(NORTH CAROLINA) — Six months after Hurricane Helene destroyed communities across the Southeast, five people remain missing in North Carolina due to the storm, according to officials.
The missing include one person from Avery County, one from Mitchell County and three from Yancey County — all of whom have not been in contact since the Category 4 hurricane hit North Carolina in September, officials confirmed to ABC News.
Alena Ayers from Mitchell County has been missing since the hurricane’s start, according to Sheriff Donald Street.
Yancey County Sheriff Shane Hilliard said Lenny Widsawski, Yevhenii Segen and Tetyana Novitnia have also been missing since Helene devastated the area.
Avery County Sheriff’s Office could not confirm the name of the individual missing since the beginning of the storm.
Names continue to be removed from the list of missing, with one found as recently as last week.
On March 28, an individual who had been missing since Helene’s destruction was found and identified as 66-year-old Russell Wilber, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services confirmed on Wednesday.
Wilber was recovered in Avery County after he had “washed into the Toe River from a campground,” officials said.
As of Tuesday, there have been 107 “verified storm-related fatalities in North Carolina,” officials said.
On the six-month anniversary of the hurricane, North Carolina Rep. Dudley Greene filed “Alena’s Law,” which allows for a “presumption of death in instances where the disappearance and continued absence of a person coincides with a disaster declaration,” the bill said. It is still working its way through the House before a vote.
Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region on Sept. 26 as a Category 4 hurricane. Days later, in Asheville, North Carolina, the storm caused historic flooding that devastated roads, bridges and structures.
The storm also ravaged through Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee.
More than 230 people have died from the storm, which has become the deadliest mainland hurricane since Katrina in 2005.
On March 27, “Good Morning America” returned to Asheville and announced $3 million in donations to the community from corporate sponsors including Lowe’s, Food Lion, Samsung, BetterHelp, Bojangles, Red Ventures, Armstrong Flooring, 84 Lumber, Family Dollar, Honeywell, Starbucks and Hanes.
(NEW YORK) — The killing of Clint Bonnell, a retired Green Beret whose remains were found in a North Carolina lake earlier this year, left his loved ones reeling. Now, his wife has been charged with his murder.
“We as a community have been devastated,” Kelli Edwards, Bonnell’s girlfriend, told ABC News. “How do you comprehend something like this? There’s really no comprehension.”
She added, “Whatever’s happened to him he didn’t deserve — no one deserves any of that — but he was just a really beautiful human being.”
Bonnell was in his second semester of physician’s assistant school at Methodist University in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and was the president of the cohort, Edwards said.
“This is a Green Beret who was a patriot to the Corps, who served for our country, who helped his fellow teammates with all their injuries, who deployed on teams, who went all around the world and he comes home and retires in three weeks and this is what happens? This is not okay,” Edwards said.
Edwards said Bonnell told her he was already going through the process of getting a divorce. Bonnell said he and his wife had been living separately for a couple of years and he had met with divorce attorneys, she said.
“After trying to make a marriage work for a long time, he decided it was best to cut cords and move on. And so when I met him, he was already at that stage,” Edwards said.
She added, “He was very intelligent, highly intelligent. But I think he really tried to see the best in everybody he was around. You have that personality which is a really great trait to have and sometimes it can be a flaw.”
Police said a wellbeing check on Bonnell was called in by an employee at the Methodist University on Jan. 28 after Bonnell did not attend class. When deputies arrived to the home, they spoke to his wife, Shana Cloud, who said she had not seen Bonnell since the day before, according to the Cumberland County Sheriff’s office.
Bonnell’s vehicle, school bag and other items were found in the residence, police said. A second wellbeing check was requested later in the evening by a friend of Bonnell, according to the sheriff’s office.
He was ultimately declared a missing person. Police executed multiple search warrants before human remains were found in a lake on Feb. 25.
Several weeks later, the remains were identified as belonging to Bonnell.
His wife has now been charged with first degree murder and felony concealing an unnatural death.
Cloud, a former traveling nurse who worked for the Virginia Department of Corrections, remains in custody without bond. Her attorney maintains her innocence, according to ABC station WTVD in Durham, North Carolina.
“Ms. Cloud looks forward to her day in court,” her defense said.
In court, prosecutors alleged Cloud was seen on video near the location where Bonnell’s remains were found, according to WTVD.
“Mr. Bonnell told his girlfriend that he had let the defendant know about the divorce and his plans the night before,” said Cumberland County District Attorney William West in court Monday. “We believe he was killed the following morning.”
Bonnell was shot multiple times, prosecutors say. A search of the couple’s home uncovered bullet holes in his book bag and laptop, according to WTVD.
Edwards said she started noticing some uncomfortable patterns and things happening in Bonnell’s life as their relationship got more serious.
“He didn’t really talk much about his wife in the beginning. I just knew more about his daughter, how much he loved his daughter and all the things that you know she’d brought to his life,” she said.
Edwards said she saw Bonnell the Monday he went missing and said you could tell he had a lot on his mind.
“The last text was that he was going to bed and good night basically. And that was it. And the next morning I texted an early morning text and there was no delivery,” she said.
Edwards said she called in a welfare check when she wasn’t hearing back from Bonnell the next day.
“I knew that something was wrong because we were in communication a lot during the day — mostly text messaging because he was in school — and I didn’t hear from him on the 28th of January,” Edwards said.
Edwards said she wants people to remember Bonnell as an amazing human who left an impact on many people.
“He was a very, just a jovial, happy human and he was really looking forward to his next part of his life, closing a chapter, coming out of the Army after 20 years, being in PA school — he was looking forward to the next chapter,” Edwards said.
The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office said, “Our hearts go out to the Bonnell family, the Special Forces community, and the Methodist University Physician’s Assistant Program during this difficult time.”
No additional details will be released in the case “out of respect” for Bonnell and the integrity of the investigation, the sheriff’s department said.
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump has indicated to top advisers that Elon Musk could be taking a step back from his current role in the administration, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
Musk is employed by the government as a “special government employee” — meaning his appointment is not to exceed 130 days. His term would be up around the end of May, but it was widely rumored that the White House could take steps to keep him on or extend his employment status in some way.
As ABC News has previously reported, Musk’s decision-making has divided Trump’s top aides and at times has sparked rifts among those closest to the president.
Some of Musk’s defenders in the White House caution reporting that Musk is being pushed out is overblown, sources said.
Trump remains pleased with what Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency team have done with their cost-cutting across the government, despite the backlash publicly and in the courts, according to sources.
Politico was first to report the news that Trump had told top advisers that Musk would likely be taking a step back from his role in the coming weeks.
Trump said publicly on Monday that Musk will likely have to go back and run Tesla at some point. The president was asked specifically about the 130-day special government employee time limit.
“Well, I think he’s … amazing. But I also think he’s got a big company to run. And so, at some point he’s going to be going back. He wants to.” Trump said.
ABC News previously reported that some White House officials who had grown frustrated with Musk had resigned themselves that the billionaire is unlikely to be reined in anytime soon and had instead focused on managing the situation as best they can until his special government contract comes to an end in May.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
(MADERA, Calif.) — A man who said he hates big pharmacies allegedly gunned down a Walgreens worker in California, according to police.
Narciso Gallardo Fernandez had a handgun in his pocket when he went into a Walgreens in Madera, shooting out a security camera before he allegedly shot and killed employee Erick Velasquez around 9:30 p.m. Monday, Madera police said.
Fernandez then fired his gun at other store employees as they fled, police said.
Velasquez died at the store, where bystanders were sheltering in place, police said.
Responding officers found the 30-year-old suspect in the parking lot, reloading his gun, according to police. Fernandez was taken into custody to be booked for homicide, police said.
Madera is about 25 miles outside of Fresno.
The victim and suspect didn’t appear to know each other, but Fernandez allegedly told investigators he hates big pharmacies, Madera Police Chief Giachino Chiaramonte told ABC News.
Chiaramonte said he does not believe this shooting was inspired by Luigi Magione, who is accused of the targeted killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December.
Velasquez was a Walgreens worker, but not a pharmacist, the chief noted. The pharmacy was closed at the time of the shooting and the victim was not shot in the pharmacy area, he added.
Fernandez is expected to appear in court on Wednesday.
(OKLAHOMA CITY, OK) — A once-in-a generation extreme weather event is beginning Wednesday with a tornado outbreak and will continue into the weekend with four days of dangerous flooding pounding the same region.
First, wind gusts up to 50 mph are possible all day Wednesday for more than 65 million Americans across 13 states from Texas to Ohio.
A tornado watch is in place for Oklahoma, eastern Kansas and northwest Missouri on Wednesday morning. At least two tornadoes have already been reported in Missouri on Wednesday morning.
There’s a rare high risk (level 5 of 5) warning for destructive storms, which could bring strong, long-track tornadoes of EF3+ strength, very large hail up to the size of tennis balls and destructive winds greater than 70 mph.
Wednesday’s high risk area spans Jonesboro, Arkansas, to Memphis, Tennessee, to Paducah, Kentucky. The high risk lasts from Wednesday afternoon until midnight.
A level 5 of 5 high risk is issued less than 1% of days; people within the area are three times more likely to be hit by a tornado than in a 1 of 5 risk area.
A level 4 of 5 warning is in effect from Little Rock, Arkansas, to Louisville, Kentucky.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has declared a state of emergency.
“We’re really concerned about people’s safety, especially in the overnight, because when storms or tornadoes hit while people are asleep, that’s sadly when we’ve lost the most people,” he said in a statement. “So, everybody out there, be really careful.”
But the biggest threat is from the rain.
Historically high rainfall will create a particularly dangerous situation, or PDS, for flooding Wednesday through Sunday.
Nearly 4 million Americans are under the PDS flood watch in Arkansas, northern Mississippi and western Tennessee through Sunday morning. Cities in the PDS flood watch include Memphis, Little Rock, Jonesboro and Union City.
On Wednesday, a moderate risk for excessive rainfall (level 3 of 4) is in place from Little Rock to Memphis to Nashville to Louisville.
Overall, more than 32 million Americans are under a general flood watch until Sunday morning. Major cities in this general flood watch include Louisville, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Detroit.
On Thursday, the flood threat grows even more extreme over the same area. A rare high risk (level 4 of 4) from excessive rainfall will be in place from Jonesboro to the Memphis suburbs to Paducah.
On Friday, a moderate risk (level 3 of 4) for excessive rainfall is in place from just north of Dallas to Jonesboro to St. Louis.
On Saturday, the final day of this multiday life-threatening event will bring even more heavy rain from Jonesboro to Memphis to Louisville to Cincinnati.
The four-day event will leave 10 to 15 inches of rain or more over the bull’s-eye area from Jonesboro to Paducah. Seven to 10 inches of rain is possible from Little Rock to Memphis to Louisville to Cincinnati.
The system will finally be on the move Sunday afternoon, bringing rain to the Southeast on Sunday evening, Monday and Tuesday.
(WASHINGTON) — A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from cutting funding to the program that provides legal representation to tens of thousands of unaccompanied migrant children.
In her ruling Tuesday night, U.S. District Judge Araceli Martinez Olguin said the groups that sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services over the cuts “have suffered near-immediate financial impacts, and they have thus made a sufficient showing of concrete and imminent economic injury.”
“The irreparable harm resulting from Defendants’ actions weighs in favor of temporary injunctive relief,” Judge Olguin said.
Judge Olguin said that the government’s termination of funding for direct legal representation directly interferes with the groups’ mission, “impeding their ability to provide the direct legal representation of unaccompanied children in immigration proceedings.”
“The Court additionally finds that the continued funding of legal representation for unaccompanied children promotes efficiency and fairness within the immigration system,” the judge said.
Last week, groups that have collectively received over $200 million in federal grants were told that the program’s contract was partially terminated, ending the funding for legal representation and for the recruitment of attorneys to represent migrant children in immigration proceedings.
Currently, 26,000 migrant children receive legal representation through the funding.
Michael Lukens, the executive director for the Amica Center, which represents migrant children in the Washington, D.C., area, called the ruling “a win” for advocates who work with unaccompanied children every day.
“While we recognize that this is the first step in this fight, we are grateful to see the courts are recognizing the immense damage that the government’s decision in canceling this funding means to children and our organizations,” said Lukens. “There should be no political divide over protecting children.”
(OKLAHOMA CITY, OK) — A once-in-a-generation extreme weather event is expected to begin Wednesday, starting with a tornado outbreak and continuing into the weekend with the possibility of flooding in epic proportions — with all the severe weather devastating the same corridor.
Overnight, two tornadoes were reported in Kansas. Hail larger than golf balls was reported in Oklahoma. And 80 mph winds were reported in Nebraska.
A particularly dangerous situation flood watch has been issued across parts of three states for Wednesday through Sunday.
And an exceedingly rare double whammy of high risk for tornadoes, and then high risk for extreme flooding, has been issued for the same area.
Gusts up to 50 mph are possible on Wednesday for more than 65 million Americans across 13 states from Texas to Ohio.
The risk for tornadoes is already increasing as a line of storms moves into Oklahoma. And very large hail and damaging winds are also possible.
A tornado watch is in place for much of Oklahoma, eastern Kansas, and northwest Missouri until 10 a.m. CT.
A line of severe storms is stretching at about 6 a.m. CT for hundreds of miles from Kansas City, Missouri, to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, with gusts up to 60 mph.
A rare high risk for destructive storms — strong long-track tornadoes of EF3+ strength, very large hail up to the size of tennis balls, and destructive winds greater than 70 mph — are all possible.
Areas under Wednesday’s high risk – timing between 3 p.m. and midnight – stretch from Memphis, Tennessee, to Paducah, Kentucky, including Jackson, Tennessee, and Jonesboro, Arkansas.
And there’s a moderate risk — level four of five — where strong tornadoes, very large hail, and damaging winds are also possible – from Little Rock, Arkansas, to Louisville, Kentucky. An enhanced risk — level three — is also in effect from Dallas, Texas, to Chicago, Illinois, to near Detroit, Michigan.
Storms are expected to reach Memphis close to 6 p.m. CT, if not sooner, and then their heavy rain event begins and the faucet may not shut off for days.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Maiker Escalona was a barber in Venezuela. (Raida)
(NEW YORK) — Over the last month, the Trump administration has sent over 200 alleged Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador to be detained in a notorious mega-prison with a track record of human rights abuses.
An official with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has acknowledged that “many” of the men lack criminal records in the United States — but said that “the lack of specific information about each individual actually highlights the risk they pose” and “demonstrates that they are terrorists with regard to whom we lack a complete profile.”
The families of some of the men — who learned about their whereabouts by seeing them in promotional videos shared by the El Salvadoran and United States governments — have denied any gang affiliation in court filings and shared their stories with ABC News. They said that they fear for the safety of their loved ones and do not know if they will ever return.
Maiker Espinoza Escalona – Deported to El Salvador under Title 8 on March 30
Escalona was detained by U.S. authorities last year when he tried to enter the United States to seek asylum with his partner Yorely Bernal Inciarte and their one-year old baby.
The family was immediately separated, with Escalona sent to a detention center in El Paso, Texas.
On Sunday, Escalona was deported to El Salvador under Title 8, with authorities alleging he was a member of Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua — an accusation his family denies.
“They are liars,” said Raida, Inciarte’s mother, of the Trump administration. “I cannot believe that half of Venezuela is Tren de Aragua. That can’t be.”
According to Escalona’s sister, he entered the United States to pursue a career as a barber and does not have a criminal record in Venezuela. She suspects he and his wife were detained based on their tattoos.
“He finished high school, he took courses in barbering and set up his barbershop in Venezuela. But things got a bit tough in Venezuela, so he emigrated to have a better life,” she said.
Jose Franco Caraballo Tiapa – Deported to El Salvador on March 15
Tiapa, a 26-year-old Venezuelan migrant who was seeking asylum in the U.S., was detained by immigration officials during a routine ICE check-in last month.
His wife Ivannoa Sanchez told ABC News she believes her husband is one of the hundreds of Venezuelan men who earlier this month was sent by plane to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act.
According to Sanchez, the couple crossed the U.S. border in November 2023 and surrendered to authorities. After claiming asylum and being detained for a few days, ICE released them and ordered them to check in routinely with the federal agency.
Sanchez said the couple had gone to several of their scheduled check-ins without experiencing any issues. But on Feb. 3, Tiapa was not allowed to return home with his wife despite being scheduled to have his first court appearance in his asylum case in March.
Sanchez provided ABC News with documents that confirmed Tiapa’s scheduled appointment with an immigration judge on March 19. She also provided ABC News with documents that show Tiapa does not have a criminal record in Venezuela.
“He went to his routine ICE appointment and he didn’t come out,” Sanchez told ABC News.
Sanchez said that after being detained in Dallas, her husband was transferred to a detention center in Laredo, Texas, where she was able to speak with him regularly. In mid-March, she said her husband told her that he believed he was going to be transferred and possibly deported, and she now believes he is detained in El Salvador’s notorious CECOT prison.
“He has never done anything, not even a fine, absolutely nothing,” Sanchez said of her husband. “We chose this country because it offers more security, more freedom, more peace of mind. But we didn’t know it would turn into chaos.”
Francisco Garcia Casique – Deported to El Salvador on March 15
Garcia Casique was detained by immigration authorities last month after going to an ICE office for a routine appointment, his brother told ABC News.
Garcia Casique originally entered the United States in December 2023 and surrendered to authorities, according to his brother Sebastian. After appearing before an immigration judge, Garcia Casique was released with an ankle monitor. A review of federal court records found no criminal court cases associated with Garcia Casique.
According to his brother, Garcia Casique was a professional barber who aspired to start a career in the United States.
“[He] was hoping for a better future to help us, help all the family members, and look at the situation now,” his brother said.
Earlier this month, Garcia Casique called his family from the detention center in Texas where he was being held to let them know that he believed he was being deported to Venezuela. A few days later, his family recognized his brother in a photo posted on social media by the White House.
“It’s a nightmare,” his brother told ABC News.
Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia – Deported to El Salvador on March 15 due to ‘administrative error’
Abrego Garcia — a Salvadoran national who has two U.S. family members and protected legal status — was sent to El Salvador’s notorious CECOT prison due to an “administrative error,” according to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement official.
Abrego Garcia entered the United States in 2011 when he was 16 to escape gang violence in El Salvador, according to his lawyers. He received a form of protected legal status in 2019, married a U.S. citizen, and has a 5-year-old child.
Earlier this month, he was detained by ICE officials who informed him that his immigration status had changed, sending him to a detention center in Texas before being removing him to El Salvador on Mar. 15.
While the Trump administration has argued that Abrego Garcia is a MS-13 member who is a “danger to the community,” his attorneys said that he “is not a member of” and “has no affiliation with Tren de Aragua, MS-13, or any other criminal or street gang,” and that the U.S. government “has never produced an iota of evidence to support this unfounded accusation.”
Jerce Reyes Barrios – Deported to El Salvador on March 15
Reyes Barrios was a professional soccer player in Venezuela who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border legally in 2024 after being detained and tortured by the Maduro regime, according to his attorney Linette Tobin.
He was immediately detained after authorities accused him of being a member of TdA based on what they said was a gang-affiliated tattoo, and they claimed a photo showed him throwing up gang signs. However, the tattoo in question was an homage to the Real Madrid soccer team logo adorned with a rosary and the word “Dios” meaning God, according to the artist who did the piece.
Barrios did not have a criminal record in Venezuela, according to government records reviewed by ABC News, and he worked as a professional soccer player and children’s soccer coach.
“He collaborates with the schools to teach children his techniques. A lot of children admire him because he’s a goalie,” his family member Ayari del Carmen Pedroza Guerrero said in an interview with ABC News.
Border czar Tom Homan defended Barrios’ removal when pressed about the lack of evidence regarding his alleged gang affiliation by ABC’s Jonathan Karl.
“We got to count on the men and women who do this every day for a living, who designated these people as a members of TdA, through, like I said, various law enforcement methods,” Homan said. “This will be litigated.”
(DALLAS, TEXAS) — A woman and a teenager drowned during an alleged smuggling attempt after the driver of their vehicle drove into a canal while fleeing authorities following major flooding in Texas, authorities said.
Now, two men face federal charges in connection with their deaths, the Department of Justice announced on Tuesday.
The DOJ said the incident occurred Friday morning in McAllen, which saw record rain bring severe flooding last week.
U.S. Border Patrol agents conducting surveillance spotted a white Ford F-150 that had “previously identified as being involved in alien smuggling,” according to the federal complaint. The agents surveilled the vehicle and saw a “body swap of suspected illegal aliens” with a black Ford Explorer, according to the complaint.
Agents followed the Ford Explorer and approached the vehicle after it stopped at a low spot in a flooded road, according to the complaint.
The driver of the Ford Explorer — identified by the DOJ as Jose Alexis Baeza-Combaluzier, a 26-year-old Mexican national — then fled and drove through the flooded area, according to the complaint.
The agents found the vehicle approximately half a mile away in a nearby canal, according to the complaint. The agents jumped into the canal and were able to rescue Baeza-Combaluzier and four migrants, including an undocumented Guatemalan and her 13-year-old son, according to the complaint.
Two other occupants of the vehicle drowned, the DOJ said. The rescued mother’s 14-year-old son was found in the recovered vehicle, and the body of another woman was recovered from the canal, according to the complaint.
Baeza-Combaluzier and the alleged driver of the white Ford F-150 — Vicente Garcia Jr., 18, of Roma, Texas — have been charged in the smuggling deaths, the Justice Department said.
Baeza-Combaluzier was denied bail during a court appearance on Monday and is scheduled to have a preliminary hearing on Wednesday, court records show. ABC News has reached out to his public defender for comment and has not gotten a response.
Garcia is expected to make his initial appearance on Wednesday. It is unclear if he has an attorney.
If convicted, they face up to life in prison or the possibility of a death sentence, prosecutors said.
(TABLE ROCK, SC) — Three teenagers are accused of causing a massive fire that ignited in a South Carolina state park after failing to extinguish cigarettes while on a hiking trail, officials said.
The teens — Nyzaire Jah-Neiz Marsh, 19, Tristan Tyler, 18, and Isaac Wilson, 18 — were arrested Tuesday on charges in connection with the origin of the Table Rock Fire, the South Carolina Forestry Commission said.
The teens were among several hikers who had been evacuated from Table Rock State Park in Pickens County on March 21 after first responders discovered the rapidly growing wildfire while searching for a missing hiker, the commission said.
They were questioned about the origins of the fire, and investigators “obtained evidence that they allege identified these subjects as suspects in the origin of the Table Rock State Park fire,” the South Carolina Forestry Commission said.
According to the arrest warrant affidavits, “the suspects took part in smoking activities on a hiking trail at the state park and did not extinguish their cigarettes in a proper and safe manner, which officials allege led to the ignition of the Table Rock Fire,” the South Carolina Forestry Commission said.
The three teens are charged with one count each of negligently allowing fire to spread to lands or property of another, a misdemeanor, the commission said. They were booked and released on $7,500 bonds. Online court records did not list any attorney information for them.
If convicted, they face up to 30 days in jail or a $200 fine.
A fourth suspect, a juvenile, was also charged with one count of the same offense and released into the custody of his parents, the commission said.
The Table Rock Fire has burned more than 13,000 acres total in South Carolina and North Carolina since igniting on March 21, the South Carolina Forestry Commission said Tuesday. It was 30% contained as of Tuesday morning.
Fire crews responded from multiple states to help battle the blaze, which prompted the evacuation of more than 1,400 homes and businesses on Thursday.
The South Carolina Forestry Commission issued a burning ban for all counties on March 21 due to the elevated wildfire risk.
The following day, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster declared a state of emergency to support the response to the Table Rock Fire.
