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Salisbury native living in Bahamas loses everything

Ellen Maddox only knew her daughter in the Bahamas was safe because she got a text from a satellite phone Sunday.

SALISBURY, N.C. — A Salisbury native and her family living in the Bahamas are stranded there after the storm.

Ellen Maddox, from Salisbury, said her daughter Ashley Knowles, son-in-law Aaron Knowles, and three grandchildren lived through Hurricane Dorian as it made landfall as a category five storm in the Bahamas.

Maddox said her daughter moved to the Bahamas after college to be with her now-husband, who is from the Bahamas.

The family was staying on higher ground with Aaron’s parents, Maddox said, when they had to run to take shelter in a concrete building as the storm moved closer.

Maddox said her thoughts were focused on her daughter’s family and their newborn throughout the hurricane.

"All I could think, and all I still think is, ‘Does the baby have formula? Are they eating?’” Maddox said.

The only way Maddox can communicate with her daughter and family is through a boater’s satellite phone.

"Sunday at noon, I got a text from a satellite phone that I didn't know who it was, and it said 'We're ok. House is gone,’” Maddox said.

The International Red Cross said Tuesday more than 13,000 homes were severely damaged or destroyed on just two islands in the Bahamas. 

Maddox said her daughter’s home and the home of her son-in-law’s parents were both destroyed.

"It's all gone,” Maddox said. “From what I understand, everything on the island is gone."

Maddox said her son-in-law’s boss is flying in a plane to the Bahamas on Wednesday with supplies, and she hopes her daughter and grandchildren will be able to fly back to the states and eventually the Carolinas to safety.

"God is carrying them so I'm fine,” Maddox said. “I mean, things can be replaced, but you know, I have my family alive so we will get through this, no doubt about it."

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