Dad, 75, Clung to Tree for Hours Before Being Swept Away by Helene Floodwaters in Front of His Family

A 75-year-old North Carolina man was swept away by Hurricane Helene floodwaters after clinging to a tree for hours as neighbors and family heard him crying for help, but were unable to reach him.

Bruce Tipton was at home in Marshall on Friday, Sept. 27, as water from the French Broad River came roaring beneath him, according to The New York Times. 

“One minute he’s standing in the front door, and the next minute, the trailer’s gone,” niece Annie Meadows told the newspaper.

Family, friends and neighbors then looked from afar as Tipton clutched onto a nearby tree for about seven hours. Though it was hard for many to spot him, they could hear his calls for help.

Tipton, a Navy veteran, was raised in the small town of about 800, and was used to the weather, per the Times. Although firefighters had told residents to evacuate, Tipton declined, according to neighbor Jason Blankenship.

But as Walnut Volunteer Fire Department Assistant Chief Mitch Hampton told the outlet, Helene was like "nothing that any of us have ever seen before."

PEOPLE has reached out to Hampton for comment. 

The Times reported that Meadows’s fiancé did make an attempt to try and reach Tipton, but the cable tied around his waist to help navigate the waters was too short to reach the tree.

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When rescuers arrived, and they said that the water was unsafe to go into and said that they would return at daybreak, per the paper.

But just before 11 p.m. local time, Tipton fell into the water and was washed away.

Though trying to save Tipton would have compromised the team, Hampton said the inability to help was devastating. “That was the worst one,” he told the outlet. “We couldn’t get to him.”

As of Tuesday, Oct. 1, at least 152 people have died across six states as a result of the storm, according to the Associated Press. Nearly half of the deaths occurred in North Carolina.

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell told PEOPLE on Tuesday, Oct. 1, that an “active rescue mission” is still ongoing in the state as some communities remain “isolated because of the damage to roads.”

Criswell added that although time has passed, “there are still a lot of risks out there” in the areas impacted by Helene, including downed trees and power lines, dangerous debris and high river levels.

“People just need to be cognizant,” the official added. “They need to be aware of their surroundings. They need to look out for each other and just know that the risks after a storm can be as dangerous as the risks during the storm, and to just be careful.”

Find out how you can help the victims of Hurricane Helene here.