Latest news with #StevenCloyd
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Yahoo
Man Texted Wife Before He Went Missing During Hurricane. His Remains Were Found Over 7 Months Later
A 60-year-old man went missing when Hurricane Helene caused massive flooding in eastern Tennessee After his home was submerged, Steven Cloyd and his dog Orion sought shelter in his Jeep as he texted his wife updates More than seven months later, Steven's remains were identified after crew members discovered them while cleaning up brush from the storm More than seven months after Hurricane Helene devastated eastern Tennessee, the remains of a 60-year-old man who was texting with his wife when he got caught in the floodwaters have been identified. On Thursday, May 1, crews were clearing brush when they came across human remains at the "2000 block of Highway 107 along the Nolichucky River," according to the Washington County Sheriff's Office. Two days later, the deceased was identified as Steven Cloyd, the sheriff's office announced in a statement on Facebook. 'We've been searching for his remains for 217 days,' Susan Saylor, public information officer for the Washington County Sheriff's Office, tells PEOPLE. 'He was located by a crew that was cleaning up the riverbank and clearing the massive amounts of debris that had been left behind." Although the medical examiner's report is still pending, no foul play is suspected and the sheriff's office has determined that he died as a result of flooding. Related: At Least 10 Dead and 70 Hospitalized After 4 Tourist Boats Capsize Due to Strong Winds: Reports The news provides his grieving family some comfort. 'We know definitively where Steve is, in the hands of our Father, surrounded by his mother, my parents and so many who have gone before him,' read a family statement shared on his wife Keli's Facebook page over the weekend. 'He is in the light, he is at peace and he is free and he is perfect,' added Keli, who did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment. Related: Georgia Girl, 10, Dies After Tree Falls on Atlanta Home: 'A Dream We Need to Be Woken Up from' On Sept. 27, the county was hit with a storm the likes of which residents had never seen before. 'The flood waters were clocked before one of our monitoring systems went out as rushing through the valley at a speed more than double that of the rate that water comes over Niagara Falls,' Saylor tells PEOPLE, noting that three people in the county ultimately lost their lives. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. That day, Steven was attempting to escape the floodwaters with his dog. According to his wife's Sept. 27 Facebook post, their house was submerged and Steven sought safety in his Jeep with their dog Orion, but the vehicle's battery died and his cellphone was losing power. 'He kept texting saying, 'here we go again,' meaning the Jeep was on the move again,' she wrote at the time. 'I haven't spoken to him since 2:29 p.m.' Related: Body of Woman Swept Away in Flood Caused by Hurricane Helene Found More Than a Month Later His dog was found the same day he went missing, but it took months of search efforts before Steven's body was found approximately two miles from where his Jeep was located. In the more recent Facebook post, Keli thanked everyone who kept searching for her husband, including the workers who stayed with Steven's remains after they discovered him. 'We know it was not an easy task at hand, we know you'll carry that memory with you,' Keli wrote, adding that their family is forever grateful. She added, '[we] keep you close in our hearts and you kept Steve close to your hearts." Read the original article on People
Miami Herald
05-05-2025
- Miami Herald
Body identified as man who texted wife as Helene flood engulfed him, TN cops say
A crew clearing debris in East Tennessee has solved the heartbreaking mystery of one man's disappearance during floods linked to Hurricane Helene. Steven Cloyd and his dog, Orion, vanished Sept. 26 while trying to escape the rising Nolichucky River in Washington County, Tennessee, officials say. His Jeep and dog were found safe within days, but Cloyd remained missing. Then, on May 1, workers found a body tangled in debris along the river and a coroner confirmed what Cloyd's family long suspected. 'With heavy hearts, we the family of Steve Cloyd announce that our husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, and friend was found,' his wife, Keli McDaniel Cloyd, wrote in a Facebook post. 'We have the patriarch of our family again. ... He is in the light, he is at peace and he is free and he is perfect.' Details of how Steven Cloyd died have not been released, but 'evidence at the scene indicates this is a flood-related death,' the sheriff's office said. Steven Cloyd was found just under 5 miles from where he was last seen, near his home in the 200 block of Charlie Carson Road in Jonesborough. His last minutes were shared in a series of messages to his wife, including the arrival of floodwaters at the family's doorstep, his wife reported in a Sept. 27 Facebook post. Their home, south of the Nolichucky River, was ultimately 'submerged,' his wife says. 'The minute the basement filled completely up Steve knew next was main floor and took he and Orion to safety in the Jeep, the issue, the Jeep battery was dead and his phone was about to die,' Keli McDaniel Cloyd wrote. 'He kept me as updated as possible but last I knew he was in the Jeep and it kept moving with flow of the water, stopped briefly and kept going, he kept texting saying 'here we go again' meaning the Jeep was on the move again.' The messages stopped at 2:29 p.m., she wrote. An autopsy is scheduled to learn more about how Steven Cloyd died, officials said. He is one of two Helene victims who remained missing in Washington County. The other, Nancy Tucker, vanished from her home during the flood and has yet to be found, the sheriff's office says. The region got 6 to 9 inches of rain as the remnants of Hurricane Helene crossed the mountainous border along Tennessee and North Carolina, according to an East Tennessee State University study. 'Floodwaters raced downhill with such a force that rivers overflowed and homes were dislodged from their foundations,' FEMA reports. 'The Nolichucky River washed away bridges and submerged entire neighborhoods and farmlands. Floodwaters poured over the 111-year-old Nolichucky Dam near Greeneville at 1.3 million gallons per second – twice the water flow of Niagara Falls.' Jonesborough is a 270-mile drive east from Nashville.
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Body of man reported missing after Hurricane Helene flooding recovered
JONESBOROUGH, Tenn. (WJHL) — The remains of a man reported missing after Hurricane Helene in September have been found in Tennessee, authorities confirmed. Human remains were found along the Nolichucky River in rural Washington County, about 90 miles east of Knoxville, on Thursday. On Saturday, the Washington County Sheriff's Office confirmed that the remains are those of Steven Cloyd. 'Crews clearing debris located the remains, and our Investigators worked with the medical examiner to identify Steve,' said Sheriff Keith Sexton. 'WCSO continues to pray for the Cloyd family, and we know this brings them some closure.' 'A miracle': Cat survives fall in Utah national park that killed two hikers Cloyd was one of two individuals reported missing in Washington County following the flooding brought on by Hurricane Helene. While the storm made landfall as a Category 4 storm in Florida, it had weakened to a tropical storm and then a post-tropical cyclone as it moved through the Southeastern U.S. The storm was still strong enough to bring widespread flooding to the region, including in Tennessee. Authorities said Cloyd, as well as Nancy Tucker, had not been seen since the catastrophic flooding in late September. They both lived in the Jackson Island area near the Jackson Bridge, the Washington County Sheriff's Office said. Cloyd's body was found just a few miles from Jackson Island. He had texted his brother, Gary Cloyd, that 'water was coming in the house' as Helene swept through the area. Gary told Nexstar's WJHL that he tried to drive to his brother, but was blocked off by rising water. 2 people, a dog dead after small plane crashes in Los Angeles-area neighborhood Steven Cloyd's car was later found less than half a mile away from where he was last seen. Tucker, meanwhile, remains missing. Her husband, Jimmy Tucker, was found dead a few days after the storm moved through. Their home had been swept away by the floodwaters while they were both inside, WJHL previously learned. Two of their three dogs were found alive and turned over to Nancy's son. 'Nancy had packed dog food and stuff like that for the animals in the car,' her nephew, Johnny Horton, told WJHL in November. 'I guess they were doing that as the water was rising.' Last month, another body was recovered from the Nolichucky River; authorities said it was not believed to be related to Helene. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Yahoo
WCSO: Body found along Nolichucky identified as Steven Cloyd
JONESBOROUGH, Tenn. (WJHL) — The Washington County Sheriff's Office confirmed on Saturday that the remains found along the Nolichucky River on May 1 are those of Steven Cloyd. 'Crews clearing debris located the remains, and our Investigators worked with the medical examiner to identify Steve,' said Sheriff Keith Sexton. 'WCSO continues to pray for the Cloyd family, and we know this brings them some closure.' Steven was one of two individuals missing from the flooding caused by Hurricane Helene. Nancy Tucker remains missing. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
