HOPEWELL, Va. — A Hopewell sheriff’s deputy with decades of military and law enforcement experience told CBS 6 senior reporter Wayne Covil that his recent time in Western North Carolina, following Hurricane Helene, will stay with him forever.
Deputy Dustin Chappell, who served two tours in Iraq, was among the first responders to assist in the aftermath of the storm.
"I spend so much of my time in North Carolina. I feel like it’s really a second home to me," Chappell said. "I really felt called to go out there and help in some way."
The hurricane caused widespread damage, leaving communities in need of both immediate aid and long-term recovery efforts.
He began his work by removing items from flooded homes.
"To get sediment out of their houses, cut trees, things like that," he said.
But soon, his expertise was put to the test when he met a woman who gave him a life-saving mission.
"She said, 'I have to get this on that mountain, which is Pisgah Mountain,'" he said about the destination with no accessible roads. "So we got up on the mountain, and we got the feed to the farmers who were up there for cattle and horses."
From there, the tasks kept coming.
"The next day they gave us two more missions: to deliver medications, blood pressure and heart medications, first aid items, and fuel," he said.
Using quads and side-by-sides, Chappell and his crew learned the best ways to get up the mountain.
"We hauled in a bunch of large generators to run homes. We just made multiple trips up that mountain with as many generators as we could," he said. "It was utter destruction, everything was destroyed."
As Chappell and his team made progress on the mountain, a special request was made to him and some soldiers from the 101st Airborne: create two landing zones for Chinook helicopters to land with supplies.
While the destruction was everywhere, Chappell and his crew began to see something quite remarkable.
"They pulled themselves up by the bootstraps. And they did for each other. It wasn’t about them. It was about their neighbor and taking care of the other people around them," Chappell said.
Now back on the road in Hopewell, Chappell has one more mission planned for Western North Carolina. He plans to load up a freezer and distribute frozen turkeys for families to enjoy over the holidays.
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email messages for Deputy Chappell to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
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