Dad battles hurricane debris in 30-mile trek to daughter's wedding

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. — A determined South Carolina father walked 30 miles through hurricane-ravaged terrain to reach his daughter's wedding. He navigated through treacherous flood debris, narrowly escaping dangerous encounters with heavy machinery during his overnight journey.

Local news outlet WJHL reported that David Jones completed the five-and-a-half-hour trek on foot after Hurricane Helene's severe flooding made roads impassable. The former marathon runner began his journey when a state trooper informed him that Interstate 26 and all alternative routes to the venue were closed.

The trip, which typically takes two hours by car from his South Carolina home, had already stretched to seven hours on the road before Jones decided to continue on foot. His only source of light during the darkness was his phone's flashlight.

"It is awful," Jones told WJHL. "And I can tell you a lot about the mud and the debris fields where I have to climb six, seven-foot-tall piles of debris of old fences and huge trees and it was just a tangled mess and dead-end roads and all kinds of things."

The journey became particularly dangerous when Jones encountered road-clearing operations in the darkness. While stuck knee-deep in mud, he had to repeatedly dodge the swinging arm of a backhoe operated by a crew member who could not see him.

"I was up to my knees in mud and could not move," Jones said. "And he does not see me. Of course, his cab is facing the other way. Most of the time, he is swinging this thing around, and I am ducking. Really, I am thinking this could be it. There was a lot of prayer at that point."

The incident occurred amid Hurricane Helene's devastating impact across the southeastern United States. The Category 4 hurricane first struck Florida's Big Bend coastline with 155-mph winds before moving through Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, leaving a death toll of 192 people.

After freeing himself from the mud, losing and retrieving a shoe in the process, Jones collected a reflective stake to make himself visible to passing vehicles. He later presented this stake to his daughter, Elizabeth, and her new husband, Daniel, as a wedding gift.

Elizabeth Marquez, his daughter, learned of her father's ordeal only after the ceremony. "That is so emotionally moving [to know] that my dad loves me that much, that he will come and go through all of that to get to my wedding and be there on time," she told WJHL.

Jones declined to be called a hero for his actions, stating he only did "what any dad would do." He presented the reflective stake at the reception with a message about protection and reflection. "I brought the reflector to the reception, and I presented it to Elizabeth, my daughter, and Daniel just for them to remember, to be a protector and a good reflection of each other and a reflection of God," Jones said.

The wedding took place as communities across multiple states dealt with Helene's aftermath. The storm caused widespread flooding and mudslides throughout the Appalachian region, with rescue teams working to clear roads and recover victims. In North Carolina alone, 35 people died in the Asheville area, while a tornado in Rocky Mount injured 15 others.

Despite the challenges posed by one of the most severe storms to hit the region, Jones completed his journey in time to fulfill his role in the ceremony. His daughter said he remains "a hero" to her, expressing gratitude that he made it to the wedding safely.