NC legislation that would make it easier for families to declare missing loved ones deceased after a natural disaster passed ...

Alena Ayers and her husband were swept away in the raging floodwaters of the North Toe River during Hurricane Helene. "Her husband's remains were subsequently recovered downstream in Tennessee, but ...

Alena’s Law would create an exemption from the seven-year requirement when a person has likely died in an area hit by a ...

Kelly White poses for a portrait with a photograph of her missing cousin, Alena Ayers, on Sunday, March 16, 2025 in Hickory, N.C. Ayers and her husband Stephen Ayers were swept away during the ...

It’s been more than six months since Helene tore through Western North Carolina, and five people are still missing — lost in the floodwaters that swept through the mountains in September 2024.

Typically, the waiting period is seven years. The bill is named after a Mitchell County woman, Alena Ayers, who went missing Sept. 27 after floodwaters from Tropical Storm Helene swept Ayers, 31, and ...