THE TRIAD CW. WELCOME BACK TONIGHT. HALLOWEEN HIT WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA WITH A FURY NEARLY SEVEN WEEKS AGO. THE STORM LEADING TO FLOODING ACROSS THE AREA, INCLUDING BOONE. BUT AS THE WATERS WERE RISING, SOMETHING HAPPENED TO CREATE A REUNION FOR DECADES IN THE MAKING. WXII 12 CHRIS PETERSON HAS THE REPORT HERE. LIKE MANY AREAS IN BOONE, HURRICANE HELENE LEFT THE GREENWAY A MUDDY MESS. BUT AMONGST ALL THE TRASH, SHE UNEARTHED A LOST TREASURE. OKAY, ROOMMATES OLIVIA CALDWELL AND FAITH JOHNSON LOVE WALKING THEIR DOGS. MARGAUX AND SAGE ON THE BOONE GREENWAY. SO WHEN HURRICANE HELENE FLOODED THEIR FAVORITE WALKING TRAIL, THEY CAME TO CLEAN UP THE NEXT DAY, WE WERE ABLE TO COME OUT TO HERE THE GREENWAY, WHERE WE SPEND A LOT OF TIME, AND WE JUST DID SOME CLEANUP BECAUSE WE WANTED TO DO SOMETHING. SO THEY PUT ON SOME GLOVES AND STARTED PICKING UP TRASH. BUT SOON SOMETHING CAUGHT FAITH’S EYE. IT WAS JUST IN HERE THAT WE WERE GETTING THINGS OUT OF THE WATER, GETTING THE THINGS OUT OF THE MUD, A LEATHER WALLET WASHED UP AMONG THE DEBRIS. FAITH AND OLIVIA TOOK IT HOME AND CLEANED IT OFF. THERE WERE A BUNCH OF CARDS IN THERE. THERE WAS SOME ID CARDS THAT WE HAD A LITTLE BIT OF A HARD TIME IDENTIFYING. AT FIRST, THE WALLET AND CARDS PIQUED OLIVIA’S INTEREST, AND SHE BEGAN THE SEARCH TO REUNITE THE WALLET WITH ITS RIGHTFUL OWNER. BUT ORGANIZATIONS LIKE THE DMV AND THE APPSTATE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION WOULDN’T SHARE PERSONAL INFORMATION. OLIVIA HIT A DEAD END. I WAS LIKE, I THOUGHT TO MYSELF, I’M GOING TO CALL THE BOONE P.D. AND SEE IF THEY CAN GIVE ME ANY RESOURCES AND THEY GAVE ME A WEBSITE, SOMETHING ALONG THE LINES OF FIND PEOPLE.COM OR SEARCH PEOPLE.COM AND THE FIRST SEARCH THAT I PUT IN THAT ENGINE, I FOUND HER INFORMATION. SHE SENT ME A TEXT AND A PICTURE OF THE WALLET. THE CONTENTS AND I ASSUMED IT WAS SOME KIND OF SCAM. VICKI WATERS GRADUATED FROM APPALACHIAN STATE IN THE EARLY 80S AND NOW LIVES IN CONNECTICUT. AFTER A FEW MOMENTS OF DISBELIEF, SHE REALIZED CALDWELL FOUND HER WALLET THAT WENT MISSING DUE TO UNUSUAL CIRCUMSTANCES. I HAD A CAR WRECK AND MY CAR ACTUALLY WENT OFF INTO A POND. THAT IS THE LAST TIME I REMEMBER SEEING THIS WALLET. CALDWELL SHIPPED THE WALLET TO CONNECTICUT. WATERS SAYS, LOOKING AT THE CONTENTS HAS TAKEN HER ON A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE AND IS AMAZED AT THE EFFORT. CALDWELL PUT INTO FINDING HER. I THINK SHE’S AMAZING AND I SAID TO SEVERAL OF MY FRIENDS, I’M GLAD TO SEE THAT APPALACHIAN STATE STILL TURNING OUT QUALITY PEOP
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A wallet lost 40 years ago was found during a Hurricane Helene cleanup
Updated: 7:25 PM EST Nov 14, 2024
Like many areas in Boone, North Carolina, Hurricane Helene left the Boone Greenway trail a muddy mess. But among all the trash, a lost treasure was unearthed.Roommates Olivia Caldwell and Faithe Johnson spent the day after Hurricane Helene devastated Boone, cleaning up their favorite hiking trail along the Greenway. But soon, something caught Johnson’s eye. A leather wallet washed up among the debris. Faithe and Olivia took it home and cleaned it off.”There were a bunch of cards in there,” Johnson said. “There were some ID cards that we had a little bit of a hard time identifying at first.”The wallet and cards piqued Caldwell’s interest, and she began the search to reunite the wallet with its rightful owner. But organizations like the DMV and the App State Alumni Association wouldn’t share personal information. Caldwell hit a dead end.”I thought to myself, I’m going to call the Boone P.D. and see if they can give me any resources,” she said. “And they gave me a website, something along the lines of, find PEOPLE.com or search PEOPLE.com. And the first search that I put in that engine, I found her information.Vickie Waters graduated from App State in the early ’80s and now lives in Connecticut. After a few moments of disbelief, she realized Caldwell had found her wallet, which had gone missing due to unusual circumstances. “I had a car wreck, and my car actually went off into a pond,” Scales said. “That is the last time I remember seeing this wallet.”Caldwell shipped the wallet to Connecticut. Waters said looking at the contents has taken her on a trip down memory lane, and she is amazed at the effort Caldwell put into finding her.Scales said she plans to have the wallet professionally cleaned and displayed in her home.
Like many areas in Boone, North Carolina, Hurricane Helene left the Boone Greenway trail a muddy mess. But among all the trash, a lost treasure was unearthed.
Roommates Olivia Caldwell and Faithe Johnson spent the day after Hurricane Helene devastated Boone, cleaning up their favorite hiking trail along the Greenway.
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But soon, something caught Johnson’s eye. A leather wallet washed up among the debris. Faithe and Olivia took it home and cleaned it off.
“There were a bunch of cards in there,” Johnson said. “There were some ID cards that we had a little bit of a hard time identifying at first.”
The wallet and cards piqued Caldwell’s interest, and she began the search to reunite the wallet with its rightful owner. But organizations like the DMV and the App State Alumni Association wouldn’t share personal information. Caldwell hit a dead end.
“I thought to myself, I’m going to call the Boone P.D. and see if they can give me any resources,” she said. “And they gave me a website, something along the lines of, find PEOPLE.com or search PEOPLE.com. And the first search that I put in that engine, I found her information.
Vickie Waters graduated from App State in the early ’80s and now lives in Connecticut. After a few moments of disbelief, she realized Caldwell had found her wallet, which had gone missing due to unusual circumstances.
“I had a car wreck, and my car actually went off into a pond,” Scales said. “That is the last time I remember seeing this wallet.”
Caldwell shipped the wallet to Connecticut. Waters said looking at the contents has taken her on a trip down memory lane, and she is amazed at the effort Caldwell put into finding her.
Scales said she plans to have the wallet professionally cleaned and displayed in her home.
