Update: NC couple reunited after pilot ordered to stop mission. Man stranded by the pilot

A couple has reunited after a volunteer pilot who rescued the woman was threatened with arrest if he went back to get her husband.

Last Saturday, Jordan Seidhom loaded supplies into his helicopter and headed to Lake Lure to help. He contacted air traffic controllers at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport and was given permission to fly over because it was the shortest distance to his destination. There were no restrictions.

As he approached the area heavily damaged by the storm, he landed at an airport where he met with several law enforcement officers and first responders to coordinate communication channels with them and find out what was needed and where he should go to help, QCN reported.

The former chief of the Chesterfield County Sheriff’s Office narcotics unit and his son are both volunteer firefighters at a fire department in South Carolina.

They rescued four women and delivered supplies on Saturday before spending the night in a pilot’s lounge at the airport. On Sunday they took off again to help in the Lake Lure area.

Seidhom spotted a couple on a cliff, waving frantically. They were Susan and Mike Coffey, who had spent the last two and a half days in their car after watching their and their neighbors’ homes tumble down the steep slope.

While stranded, the couple waved their arms as helicopters flew into the area. But no one stopped. They used rocks to write SOS in a neighbor’s driveway. But no one saw the message, Susan said, adding that they only had two bottles of water and two bags of chips while in their vehicle.

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They tried to stay positive and wait for rescue, but Mike said their concern was growing. They wondered if they would be found.

“We saw this little black helicopter fly over. It circled and then came back,” Susan recalled.

She got in and Jordan promised to come back to pick Mike up.

As they got out at a command post about three minutes away, rescuers approached. “They asked, ‘Who are you?’ Susan said.

After explaining her final days, another firefighter said, “It’s our mission, our commitment.”

The firefighter, later identified as Lake Lure Assistant Chief Chris Melton, threatened to have Jordan arrested if he ran away and came back with Mike. But the pilot said he wouldn’t leave his son on the cliff where he waited.

However, not everyone interviewed agreed with Melton’s threats

Foreign chief and fire captain Seidhom said he arrived at the landing zone and spoke with him before taking off.

“They came back and said, ‘Hey, man, we can’t tell you to get the victim. We can’t even ask you to get the victim, but we can tell you that if you come back with the victim, we will assign you a specific landing spot and make sure they don’t come here.”

Jordan said he decided to heed the warning even though it bothered him. It was killing him to have to tell Mike that he couldn’t reunite him with his wife as promised.

Mike struggled to control his emotions as he described how he felt being separated from his wife. He wondered where she was and if she was safe. How was he supposed to find her?

Determined to reach them, he climbed down the cliff and eventually spotted a rescue team near a river. He shouted and asked if they had seen Susan. “They gave me a thumbs up.”

The Michigan crew used a rope to get him across the raging river. Mike praised her for her determination and willingness to help.

He and Susan, who later reunited, both question why anyone would turn away a pilot willing to conduct rescue operations.

A city official said a safety concern led to the deputy chief’s threats.

Less than 24 hours after her ordeal, incident commanders in the area called on civilian pilots to help with the rescue. The rubble-strewn terrain prevented many large helicopters from landing.

Jordan returned to be part of the mission.

The couple praised Jordan and the others who donated their time, equipment and willingness to save people like them.

“Thanks, Jordan. Thanks.”