Laurel County tornado victims look toward future as law enforcement cracks down on looters

LONDON, Ky. (FOX 56) — Friday night into Saturday was nothing short of a nightmare for people in the path of the tornado that wiped out parts of southern Kentucky.

“It felt like it lasted a million years, but it was probably 30 seconds,” said tornado survivor Julie Rea.

Rea and her husband took shelter in their pantry just before the tornado completely leveled their home. It’s a sight she said she’ll never forget.

“I just threw a couple blankets in, and my husband said, ‘Get in now.’ And as soon as I got in, I turned around to look at him, and I could see the house coming apart behind him. I could see the wind,” she said, looking back on the horrific scene that unfolded around her.

Rea told FOX 56 that with what’s left of the home they raised their now 21-year-old son in, they shouldn’t be here, and it’s nothing short of a miracle that they survived.

“I grabbed my head, and I remembered my Mamaw always said that if you were scared and didn’t have anything to say, just say ‘Jesus.’ And I just kept saying, ‘Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,’ over and over. My husband said, ‘We didn’t climb out. We stood up and walked out.’ And that’s nothing but the grace of God,” Rea said.

The path of the tornado looks like a war zone.

Among the debris left behind, it’s hard to tell what’s what. But for looters, it’s a gold mine, and law enforcement is cracking down so that the only thing survivors have to focus on is building their lives back.

“We make no bones about it. If we catch you out there looting, you’re going to be arrested and taken to jail,” said Deputy Sheriff Gilbert Acciardo, with the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office. “We saturate the area with marked patrol vehicles during the day, and we do also night, but we’re also limiting access to those areas at night as well with checkpoints. So, if you don’t belong there, we don’t let you in.”

Acciardo said looting hasn’t been much of an issue so far. In fact, the opposite has happened.

“A local minister found this shotgun in the ditch, and you can see it’s muddy. It’s definitely weathered the storm. And he brought it into us,” said Acciardo, holding the antique rifle that was found in the rubble. “It looks like a family heirloom, but it’s important to someone. That’s why they had it. So hopefully we’ll be able to get it back to them.”

While that item is one that was found, there are still countless items missing, including pets.

“Our cat jumped out of my husband’s arms as soon as the tornado was over. We don’t care if everything that’s left there is bulldozed as long as we can find Rosie,” said Rea.

Rea told FOX 56 that Rosie is an 18-pound black cat that is declawed. While she is grateful that she, her husband, her son, and their dog are all OK, she is hopeful that this missing part of her family will be reunited with them soon.

They’re taking everything one day at a time.

“It’s a lot of grief. It’s a lot of process. It’s a lot of feelings. But we are going to not go quickly. We are going to take our time, and we are going to make sure that we feel everything go through the process and just take care of ourselves before we do anything else,” Rea said.