Families rush to loved ones after Helene hits small NC towns [Video]

BURNSVILLE, N.C. — Laura Shelton got up early and headed to the airport Tuesday after Helene hit.

“I started seeing pictures on Facebook Friday morning, and I started to get really worried,” Shelton shared.

She booked a one-way flight from Houston, Texas, to Charlotte, North Carolina. The plan is to eventually make her way to her hometown of Burnsville, North Carolina, which is about 40 minutes north of Asheville, because her mother and grandparents still live there.

“I got word Sunday morning that there had been a mudslide behind my family’s house,” Shelton recalled. “I thought my family was dead. I had not heard anything.”

After combing through social media and even reaching out to one of her high school teachers, she was finally able to contact …