Due to the powerful tornadoes that ripped through Kentucky residents personal property was destroyed up to 130-miles away. People are now attempting to reconnect families that lost everything, including family photos, VFW cards, checks, pets, or any other pieces that were found in unexpected places.
Midwesterners have taken to social media to locate the owners of pictures, Bibles, baby quilts, Christmas ornaments and other keepsakes after deadly tornadoes swept across six states this weekend.
A Facebook group, Quad State Tornado Found Items, is flooded with posts detailing items – and even pets – that people have found. Many of the cases were from 100-miles away.
Black and white photograph of a mother in a sundress with a headscarf and striped sundress holding her little boy. She traveled nearly 130 miles in wind gusts that exceeded 140 miles an hour.
Social media has been used by many to harness the power of the internet. Many people used Facebook on the weekend for photos, checks, and VFW cards located more than 100 miles from their homes, in order to locate the owner of these items.
Jean Merryman wrote Monday that she had found a Polaroid photograph of a man dressed in a baseball hat and posing with his dog in front of a brick building. It was located in Brandenberg, Kentucky.
In just twelve hours she discovered that the photo had traveled 110 miles. Leigh Ann Carner Morris commenting on the photograph: “That’s my dad!”
According to her, he had lost his Princeton house in Kentucky during Friday’s tornado. They were still looking for some belongings from his time in coon hunting.
Morris spoke of her father as an “avid coon hunter” and noted that Morris had to surrender his dog this morning. Her injuries were caused by the tornado.
The tornados blew residents’ personal belongings up to 130 miles away, with wind speeds of up to 40 mph
Katie Posten from New Albany, Indiana found a photo of her family on her windshield. Through a Facebook public appeal, she was able locate the Kentucky family that it belonged, 130 miles distant, by finding them on Facebook
Some pet owners also use the Quad State Tonado Facebook group to find their lost fur babies. This dog was found in Calloway County Kentucky.
![Deanadave Bryant posted on Monday she found this senior prom picture on the East End of Louisville, noting that 'if anyone is missing it [I] will gladly mail you.' Within just an hour, Kenya Suzanne Daugherty said the girl is her sister, out in Bremen, approximately 100 miles away](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/12/14/06/51753313-10305861-Deanadave_Bryant_posted_on_Monday_she_found_this_senior_prom_pic-a-330_1639464441816.jpg)
Deanadave Bryant shared Monday that she had found the senior prom photo on East End Louisville. She noted, “If anyone is missing it…” [I]We will be happy to mail you. Kenya Suzanne Daugherty quickly confirmed that she was the sister of the girl, who lives about 100 miles away in Bremen.
Chris Kramer wrote that he had found a Veterans of Foreign Wars (Circle 1993) card belonging to Marion Tolbert. The card was 100 miles from Matthew Tolbert’s Benton home.
A Polaroid picture of Leigh Ann Carner Morris’ father with his dog was found in Brandenberg, Kentucky, 110 miles away from where it originated in Princeton, Kentucky
Morris stated that Morris’ parents were now living with her. Morris also asked her if she could send the photograph to her dad.
Savannah Kessinger found another Bible, also severely damaged by storms. She posted photos and said that she had found it in Dawson Springs.
The book contained several pages that listed the family’s ancestral history. These included births from 1914 to 2021.
Rihana McKnight posted a comment on Kessinger’s blog and said that the book belongs to her grandmother.
McKnight tweeted, “Her trailer was at Flower Street and it is now completely gone.”
Kessinger posted that the Bible was located down the street near the intersection of Flower Street and School Streets.
Kessinger carried the book along to Madisonville. She is now keeping it safe, until McKnight and her families can access it.
Savannah Kessinger recovered a Bible from Rihana McKnight that had been left behind by her grandmother. The bible was found scattered throughout Dawson Springs, after the trailer of the owner was damaged in the storm.
Leann H. Blanchard found $16 cash in her Louisville yard, which is about 85 or 104 miles driving distance from Hartford, Kentucky.
The wreckage from the strong tornado in Mayfield (Kentucky) on Monday left behind a stuffed Elmo Muppet doll.
One man is seen standing above his wreckage, holding a sign that reads “Always Kiss Me Goodnight” still in place
On Friday night in Kentucky, Hurricane Florence destroyed thousands of structures as it passed.
Chris Kramer shared on Sunday that he discovered a Veterans of Foreign Wars (Circle 1993) card belonging to Marion Tolbert. The card was found 100 miles away from Matthew Tolbert’s Benton home.
Deanadave posted Monday that she had found a Senior prom photo on the East End Louisville. She noted, “If anyone is missing it…” [I]We will be happy to mail you.
In just one hour Kenya Suzanne Daugherty revealed that the girl in white pictured is actually her sister. She lives in Bremen about 100 miles away.
Daugherty stated, “It is so insane how far this could travel,”
Katie Posten, who lives in New Albany, Indiana, found the historic picture on her car parked in her driveway on Saturday, and noticed that on the back, written in cursive, it said: ‘Gertie Swatzell & J.D. Swatzell 1942.’
The photo was posted to Facebook by the woman.
This post was widely shared on Facebook and, sure enough, it was discovered by someone who is friends with an identical last name. He tagged him in the picture.
Many people liked it and shared it via Facebook. It was discovered by a friend who shares the same last name as him, so they added his tag.
Cole Swatzell was the man who said that Cole had taken the photograph and it belonged to his family in Dawson Springs (Kentucky), which is about 130 miles from New Albany.
Posten stated that she will return the photograph to the Swatzells family this week.
Posten stated, “It’s truly remarkable. Definitely one of those events, given all the that has occurred, that makes it make you think how valuable things are – memories, family inheritances, and that kind of thing.”
It shows that social media can be used for good. It was encouraging to see that there were so many people responding immediately, looking up their ancestry records.
Leann Blanchard, meanwhile, managed to locate a $16 check in her Louisville backyard, just 85 miles or 104 when driving from Hartford.
Blanchard was quickly informed by Laura Snyder via Facebook that Blanchard had received the check from a relative, and there wasn’t any need for Blanchard to send it.
She said, “It’s unbelievable that the air mail carried it 104 miles from Louisville and Hartford.”
As of Monday night, some on the Quad State Tornado Found facebook group were still looking for owners to a variety of personal items, such as a Bible and ornament, or even a dog.
Multiple pets have been left homeless by tornadoes. A thread has been started to help owners and fur babies reunite.
Also, members of groups are providing donations to help those who have been affected by tornadoes. Over the weekend, they swept across the Midwest and killed at most 74 people in Kentucky.
On Friday night, 30 tornadoes ripped through the Midwest and killed 14 more people.
One twister carved a track that could rival the longest on record, as the stormfront smashed apart a candle factory in Kentucky, crushed a nursing home in Arkansas and flattened an Amazon distribution center in Illinois.
Monday’s Governor Andy Beshear stated that the death rate was expected to increase as another 109 persons remain missing.