‘Small town girl’ from Rappahannock swept to death in raging river
Tasha Hardy was attending the Graves Mountain music festival
A woman with deep roots in Rappahannock County was swept to her death last Wednesday evening after attempting to cross a swift moving portion of the river near Graves Mountain Lodge in Syria.
The body of Tasha Rose Hardy, 43, was recovered Saturday morning after an intensive three-day ground and air search that involved local and state law enforcement, search and rescue, and dozens of volunteers who had to be warned in advance of extremely difficult terrain and snakes.
“Tasha touched so many lives,” said friend Nan Butler Roberts
“With heavy hearts, we regret to announce that at approximately 10:20 a.m., a deceased female was recovered and identified as our missing person,” Madison County Sheriff Erik J. Weaver announced early Saturday afternoon.
“[We] would like to thank the local, state
and private citizens for all of their assistance and support during this search. We would like to extend a special thank you to the citizens of Madison County and our extended communities that always come together in times of need. We are forever grateful.”
Hardy had reportedly set up camp in advance of the annual Graves Mountain Lodge Festival of Music, which began Thursday. The sheriff said the victim’s friend alerted his office at approximately 8:30 p.m. that the pair had attempted to cross the water in an RTV utility vehicle when Hardy stepped out and was swept away.
The friend, meanwhile, reportedly became stranded on a flooded spit of land near where the Rose and Robinson rivers meet, and had to be rescued in the darkness and transported to the hospital.
During the entire threeday search, rescuers faced a constant threat of flash flooding caused by torrential downpours.
“Our hearts are really heavy today to learn the devastating news about our Tasha,” friend Nan Butler Roberts told this newspaper on Sunday.
“She was a member of my home church, First Baptist, Washington, where we grew up. I've known her all her life since a baby. I know her entire family — grandmother, mother, aunts, cousins, and extended family. All very lovely people,” said Roberts, who is the founder and CEO of Women in Worship Ministries.
“Tasha touched so many lives. It’s really amazing that a small town girl could blossom into a beautiful woman who could just endear herself to everyone she met. The last time I saw her she was just so joyful, smiling that beautiful smile, and introduced me to her husband. She was just beaming.”
Roberts, who called it a very difficult time for Hardy’s loved ones — her mother, Annita Jordan, lives in the town of Washington — described her longtime friend as a devoted Christian.
“Tasha’s family is a praying people of faith in God and a Savior who loves us all and believes that when we pass from this life, He will take us to live with Him forever and ever, if we believe,” she said. “Today, we have confidence and comfort in the belief that Tasha lives on with the Savior and with the angels today. Memories of her precious life will remain with us until we meet her again.”
Hardy, who lived in Culpeper County, was born July 10, 1974 and graduated from Rappahannock County High School. Besides her mother, she is survived by her father, Theotis Barber; her husband Luther S. “Luke” Hardy III; her sons Adrian Apperson and DeSean Apperson; a stepdaughter Amber Hardy; a grandson Malachi Apperson; her grandmother Maud Roy; and numerous other family members.
Hardy’s funeral will be held today (Thursday) at 11 a.m. at the Culpeper Baptist Church, with interment to follow at the First Baptist Church Cemetery in Little Washington.