Son of Rockford native who went missing after Hurricane Helene speaks

The body of Steve Cloyd, the Rockford-native who went missing when Hurricane Helene hit Tennessee last year, has been found.

Cloyd’s remains were found along the Nolichucky River on May 1st.

“Me and my dad, we talked, we communicated,” said Cloyd’s son Matt. “But you start to wonder, ‘could I have called more? Should I have driven down more, should I have found more time?’ And then, like you start to think, ‘Did they know we loved them? Did they know as it was happening, did they know that they were cared about?”

“We are heartbroken, but we now have the closure we waited for so long and our family can start to heal and mend the broken pieces along the way as we walk the journey of life guided by God and Steve,” Cloyd’s wife, Keli, wrote on Facebook. “Steve is coming home to us and for that I am grateful.”

Keli, 55, and Cloyd, 60, were born and raised in Rockford. The couple moved from Rockford to Tennessee three years ago. On September 27th, Keli went into work while Steve stayed home with their dog, Orion, and monitored Hurricane Helene’s steady approach.

Keli said Steve was texting her throughout the day, sending pictures and videos of the state of their home.

“He’d start sending me videos of the house, saying it’s now becoming completely flooded,” Keli said. “The basement’s flooded, the top’s flooded and now he’s concerned.”

Keli said in between messages, Steve called her and said it wasn’t looking good. He said water had risen and the basement was “gone.” Steve then took Orion and headed for the Jeep that was parked outside.

Keli remembered Steve telling her the car wouldn’t start and that his phone was losing battery as well.

“He calls me and says, ‘I’m calling to tell you I love you, but I think it’s the end,’” Keli said. “And I said, ‘No, no, no, no, no, no, no.’ I have never heard fear in that man’s voice like I heard it that morning. And that crushed me.”

Keli met with several national and local news stations, searching and asking for help. She said Orion and the Jeep were miraculously recovered, but there was no sign of Steve.

Another woman, Nancy Tucker, is still missing.