Retired Voluisia sheriff’s deputy killed in Hurricane Helene’s impact

Hurricane Helene left a trail of destruction in its wake. Several people were killed, including that of retired Volusia County Sheriff’s Deputy Jim Lau. Sheriff Mike Chitwood said he has worked for the department for decades. “He was the first forensic digital examiner in the history of the sheriff’s office,” Chitwood said. Lau was instrumental in establishing the sheriff’s office’s crime scene program. “He had the foresight to see that cell phones were starting to come into play,” Chitwood said. “You know, it’s going to take someone who knows how to extrapolate the information from that. And he was the guy who was the first person in a sheriff’s office to do that, going to murder scenes in important cases, looking for fingerprints and blood evidence and sketching out the crime scene.” According to the Macon County Sheriff’s Office, Lau was taking his lunch break while working as a security guard worked in the courthouse. A 911 emergency call came in on Thursday about a truck that somehow ended up in a river and became submerged. Several rescue teams went looking for him. The next morning they found his body. Lau’s colleagues described him as hard-working. His daughter said he was everything she could ever want. He was also a loving and generous grandfather. Lau has served the community for so many years. He remains fondly remembered. Even decades later, his legacy lives on.