Family picture taken by tornado found over 150 miles away

Published: Apr. 4, 2023 at 11:06 PM CDT
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WYNNE, Ark. (KAIT) - A family who lost countless memories got one back thanks to social media.

Melissa Morris and her family rode out the tornado in her bathroom. When they stepped out, the damage to her house was massive, it was nothing in comparison to when she realized what she lost when stepped outside.

The shed behind her house was gone.

In it, were countless memories, from pictures to personal belongings…

“20 years of being a mom, my children’s memories… of me raising them,” she said. Her voice trembled and tears fell.

The tornado took her memories and scattered them across Wynne. Many were found in a field behind her house. Some were found at the Wynne First United Methodist Church, but one… travelled over 150 miles to Bradford, Tennessee, to the home of Jon Ellis, who showed the photo to his wife.

The photo was of a young woman from 2012… with her Wynne volleyball uniform.

“She was the one that was like, ‘”Wow, we need to post this on Facebook and see if, you know, if anybody knows her or see if somebody lost this, they might want it back’,” he said.

The couple initially thought the photo could belong to someone in Covington, Tennessee about an hour away. The city had also been hit by a tornado, the same day as Wynne.

The couple posted the picture and in the same day, the post made it to the family. Now, a priceless memory is coming back.

To the couple’s surprise… the owner was much further away and she as very grateful to the couple.

“I can’t thank them enough. We’re lucky to be here we’re lucky to have people around us to care enough… to do that... to go the extra mile,” she said.

The picture will be sent to Morris’ daughter in South Dakota.

Morris hopes social media will help her get more memories back.