As the Hurricane Helene-driven waters rose around the Nolichucky River in Tennessee, Boone McCrary, his girlfriend and his chocolate lab headed out on his fishing boat to search for a man who was stranded by floodwaters that had leveled his home. But the thick debris in the water jammed the boat’s motor, and without power, it slammed into a bridge support and capsized.
McCrary and his dog Moss never made it out of the water alive.
Search teams found McCrary’s boat and his dog’s body two days later, but it took four days to find McCrary, an emergency room nurse whose passion was being on his boat in that river. His girlfriend, Santana Ray, held onto a branch for hours before rescuers reached her.
David Boutin, the man McCrary had set out to rescue, was distraught when he later learned McCrary had died trying to save him.
“I’ve never had anyone risk their life for me,” Boutin told The Associated Press. “From what I hear that was the way he always been. He’s my guardian angel, that’s for sure.”
The 46-year-old recalled how the force of the water swept him out his front door and ripped his dog Buddy — “My best friend, all I have” — from his arms. Boutin was rescued by another team after clinging to tree branches in the raging river for six hours. Buddy is still missing, and Boutin knows he couldn’t have survived.
McCrary was one of at least 230 people killed by Hurricane Helene’s raging waters and falling trees across six states — Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia — and was among a group of first responders who perished while trying to save others. The hurricane caused significant damage in nearby Unicoi County, where flooding swept away 11 workers at an plastics factory and forced a rescue mission at an Erwin, Tennessee, hospital.
McCrary, an avid hunter and fisherman, spent his time cruising the waterways that snake around Greeneville, Tennessee. When the hurricane hit, the 32-year-old asked friends on Facebook if anyone needed help, said his sister, Laura Harville. That was how he learned about Boutin.
McCrary, his girlfriend and Moss the dog launched into a flooded neighborhood at about 7 p.m. on Sept. 27 and approached Boutin’s location, but the debris-littered floodwaters clogged the boat’s jet motor. Despite pushing and pulling the throttle, McCrary couldn’t clear the junk and slammed into the bridge about two hours into the rescue attempt.
“I got the first phone call at 8:56 p.m. and I was a nervous wreck,” Harville said. She headed to the bridge and started walking the banks.
Harville organized hundreds of volunteers who used drones, thermal cameras, binoculars and hunting dogs to scour the muddy banks, fending off copperhead snakes, trudging through knee-high muck and fighting through tangled branches. Harville collected items that carried McCrary’s scent — a pillowcase, sock and insoles from his nursing shoes — and stuffed them into mason jars for the canines to sniff.
On Sunday, a drone operator spotted the boat. They found Moss dead nearby, but there was no sign of McCrary.
Searchers had no luck on Monday, “but on Tuesday they noticed vultures flying,” Harville said. That was how they found McCrary’s body, about 21 river miles (33 kilometers) from the bridge where the boat capsized, she said.
Boutin, 46, isn’t sure where he will go next. He is staying with his son for a few days and then hopes to get a hotel voucher.
He didn’t learn about McCrary’s fate until the day after he was rescued.
“When the news hit, I didn’t know how to take it,” Boutin told the AP. “I wish I could thank him for giving his life for me.”
Dozens of McCrary’s coworkers at Greenville Community Hospital have posted tributes to him, recalling his kindness and compassion and desire to help others. He “was adamant about living life to the fullest and making sure along the way that you didn’t forget your fellow man or woman and that you helped each other,” Harville said.
McCrary’s last TikTok video posted before the hurricane shows him speeding along the surface of rushing muddy water to the tune, “Wanted Dead or Alive.” He wrote a message along the bottom that read:
“Some people have asked if I had a ‘death wish.’ The truth is that I have a ‘life wish.’ I have a need for feeling the life running through my veins. One thing about me, I may be ‘crazy,’ Perhaps a little reckless at times, but when the time comes to put me in the ground, you can say I lived it all the way.”
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Bellisle reported from Seattle.
Here are some PAA (Problem-Awareness-Action) related questions based on the title and context of the debate surrounding Hurricane Helene and Boone McCrary’s rescue attempt:
The tragic events surrounding Hurricane Helene and the heroism displayed by Boone McCrary raise significant questions about risk, community involvement, and emergency response during natural disasters. A key question that could spark debate is:
“Should individuals take it upon themselves to perform rescues during natural disasters, like Boone McCrary did, or should such efforts be left strictly to trained professionals, considering the potential consequences?”
On one side of the debate, proponents of community involvement may argue that acts of bravery and selflessness, such as McCrary’s attempt to rescue David Boutin, are valuable and necessary in times of crisis. They might point out that during emergencies, help may be slow to arrive, and the presence of ordinary citizens can significantly impact lives. McCrary’s actions demonstrate the spirit of community and the lengths one might go to save others, exemplifying heroism in the face of danger.
Conversely, opponents might highlight the risks associated with untrained individuals attempting rescues in hazardous conditions. McCrary’s tragic fate serves as a cautionary tale that illustrates how quickly a rescue effort can turn into a disaster. They may argue that rescuing people during floods requires special skills, equipment, and training to ensure both the rescuer’s and the victim’s safety, and that volunteers can often become victims themselves, which complicates rescue operations further.
This debate touches on broader themes of personal agency versus collective safety during emergencies, and how communities can best prepare and respond to disasters like Hurricane Helene, which claimed at least 230 lives across several states [3[3[3[3[3[3[3[3].
Ethical disasters examples
Uld individuals prioritize personal safety over altruism during natural disasters, or is there a moral obligation to help others at all costs?”
This question invites discussion on the balance between self-preservation and the instinct to assist those in distress, especially in the context of Boone McCrary’s tragic and heroic attempt to save someone during the flooding caused by Hurricane Helene. Participants can explore the implications of risk-taking in emergency situations, personal responsibility, and the role of community support in disaster scenarios.
