UPDATE: Sad news in the search for Skyular Logsdon, the toddler who was ripped out of his mother's arms by the Joplin tornado. The little boy's body was identified at a morgue on Wednesday.
The Star reported that the boy's body was identified by his great-uncle (although official tests still need to be done by the Jasper County coroner). The Associated Press also confirmed the boy's death with his mother. The death toll now stands at 125.
Original Story (May 25): The death toll from Sunday evening's tornado is now 122. About 750 people were injured. More than 1,500 people are still unaccounted for, including 15-month-old Skyular Logsdon, who was sucked away in the EF5 tornado's 200 mph winds.
The Star has a truly heart-wrenching story about the search for Logsdon. His parents and grandparents were thrown by the twister, and when everything settled, the little boy was gone. He hasn't been seen since. A Facebook page called "Bring Skyular Logsdon Home" has been set up to help with the search. There's also a page for prayers.
But all of the stories out of Joplin
are heartbreaking. Will Norton was leaving his high school graduation when the tornado sucked him out the sunroof of his SUV (via the New York Times). His family is still looking for him.
There have been many stories of heroism, too, like the Home Depot employee who died trying to save others
in the store. And there's Chris Lucas, a 27-year-old
former Navy submariner, father of four and Pizza Hut manager, who herded
the restaurant's employees into a sturdy walk-in cooler while he took
cover in a flimsier one, according to the Daily
Beast/Newsweek. Lucas was sucked away in the storm, his body found
hundreds of yards from the restaurant.
The tornado is now being described as a "multivortex" tornado, with at least two "small and intense centers of rotation orbiting the larger funnel, a rare occurrence," according to the Star. It's also the deadliest to strike since the National Weather Service started keeping official records in 1950, and the eighth deadliest in U.S. history.
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