Eugene Blankenship talks about his wife, Lisa Blankenship, who has been missing since June 23, when a devastating flood hit Greenbrier County.
RENICK, W.Va. — Out of the corner of his eye, Kevin McMillion saw something in the water of Spring Creek.
He’s lived in this area all of his life and knows every bend of the creek that cuts through Renick Valley and feeds into the Greenbrier River. For the past three years, he’s been the mailman here after taking over for his mom, who delivered to the area for nearly half a century.
He spent Tuesday looking down at the water and searching for Lisa Blankenship. Search crews and cadaver dogs had been out for days looking for the woman after she suddenly went missing during the floods that ravaged the area on June 23. Day in and day out, from sunrise until sunset — and then sometimes even afterward — McMillion has looked for her.
On Tuesday, McMillion, 36, saw something white moving below the surface. He reached into the cool water.
“He picked that up and handed it to me and said, ‘I don’t even have to ask. I know where that came from,’ ” said Eugene Blankenship, Lisa’s husband.
McMillion had found the porcelain angel Eugene Blankenship gave his wife not two months ago for Mother’s Day. He’d stopped into Dollar General on his way home from work to get her a present.
“You know, they say God doesn’t give you more than you can handle,” Eugene, 56, said. “Boy, He’s getting real close…