The tragedy of a North Carolina couple swept away in Hurricane Helene floodwaters has led to a change in law.
Alena’s Law & Office of Vital Records Changes, known also as House Bill 537, creates an exemption from the seven-year requirement when a person has likely died in an area hit by a natural disaster. The body of Alena Ayers of Mitchell County wasn’t found; the body of her husband, Stephen, was later recovered downstream in Tennessee.
Gov. Josh Stein signed the bill into law earlier this month. The legislation, through both chambers and inclusive of an amendment, was unanimous throughout its journey.
The language of the law says, “The disappearance and continued absence for at least 90 days of a person that coincides with a disaster declaration, as defined in G.S. 166A-19.3, or a federally declared disaster, shall create a rebuttable presumption of the death of a person.”
Alena Ayers remains, 301 days later, on a list of five people missing because of Hurricane Helene. The others: Kim Ashby, a Sanford teacher, went missing from a vacation home in Avery County; Lenny Widawski, a Yancey County musician, lived near the Ayers; and Yevhenii Segen and Tatiana Novitnia of Yancey County.
This weekend will begin the 44th week of recovery from Helene. The storm made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in Dekle Beach, Fla., on Sept. 26. The storm killed 107 in North Carolina, 236 in the South, and caused an estimated $60 billion damage in the Tarheel State.
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Author: Ray Hilbrich
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