Editor’s Note: State Police released information Wednesday that said the child that died was a two-year-old boy.
WELCH, W.Va. — Residents of Welch are grieving the loss of a husband and wife and their young grandchild who were swept away in the flooded Tug Fork River.
All three bodies have now been recovered from the debris-filled water.
Donald and Debbie Griffin and three granddaughters got caught up in the swollen river Saturday night along state Route 103 in Welch.
McDowell County Commissioner Michael Brooks told MetroNews in Welch Tuesday afternoon that he’ll never forget what he heard.
“This happened directly below my home. I heard the people screaming, ‘Help me! Help me!”
He said first responders were in the area and jumped in but they couldn’t keep the family from heading down river.
“The Welch Fire Department guys were in the river helping…..grown men in tears saying ‘I tried. I tried.’ A friend of mine tried to help with the granddaughter and he said, ‘I tried.’ The chief of police bent over saying, ‘I don’t know how long I can do this,”” Brooks said.
Miraculously a teenage girl and her younger sister were saved near Coney Island.
“They saved them directly before the bridge,” Brooks said.
MORE see photo gallery of McDowell County damage here
He said he texted the father of the young first responder who helped pull the victims to safety and thanked him for how he raised his son.
Welch resident Gabriel Underwood said he goes to school with the older girl who survived.
“She floated from the Pizza Hut all of the way down to Coney Island and they pulled her out. She was shivering, purple. It hurts man,” Underwood told MetroNews.
The body of Donald Griffin was recovered Monday. The body of Debbie Griffin early Tuesday. The body of the third victim, a young girl, was found Tuesday afternoon six to eight miles downstream outside the city limits of Davy, Brooks said.
The county is also grieving the death of War VFD Deputy Chief Jeffrey Lawson who suffered a medical episode on the way to a fire Monday night and died. A second firefighter, Gary Coleman, of Jolo, collapsed at the scene of the fire and remains hospitalized in critical condition.
Brooks used to be the McDowell County sheriff and he said he’s seen his share of tragedy. He said it never gets any easier.
“We’re not stranger to it but I can tell you this—it sure doesn’t get any easier and sometimes I think it’s worse,” he said.
There are currently no other reports of fatalities.
Old Armory recovery central
The old armory building along Route 16 in Welch is serving as the headquarters for flood recovery.
Brooks and his fellow commissioners, including Commissioner DeWayne Dotson, are helping coordinate recovery efforts.
Dotson said the county leadership is committed to helping residents get through this together.
“A lot of us have lost something–material things–but the thing right now is that we’re focusing on the people, day and night,” Dotson said. “All of us are spending 20 hours a day here. We’re not going home. We’re camped out here.”
McDowell County officials urge residents to call the county’s flood helpline for assistance at 888-929-4966 and to fill out a state damage assessment survey that will help in gaining a federal disaster declaration.