Wife and mother of four killed in flood in Helene, husband still in hospital

An Avery County man is recovering in the hospital Saturday evening when he says his wife died in flooding from Hurricane Helene.

Jamie and Melissa Guinn had four children and were just a few weeks away from celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary. Jamie told WRAL News that he was also going to get her something small for Halloween because that was the day he proposed to her.

“She had a dark sense of humor, but once you got it, it was very funny,” he said.

On Friday, September 27, Guinn said he was at home with Melissa and their 8-year-old son seeking shelter during Helene when they heard a loud “boom” noise outside.

When Guinn went to investigate, he saw a mudslide hit the back of his house.

“I opened the garage door and our garage was gone,” he said, fighting back tears. “All the mud and trees were in the backyard. We had a few garbage bags together and [we] I taped it up to stop the wind and rain from blowing through the back door of the house before it broke.”

Guinn said he went outside and managed to divert some of the mud and rain, but 40 minutes later another mudslide threw them into a river.

“It sounded like a cannon shot. All I remember is being crushed by the house collapsing around me,” he said. “I remember thinking in my head, ‘I guess this is how I’m going to die.'”

Guinn said after freeing himself, he took his son to a river bank. He told WRAL News he could hear his wife screaming from where the house originally stood.

“All I could remember was her screaming, ‘Baby, be careful!’ to find something that could be on the bank away from the river.”

Guinn believes his wife was thrown into the river by another landslide because when he and his son scrambled to safety, they could no longer hear her.

“I stood right behind my little boy and started screaming for my wife because I couldn’t hear her anymore,” he said. “He looked at me and said, ‘Dad, I think Mom’s gone.'”

Guinn and his son eventually reached a neighbor’s house who was able to help him.

Guinn suffered a fractured spine and a laceration to his head that became infected, but said no pain was worse for him than the loss of Melissa.

“I don’t think I even understand it yet,” he said. “Part of me feels like I’m still in a state of shock and understanding everything that happened. I think I’m just aware of what happened.”

Guinn’s story is one that many families in the Southeast experience.

Since Helene made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane on Thursday, Sept. 26, 227 people have died, including 112 from North Carolina and 72 from Buncombe County. Those who have died so far include grandparents, fiancées and first responders.

Guinn said he will remember Melissa as a good wife and mother to her children.

“I love who you have because you don’t really know when they’re gone,” he said. “It could happen that quickly. I mean, in an hour, my entire life changed for the rest of my life.”

Family and friends of Guinn have started a GoFundMe to help him and his family recover.