The parents of a baby killed in a tornado near Holdenville are now discovering family photos have blown miles and miles away, to places all over Green Country. People finding the pictures want to get them back home.
Friday, May 3rd 2024, 3:45 am
By: Kristen Weaver
TULSA, Okla. -
The devastating EF-3 tornado in Holdenville destroyed homes and killed two people, one of them being a four-month-old baby. Click here to watch News 9 live. The parents of that baby are now discovering family photos have blown miles and miles away to places all over Green Country. People finding the pictures want to get them back home. One of those photos was found in a front yard in Catoosa. The man who found it said he got on social media and realized the woman in the photo was the same woman who lost her baby in the tornado. David Edwards said his Sunday morning after Saturday night’s storms was peaceful, with nothing out of the ordinary.
“Next morning, I heard there had been some tornadoes. None were close enough to lose any sleep," Edwards said.
He went to church, got home,and noticed the photo on his front lawn.
"Such good shape, looks like somebody had taken it out of an envelope in a photo lab or something," Edwards said.
It was so perfect, he thought it belonged to a neighbor. But he didn’t recognize the woman in the photo.
“You can't just throw it away. It's not a torn picture, a piece of trash, or anything," Edwards said.
Edwards and his wife kept the photo, thinking nothing of it until a Facebook post caught his wife's eye. Someone else had found a wedding photo in their yard in Verdigris.
"And she said, 'That woman in the picture looks like the woman we have,'" Edwards recalled.
It turns out there were pictures of the same people showing up all over Green Country. From Holdenville to Catoosa, Verdigris, Jenks, and even more places around the state.
“Somebody made a comment, 'Yes, that's the family that lost their four-month-old baby in Holdenville and lost their house,'" he said. "82 miles away from where we’re at and this picture made it that far into our yard.”
Holdenville, Oklahoma’s horrific EF-3 tornado flattened homes and killed a baby. Parents Selina and Tyler Skeen also lost their home, cars, and belongings, and their photos somehow showed up in yards miles and miles away.
"They’ll be in our prayers during this moment, mourning the loss of a baby.”
The tornado survivors may never feel whole again. But their Oklahoma neighbors hope to fill in some of those missing pieces.
"It's a message, as Oklahomans, we should be there for this family," Edwards said.
Edwards said he has an address to send the photos back to the family.
If you find any photos that might be storm-related, you can drop them off at the Verdigris and Claremore fire departments.
A GoFundMe for the family impacted by the tornado can be found HERE. | A verified Venmo can be found HERE.
