- The black and white photo was taken by a family from Dawson Springs in Kentucky.
- The area was devastated by Friday night’s severe weather and tornadoes.
Katie Posten, an Indiana resident, walked out Saturday to see a photo stuck to her car’s window.
It’s black-and-white and looks to be many years old.
On the back: Gertie Swatzell, JD Swatzell 1942.
Posten immediately thought about the deadly outbreaks of tornadoes, storms, and lightning that occurred in Kentucky the night before.
“Seeing the date, realized that it was probably from a tornado-damaged house. How else could it be there? Posten spoke Sunday morning to the Associated Press by phone.
(PHOTOS: Tornado Outbreak Leaves Towns Devastated)
She posted the photo to social media, and internet sleuths were quick to assist in finding the owner based on the information on the back.
Posten updated her status two hours later to say that she had been connected to a family member that the photo belongs too. They’re from Dawson Springs in Kentucky, just 127 miles southwest to New Albany.
The town of 2,600 people was almost completely destroyed. Homes were stripped of their roofs, and buildings were left in pieces.
Posten plans to return the photograph later in the week.
“It’s really remarkable, definitely one of those things, given all that has happened, that makes you consider how valuable things are — memories, family heirlooms, and those kinds of things,” she said. It shows you how social media can be used for good. It was encouraging that immediately there were tons of replies from people, looking up ancestry records, and saying ‘I know someone who knows someone and I’d like to help.'”
Thepany’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story may not reflect the position or IBM as our parent company.
Source: Weather.com
