HAYWOOD COUNTY, N.C. — Naomi Haney says she has great memories with her mom growing up in High Point. 

Haney says for most of her life, it was just her and her mom, Judy Mason. 

What You Need To Know

  • Judy Mason, 73, was one of the six people who died during the Aug. 17 flash flood in Haywood County caused by Tropical Storm Fred

  • Mason was retired and living at the Laurel Bank Campground in Canton, which received record rainfall

  • Her daughter, Naomi Haney, lives in Charlotte and drove to Canton after the storm to find her mom, who was missing

  • Six months after the flood, Haney hopes the next time Haywood County is threatened by severe weather, a mandatory evacuation is put in place

She says her mom worked for over 40 years at a hospital and when she retired, she wanted to go back and live in the North Carolina mountains. 

"She loved it there; she was born in Bryson City, so she wanted to be close to the mountains," Haney, who lives in Charlotte, said. 

She says her mom found the perfect spot to retire at the Laurel Bank Campground in Canton. 

Mason loved her camper — it had a huge porch with beautiful chairs and swings. 

Haney says her mom quickly became a part of the campground family, spending their days porch sitting and listening to the river. 

The third week of August 2021, Haney was planning on driving to Haywood County to pick up her mom, who was 73, and bring her home because she was sick with COVID-19. 

At the time, Tropical Storm Fred was making its way to North Carolina. 

Because of the severe weather, Haney didn't make the drive but kept asking her mom to come and to keep an eye on the weather.

"Mom, I told her, I really need to come and get you, because I’m worried," Haney said. "What if a tree falls on your camper? I'm thinking really strong winds, and she’s like, one of the last text messages she sent me was, 'Anything can happen to anyone at any time.'" 

Related

On Aug. 17, record rainfall fell on Haywood County, devastating the towns of Canton and Clyde, creating a flash flood and overtaking the campground. 

Haney said her mom wasn't responding to her texts and not picking up her phone. 

She put her mom on Haywood County's emergency response missing person list and drove to Haywood County. 

As she drove around the town, she couldn't believe the damage. Her mother's camper was gone. 

After two days of searching, a firefighter found her mom's body. 

"It hurt," Haney said. 

Six months later, she is still dealing with the loss. 

She hopes the county changes its emergency response by making evacuations mandatory when severe weather hits. 

"Not, you know, you should probably leave, but they didn’t really know what was coming and neither did I," Haney said.