ASHEVILLE, N.C. — An Asheville couple is left with mixed emotions after leaving the city during Hurricane Helene.
Jacqueline Twohig and Doug Frieders vividly recalled the moments that water moved into their complex in a conversation with WCNC Charlotte.
The two moved from the Midwest to Asheville earlier this year and recall every moment before evacuating.
“We looked outside and the water was up, like halfway up our building, which was on stilts, and then we just grabbed what we could and got out of there," Frieders said.
The two were able to evacuate and are now staying with a relative in Charlotte. They initially thought they would be able to return soon after.
“We thought we were going to go back in a couple hours,” Twohig said.
Some residents in the couple's complex did not evacuate and became some of Helene's victims.
“We knew two of the people still in the building," Twohig said. "One of them is still missing. They haven't found his body. One of them, they did find her body. It's just awful. We saw them every day. That could have been us if we didn't leave. [There is] immense guilt [from] that too."
All that's left of their complex is wood, tree debris, and damaged homes.
“We visited [on Monday] for the first time, and that was just heartbreaking to go back to all of it, " Twohig said. "We were in it when all the damage was happening, and then we got out, and then seeing the aftermath, it's just devastating.”
As the couple look towards making their next step, they plan to help Asheville with recoveries as well.
“What's inspiring us to get back there is we want to help to rebuild it and make it as good as ever,” Frieders said.
Residents at their Riverview Apartments on Rivers Edge Road started a gofundme to help with finances as the recovery. continues.