Nearly two years after Hurricane Helene devastated parts of the Southeast, authorities have identified the remains of a Tennessee woman who had been missing since the storm.
Medical examiners confirmed the remains found Sept. 12, in the Jackson Island area of the Nolichucky River are those of Nancy Tucker, according to the Washington County Sheriff's Office.
Tucker was the last person reported missing in Washington County, about 65 miles north of Asheville, North Carolina, and 90 miles northeast of Knoxville, Tennessee, following the catastrophic flooding caused by Helene.
Her remains were found by debris removal specialists working in the area. The remains were taken to the William Jenkins Forensics Center at East Tennessee State University for
examination and identification, according to AccuWeather.
Tucker and her husband, Jimmy, lived about four and a half miles upstream from Jackson Island. Jimmy Tucker's body was recovered days after Helene struck the region.
The discovery comes as cleanup crews continue to work through debris left behind by the storm, which made landfall in Florida's Big Bend region as a Category 4 hurricane on Sept. 26, 2024, before moving inland across the Southeast.
Torrential rain caused catastrophic flooding across the southern Appalachians, with some of the worst damage occurring in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee.
How many people died in Hurricane Helene?
Helene was responsible for at least 250 deaths in the United States, according to the National Hurricane Center.
In a February 2026 report, the National Hurricane Center said Helene was the deadliest hurricane in the contiguous United States since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. At least 175 of the deaths were directly caused by the storm, including people killed by freshwater flooding, storm surge, wind, tornadoes and other direct effects.
Tennessee recorded 18 deaths connected to Helene, according to the National Hurricane Center. The flooding was particularly deadly in East Tennessee, where swollen rivers and streams overwhelmed communities.
How many people are still missing from Hurricane Helene?
The number of people still missing remains less certain.
The National Hurricane Center's latest update to its Helene report, published Feb. 17, 2026, said at least five people remained missing in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee.
With Tucker now identified, at least four people could remain missing, although authorities have not announced an updated regional total.
Why did Hurricane Helene hit Appalachia so hard?
Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 hurricane, but some of its most destructive impacts occurred hundreds of miles inland across the southern Appalachians.
Helene carried an enormous amount of tropical moisture as it moved north. When the storm reached the mountains, the terrain forced the moist air upward, producing heavy rainfall over an area that had already received rain before Helene arrived.
The mountainous terrainalso caused water to rush rapidly downhill into creeks and rivers. That combination of extreme rainfall, saturated ground and steep slopes led to catastrophic flooding and landslides across western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee.
Brandi D. Addison covers weather across the nation as the Weather Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network and contributes to Texas Connect coverage across the state. She can be reached at baddison@usatodayco.com. Follow her on Facebook here.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Nearly 2 years after Helene, remains of missing Tennessee woman found
