Asheville police detective, others work to return photos lost during Helene to owners

Asheville Police Department Detective Sam DeGrave and others saved hundreds of photos along the Swannanoa River in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene .

Now, the police department is working to get these lost photos back to their rightful owners, ABC affiliate WLOS reported.

APD spent hours in flood zones during the nearly three weeks after the storm hit.

WLOS reported on the day the flood hit, DeGrave was working on the evacuation efforts and assisting with swift water rescues. He returned the next day.

“We had watched several houses float down the river there and were trying to start going back and seeing if there were people in need of rescue,” DeGrave said.

And that’s when he found the first picture. He snagged it, not sure who the little girl was or where it came from.

SEE ALSO | Biltmore Estate to reopen in November after suffering ‘extensive’ damage from Hurricane Helene

The 8,000-acre Biltmore Estate had significant damage in some buildings after Helene ripped through Western North Carolina, the Biltmore said.

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