Roll of Honor
Incident
Court Officer Sheriff Jim Lau was killed when his vehicle was swept away by unexpected rushing water from the Cullasaja River during the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
Officer Lau's body was recovered about three miles from where his truck was last seen, and his vehicle was located a week later.
Hurricane Helene was the deadliest storm to hit North Carolina. The heavy rains and damaging winds caused major landslides and flash flooding, damaging over 6,000 miles of roads and knocking out power to over 900,000 residents throughout western North Carolina. As of February 2025, over 100 deaths in North Carolina were attributed to Hurricane Helene, with two of the deaths from Macon County.
Officer Lau was a United States Air Force Vietnam War veteran and had served with the Macon County Sheriff's Office for over 11 years. He previously served with the Volusia County, Florida, Sheriff's Office for 23 years and the Cody, Wyoming, Airport Police Department for five years.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife, two daughters, two stepsons, a stepdaughter, and four grandchildren.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NC-5ECC6644- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Court Officer Lau gave the Macon County Sheriff's Office 38 years.
Thank you for your service to the Franklin community. Thank you for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
Charles James Lau served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.
Court Officer Charles James Lau is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In NC, 205 of 664 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 30.9% of this state's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Charles James Lau's cause is highlighted.
How Charles James Lau Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Charles James Lau is highlighted in Sep.