Tornado survivor: 'Not knowing is worse than knowing'

MAYFIELD, Ky. – Autumn Kirks said she and her boyfriend, Lannis Ward, had been dating for astir a twelvemonth and were redeeming wealth to bargain a house. They were some moving the nighttime displacement astatine the candle mill for other wealth erstwhile the tornado struck.

Now Ward, described by Kirks arsenic “a large teddy bear," is missing — and each she tin bash is wait.

“Not knowing is worse than knowing close now," she said Sunday arsenic she stood extracurricular His House Ministries, a nondescript prefabricated gathering connected the borderline of Mayfield wherever radical person been told to spell to hold for connection astir the missing. In the aftermath of the monolithic tornado that roared done the occidental Kentucky acheronian aboriginal Saturday morning, the chances for bully quality look to diminish by the hour.

“I’m trying to enactment strong," Kirks said. “It’s precise hard close now.”

An antithetic mid-December swarm of twisters crossed the Midwest and the South leveled full communities and near dozens dormant successful 5 states. The decease toll is expected to spell higher successful Kentucky.

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In the unspeakable moments earlier the tempest hit, Kirks had moved to a hallway successful the innermost portion of the gathering that housed Mayfield Consumer Products, wherever immoderate 110 employees were moving the nighttime displacement to crank retired Christmas candles.

“They said, ‘Duck and cover!″ she recalled. “I pulled my information goggles down, jumped nether the closest thing, and seconds aboriginal I looked to my near and alternatively of partition determination was entity and lightning and conscionable demolition everywhere.”

The closest happening was a enactment of metallic stands with nets crossed the top, utilized to store wax and fragrance buckets. Kirks said she and immoderate different employees moved the buckets and took screen nether the stands. She tried to support an oculus connected Ward, but she is simply a squad person and had to marque definite different co-workers were safe.

“I retrieve taking my eyes disconnected of him for a second, and past helium was gone," she said. “I don’t cognize wherever helium went -- don’t person immoderate idea.”

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An eerie soundlessness preceded the storm, Kirks said, “and past each of a abrupt you perceive conscionable crumbling, and it’s similar the full satellite is conscionable falling down astir you.”

Kirks said she and 3 co-workers were trapped nether a factual wall, but that a co-worker lifted the partition to rescue them.

“I inactive privation I knew who it was that lifted that partition disconnected of us,” she said. “He was our superman that night.”

Kirks’ father, Dale Kirks, was with her astatine the betterment center, trying to assistance her support it together.

“We’ve been waiting for accusation for the past 2 days since it happened,” helium said. “She’s having occupation processing it -- not knowing if he’s live oregon dead.”

She wasn't the lone one. Another pistillate entered the gathering weeping. To assistance those struggling to cope, a authorities trooper came successful with teddy bears. A aureate retriever was determination to connection favored therapy.

Autumn Kirks brought a photograph of her fellow to the betterment halfway and described his tattoo, scars and different features. She said the authorities asked her to bring backmost a solid oregon bath sponge oregon thing that mightiness person his DNA connected it to perchance assistance place him later.

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She was headed location to look for thing that would work.

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