most of them.
“Most of them are either well taken care of because, number one, they're prepared. They may be unaccounted for because they have no contact with the outside world,” Stilber said.
Those they were unable to contact remain on a list and have now been turned over to the Sheriff's Office for further inspection. That's why it becomes tricky to know how many people are still missing. Many groups participated in the effort and accepted the report.
“We have the Asheville Police Department, the Black Mountain Police Department, the Sheriff's Department, the State Bureau of Investigation. We have federal search and rescue, state search and rescue, local search and rescue,” Lillian Govus, Buncombe County communications and public engagement director explain.
Everyone has their own list, and so far no one has tried to merge them or narrow them down.
“We're about to have a list, but we're not quite there yet,” Gous said.
This will take time, verifying each agency's list with other agencies' lists and comparing it with the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
For the family waiting for news, it seemed like an eternity.
“Any information would be very helpful, obviously if anyone sees or spots him, please let them know we're looking for him at home. He has a huge support group,” Katie Traina said of her Brother said.
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