UNITED STATES NEWS

Patrol: Missouri tornado victims were in trailer or camper

Apr 6, 2023, 10:42 AM

The five people who were killed when a tornado barreled through their Missouri village were inside a mobile home or adjacent camper that were obliterated, authorities said Thursday.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol released the names of the victims. Glenn Burcks, 62, lived in the mobile home. Susan Sullivan, 57, also lived there along with her 37-year-old nephew, James Skaggs. Also killed were Sullivan’s 16-year-old granddaughter, Destinee Nicole Koenig of Sikeston, Missouri, and 18-year-old Michael McCoy. Koenig’s obituary said McCoy was her boyfriend.

The tornado strafed a 22-mile (35-kilometer) stretch of southeastern Missouri, including Glenallen, starting shortly after 3:30 a.m. Wednesday. It came during touched down.

Glenallen, which is home to only about 60 people and sits in a hilly and isolated area of southeastern Missouri, got the worst of Wednesday’s tornado, which the weather service characterized as an EF-2, with winds of 130 mph (209 kph). A fire station and church were destroyed, and dozens of homes were damaged, many beyond repair. The mobile home and camper where the five people were smashed beyond recognition.

Highway Patrol Sgt. Clark Parrott said investigators aren’t sure if any of the victims were in the camper when the tornado hit.

The mobile home essentially exploded, leaving only scattered debris and a rusted metal chassis. Some shards of metal stuck to tree limbs. Tattered remains of furniture sat in a field. A few old photos, videotapes and even baseball cards dotted the mud near the home’s concrete pad.

Koenig was a sophomore at New Madrid High School and loved animals, especially cats and dogs. A message seeking comment from the school district wasn’t immediately returned.

Sullivan worked as a teacher for Head Start for about 15 years, according to her obituary. She had a fondness for her dog, “Baby,” and for pigs.

Skaggs “loved to take pictures, have fun and be the life of the party,” his obituary stated.

Obituaries for Burcks and McCoy had not been posted as of midday Thursday.

In Kentucky, preliminary findings on Thursday indicated that tornadoes struck the Pleasure Ridge Park and Newburg sections of Louisville, meteorologist Brian Neudorff said. The storm toppled trees and power lines and tore the roof off an apartment building.

A separate tornado with maximum winds of 110 mph (177 kph) touched down in the Brandonburg area of Mead County, less than an hour southwest of Louisville, Neudorff said. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

Bob Oravec, a lead weather service forecaster, said more severe weather was possible Thursday in an area stretching from eastern Texas to the mid-Atlantic states.

___

Salter reported from O’Fallon, Missouri and Hollingsworth reported from Mission, Kansas. Jennifer Garske and Nancy Benac in Washington, D.C., and John Raby in Charleston, West Virginia, contributed to this report.

___

What to do if a tornado hits your home: https://apnews.com/article/tornado-home-destroyed-what-to-do-42ab3f90a3b129acf6b1d2ddaded754b

United States News

Associated Press

Montana miner backs off expansion plans, lays off 100 due to lower palladium prices

The owner of two precious metals mines in south-central Montana is stopping work on an expansion project and laying off about 100 workers because the price of palladium fell sharply in the past year, mine representatives said Thursday. Sibanye-Stillwater announced the layoffs Wednesday at the only platinum and palladium mines in the United States, near […]

18 minutes ago

Facebook's Meta logo sign is seen at the company headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif., on, Oct. 28, 2...

Associated Press

Meta shuts down thousands of fake Facebook accounts that were primed to polarize voters ahead of 2024

Meta said it removed 4789 Facebook accounts in China that targeted the United States before next year’s election.

29 minutes ago

Associated Press

Federal judge blocks Montana’s first-in-the-nation ban on TikTok, says it’s unconstitutional

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A federal judge ruled Thursday that Montana can’t enforce a first-in-the-nation law banning the video sharing app TikTok in the state while a legal challenge to the law moves through the courts. U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy said the ban “oversteps state power and infringes on the Constitutional right of users […]

32 minutes ago

...

KTAR Video

Video: How MCSO extradited Lori Vallow Daybell to Phoenix

KTAR News reporter Colton Krolak breaks down Sheriff Paul Penzone’s presser regarding how Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office extradited ‘Doomsday Mom’ Lori Vallow Daybell to Phoenix.

48 minutes ago

Associated Press

Indiana man suspected in teen girl’s disappearance charged with murder after remains found

ARLINGTON, Ind. (AP) — A 59-year-old man suspected in the June disappearance of a 17-year-old neighbor has been charged with murder after human remains were found buried in a pit on his central Indiana property. Patrick Scott of Arlington appeared Thursday in Rush County Circuit Court for an initial hearing. Scott also is charged with […]

1 hour ago

Associated Press

Publishing industry heavy-hitters sue Iowa over state’s new school book-banning law

The nation’s largest publisher and several bestselling authors, including novelists John Green and Jodi Picoult, are part of a lawsuit filed Thursday challenging Iowa’s new law that bans public school libraries and classrooms from having practically any book that depicts sexual activity. The lawsuit is the second in the past week to challenge the law, […]

1 hour ago

Sponsored Articles

Follow @KTAR923...

The best ways to honor our heroes on Veterans Day and give back to the community

Veterans Day is fast approaching and there's no better way to support our veterans than to donate to the Military Assistance Mission.

...

SCHWARTZ LASER EYE CENTER

Key dates for Arizona sports fans to look forward to this fall

Fall brings new beginnings in different ways for Arizona’s professional sports teams like the Cardinals and Coyotes.

...

DAY & NIGHT AIR CONDITIONING, HEATING AND PLUMBING

Importance of AC maintenance after Arizona’s excruciating heat wave

An air conditioning unit in Phoenix is vital to living a comfortable life inside, away from triple-digit heat.

Patrol: Missouri tornado victims were in trailer or camper