Dad treks miles through Hurricane Helene aftermath to walk daughter down aisle
David Jones was able to walk his daughter down the aisle and attend her wedding after walking nearly 30 miles through flood debris to get to her. (Elizabeth Marquez)
A devoted father put his life on the line to make sure he didn't miss one of the most important moments in his daughter's life: walking her down the aisle on her wedding day.
David Jones was only expecting to make a two-hour drive from South Carolina to Johnson City, Tennessee, over the weekend to be at daughter Elizabeth Jones' wedding, but he was detoured due to extreme flooding from Hurricane Helene.
Jones told Fox News Digital he was diverted multiple times while traveling on Interstate 26 when he finally crossed the state line into Tennessee around 2 a.m.
"Well, about seven hours into the trip, I was finally in Tennessee, and I got to exit 43 on Interstate 26 and the Temple Hill Road exit. I will always remember this exit," Jones recalled.
Jones said traffic was at a standstill, and the ramp was lined with cars and trucks and a group of Tennessee state troopers were lining the roadway.
Jones said he got out of his car to speak with the troopers and find out if there was an alternate route to get to Johnson City.
To his dismay, the officer told him that it was the end of the road and that the roads were all washed out and impassable.
"He said all three bridges were completely wiped out and that no vehicle could get through. He said, ‘You’re going to have to go back to your car and spend the night here.' And I said, ‘Well, what about the back roads?’ And they said, 'Sir, those are washed out, too. I mean, it's still early. We don't have all the details, but we're not letting anybody out on any roads.' And I said, 'OK, can't do it by car, can I do it by foot?" Jones said.
Jones said at that point the officer, who Jones called professional and praised all the officers for putting their lives on the line and for working 24-hour shifts and beyond to help save lives, said he could not let him through.
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"'You have to understand. My daughter’s getting married at 11 this morning, and I’m going to be there to walk her down the aisle,'" Jones said.
Jones, who has run marathons, estimated it was less than 30 miles away, so he grabbed his backpack and decided to walk, with only his cellphone light to guide him through the darkness and piles of debris.
His two-hour commute to Tennessee turned into a seven-hour drive by car and nearly five and a half hours by foot.
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David Jones prepares for the first-look with his daughter, Elizabeth, on her wedding day after he traveled 30 miles by foot to make it to the ceremony on time. (Ava Jones)
"I just headed on down the road and encountered a lot of mud, a lot of debris, huge debris, fields, devastation. That is beyond my ability to even describe. And it was just absolutely horrible. And I feel so sorry for the people that live in that area and what they're having to try and rebuild. It'll be years before they can get everything back together," Jones said.
"So, there were a lot of trials and tribulations along the way, but I just had that mantra in the back of my mind that is 'My daughter's getting married at 11, and I'm going to be there to walk her down the aisle," Jones said.
To create more safety and visibility, he grabbed a reflector pole that was lying on the side of the road so any cars driving by could see him.
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After walking nearly 30 miles through flood debris caused by Hurricane Helene, David Jones made it to his daughter's wedding on time. (Ava Jones)
To add another twist to the journey, a motorist, who Jones said he knew from a previous job, saw him walking along the roadway and drove him the last eight miles to his destination.
"There was a lot of God in this story, a lot more than I could probably even describe," Jones said when his old friend picked him up. "But one of the things he said was, he was up early that morning. He couldn't sleep. He didn't know why. So, he got up, and he came over here to check on this one house to see if the power was back on. And so I know what it was that woke him up and kept him up. … That was the good Lord watching out for me, making sure I got to the church on time," Jones said.
Jones added that even though the whole church was without power, they were able to light enough candles to illuminate the church; and despite the weather, all the guests who were planning to come to the wedding were able to attend.
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David Jones walked nearly 30 miles in flood debris to make it to his daughter's wedding day. (Ava Jones)
David's daughter and bride-to-be had no idea when her father showed up and everything he went through to make sure he was there on her wedding day until his speech during the reception.
"I brought the reflector. And I presented it to them and I asked them for it to be a remembrance, to always be the protection for each other, especially in their darkest hours. That's when you're going to need it the most, like it did for me, and to continue to be a good reflection of God. So, it sort of came full circle at that point," Jones said when he shared what happened with his daughter and the wedding guests.
Elizabeth Jones, now Marquez, was on her way to her honeymoon and unable to go on camera to talk, but she said God was watching over her father and gushed about his bravery and strength to get to her wedding.
"It was mind-blowing, my mind couldn't really grasp what he was saying, and how could this even be actually possible and true?" Marquez told Fox News Digital in a phone call. "As it was sinking in, I was overwhelmed with gratitude that he was safe because of what a perilous journey he had taken. … I was just overwhelmed by the love that he showed by making this journey, making this effort to be at our wedding."
Elizabeth's sister, Ava Jones, echoed her sister's feelings about their father's resilience.
"When I say I have the best dad in the world, I truly mean it. "Immensely" does not even begin to describe how proud I am to call him my dad. I am so incredibly proud to be his daughter and know that his love and determination runs through my veins. I love you," Ava Jones wrote in a post on Facebook.
"We've all been crying for days about this. The type of love every girl wants and deserves from their father. An incredible display of love, determination, and God's will," Ava Jones told Fox News Digital about her father's fight to get to her sister's wedding.