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Earlier this week, 100 Percent Fed Up reported on the story of Jordan Seidhom, a pilot who said he was threatened with arrest for rescuing flood victims in North Carolina.
[WATCH] Pilot Said He Was Threatened With Arrest For Rescuing Flood Victims
“Ok guys I was instructed to suspend operations and let anyone else know that was coming they would be arrested if they were operating aircraft in the area. At the time of this post I was the only helicopter within 40 miles working. **no current active TFR. I am unsure of the guys name but he had on a lake lure fire department shirt. I’m not going to go after any first responders as everyone else was more than happy to help. Even his own employees told me they would block the area for me to bring people to safety,” Jordan Seidhom said in a Facebook post.
“I was extracting a lady from a collapsing mountain side and Due to the unstable environment I left my copilot on the ground to stay with the husband. When she was brought to safety I was instructed that if I returned to get either person the husband or my copilot I would be arrested. I’m not sure how he was trained but I don’t leave a fellow man behind. My copilot is currently flying me back for more fuel,” he continued.
“I have attached the list of needs I was sent just today and it’s very long. Hopefully they change their mind about asking for help before it gets worse. Thanks again for all the support and prayers. As I was flying back for fuel we passed 6 more people waving for help. Fellow pilots be safe out there. We will be on the north side of the mountain where they appreciate help. These people need help and they are turning us away. Carolina Emergency Response Team,” he added.
Seidhom and his son aborted the voluntary mission following the arrest threat, leaving the husband and wife separated.
WATCH:
Queen City News investigated to determine what happened to the couple after the exchange.
The couple, Mike and Susan Coffey, were reunited.
“We sent messages to Assistant Chief Chris Melton, the man Jordan Seidhom said ran him and any other pilot who showed up, out of town under threat of arrest,” Queen City News’ anchor Brien Blakely said.
Melton never responded.
“Thursday morning, instead of making Assistant Chief Melton available, the town offered its town manager for an interview,” Blakely said.
A man who looks like Melton appears in the background during the interview with Lake Lure Town Manager Olivia Stewman.
WATCH:
“Fire chief Chris Melton wouldn’t be interviewed by our local news station regarding the incident where he threatened to arrest helicopter pilot Jordan Seidhom for rescuing victims in Western NC. Instead, Lake Lure town manager Olivia Stewman took the interview as seen in the screenshot below. Look who’s peeking around the corner in the interview, it’s Chris Melton,” one X user wrote.
Fire chief Chris Melton wouldn’t be interviewed by our local news station regarding the incident where he 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐉𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐞𝐢𝐝𝐡𝐨𝐦 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐖𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐍𝐂.
Instead,… https://t.co/wnMecNpQff— NONBidenary (@KellyLMcCarty) October 4, 2024
Queen City News reports:
We spent nearly four days waiting for Assistant Fire Chief Melton to respond to multiple attempts to request an interview with him. We wanted to hear his side and his reasons for ordering Seidhom out of Lake Lure.
And whether he would have carried out his threat to have the volunteer pilot arrested in the middle of an active rescue mission.
But Melton never responded, even after town the town’s media contact Laura Krejci responded to a Facebook message confirming Melton received our request to speak with him a few days earlier. Still, knowing Melton was likely actively involved in the efforts there and knowing there was the possibility communication lines were unavailable, we did not publish Melton’s identity.
By Thursday, we were ready to publish this follow-up report and informed the town we’d made our final request to speak with Melton before publishing. Krejci responded, telling QCN she’d make Lake Lure Town Manager Olivia Stewman available for an interview.
On Thursday, just past 2:30 p.m., Stewman and Barr met via video conference for an interview. Chris Melton has still not responded to any of our messages.
Although he was not available to interview, he opened the door to the room where Stewman was participating in the QCN interview. An unidentified woman off camera frantically waved to the man who looked like Melton back out the door.
The man’s face is visible in the background of the video conference video recording.