After a deadly series of tornadoes destroyed homes and many lives in the Midwest and South, Kentucky authorities were searching for Nyssa Brown, 13, who was confirmed missing during the recovery efforts.
Now, according to the Lexington Herald Leader, Brown, the final person in Bowling Green, KY, unaccounted for, has been found dead.
Ronnie Ward, spokesman for the Bowling Green Police Department, said searchers found Brown Thursday morning after they expanded their search near Moss Creek and Moss View in Bowling Green.
“It’s gut-wrenching. It’s hard to take,” said Ward. “I didn’t even know Nyssa. I see the picture of her. Sweet, little girl. She goes to school right there close-by. And she had family and she’s a human being and we all are. So it’s just really hard.
“Everybody, everyone who had the ability to search,” Ward said. “They’ve come here and helped and helped in some capacity.”
Brown and
six of her family members died when a tornado hit their home in Bowling Green, a city of 67,000. According to CNN, among those killed from the Brown family were Nyssa’s siblings, Nariah Cayshelle, 16, Nolynn, 8, and Nyles, 4, as well as her grandmother Victoria Smith, 64, and parents, Steven Brown, 35, and Rachel Brown, 36.According to WDRB, the Brown’s family accounted for seven of Warren County’s 17 storm-related fatalities.
The Brown family relocated to Bowling Green after Steven accepted a job offer two years ago, according to Rachael Brown’s aunt, Dornicho Jackson McGee.
“They were very family-oriented. They loved their family. They loved their kids,” McGee told CNN
.As of last week, more than 100 people were feared dead in Kentucky alone, making it the deadliest tornado outbreak in the state’s history, Gov. Andy Beshear told CNN on Sunday morning.
With the help of the community, volunteers have helped neighbors pick up debris, feed those without access to electricity, and drop off donations for those who have lost so much.