Boy said five haunting words after he watched mum be swept to death in horror mudslide
Jamie Guinn's wife Melissa Guinn was tragically killed when a mudslide triggered by Hurricane Helene hit their North Carolina home two weeks ago - but he and his son, 8, survived
A boy who watched his mum being swept away in a mudslide triggered by Hurricane Helene two weeks ago said five heartbreaking words when he realised what had happened.
Jamie Guinn said his family's life was turned upside-down when his wife Melissa Guinn tragically died during the storm on September 27. The two parents and their eight-year-old son River were sheltering inside their Minneapolis home in North Carolina when they heard a large "boom" sound outside.
The dad-of-four said he went to check what happened and saw that a mudslide had hit the back of his house. Around 40 minutes later, another mudslide hit the home, taking it down the hillside into the river.
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Jamie recalled: "I just remember being crushed by the house falling all around me, and I can remember thinking in my head, 'I guess this is how I'm going to die.'" The dad survived and was able to free himself, but could hear his wife screaming from where the house originally was. He said: "I could hear my wife. All I can remember is her screaming, 'Babe, watch out!'"
Melissa's warning prompted Jamie to grab his son and get him over to a riverbank before another mudslide hit. However, by the time the pair were safe, they couldn't hear Melissa anymore, Fox 10 reported. The heartbroken husband believes she was knocked into the river by a mudslide - and he recalled the heartbreaking words his son told him.
He said: "When I got right behind my little boy, I started screaming for my wife because I couldn't hear her anymore. Then, he turned and looked at me and said, 'Daddy, I think mommy's gone."
He added: "So we kept screaming and hollering for her and no one ever could find her. And at that time, I can't even remember if there was any part of the house left or if it was gone. It was all a blur."
Jamie and River eventually made it to a neighbour's home where they got help. The dad suffered a broken spine and a head wound that later got infected, and spent days in hospital after surgery. In the meantime, his family and locals looked for Melissa until her body was found.
The husband was left heartbroken by the tragedy and said he and his wife were about to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary, after being together for 17 years. He said despite his injuries, no pain was worse than losing his wife, as he added: "She was my absolute best friend. I really don't know how I'm going to make it without her. We spent every day together. Everything I've done, she was involved in the same way as every other.
"Just going from having that person in your life every day to literally gone in the blink of an eye, it just shows how often you might take for granted being with someone." Jamie continued: "We always say I love you during the day, which we've done constantly, honestly.
"And every time I would always write back, 'Love you more,' so this year, I got her a little plaque, and it just gives a whole lot of reasons of what that really means. She was the absolute greatest mother and wife we could have all even asked for."
Just two weeks after the US was hit by Hurricane Helene, Florida is bracing for Hurricane Milton, with millions of people facing evacuation orders due to the adverse weather conditions caused by the powerful storm. The Category 5 hurricane is expected to make landfall late on Wednesday.
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