Last Impact Plastics Employee Still Missing Two Weeks After Historic Flooding

The search for Rosa Andrade, the last missing employee of Impact Plastics, is ongoing after deadly flooding from Hurricane Helene devastated Unicoi County. William Edwards, the chief of the Unicoi County Search and Rescue team, described the operation as the largest search effort the county has ever experienced. The search has already recovered five bodies, all Impact Plastics employees, and now focuses on locating Rosa Andrade, a 29-year-old mother of two originally from Mexico.

The Challenge of Debris and Limited Resources

Edwards noted that the biggest challenge in locating Rosa Andrade is the overwhelming amount of debris that the search teams must sift through. In many areas, the debris piles are up to 30 feet deep, making the search both slow and difficult. The search teams are working under strenuous conditions, often having to remove debris by hand. Special equipment is being used to aid in digging through the enormous piles, but resources are stretched thin due to the widespread nature of the disaster. “This is such a widespread disaster that equipment is thin,” Edwards explained. Despite these challenges, the search teams remain determined to find Rosa and provide closure to her family. “That’s our goal, is to recover everybody, and we will do everything in our power to do that,” Edwards stated.

A Heartbreaking Wait for the Family

Rosa Andrade’s husband, Francisco Javier Guerrero, shared that the last time he heard from his wife was when she was inside the Impact Plastics factory. Since then, he and their two children have endured the agonizing wait for news. While five of Rosa’s coworkers have been found, the continued search for her has left her family and the community in a state of grief and hope. The flooding that followed Hurricane Helene wreaked havoc on the county, leaving a trail of destruction that has taken both lives and homes. The operations to recover the missing have now lasted over two weeks, and although progress is slow, Edwards emphasized that the search would not end until Rosa Andrade is found.

The Search Continues

The deadly flooding in Unicoi County has presented numerous challenges for the search teams, but they remain committed to finding every missing person. The devastation left behind by Hurricane Helene has tested the limits of first responders and rescue crews, but Edwards and his team are determined to bring closure to the families affected by this disaster.

Operations will continue for as long as it takes, with the hope that the final missing person, Rosa Andrade, will soon be found. The tragedy has left an indelible mark on the community, and search efforts will persist until every person has been accounted for.