Vortex grabs mom and kids; child dies

Last photo before twister killed girl with doll

In this Dec. 10, 2021, photo provided by Sandra Hooker, from left, Avalinn Rackley, 7, Alanna Rackley, 3, and Annistyn Rackley, 9, pose for a picture in a bathroom in their home near Caruthersville, Missouri. Annistyn, a third-grader who loved swimming, dancing and cheerleading, was among dozens of people who died because of the severe storm on Friday, Dec. 10. A tornado hit her home and splintered it less than a week after the family had moved in, and, according to the relative who received the photo of the girl in the bathtub, it carried family members dozens of yards before dropping them in a muddy field.

(Meghan Rackley/Courtesy of Sandra Hooker via AP)

A Mississippi River town family snapped a picture of their three young daughters, who were all smiles as all took shelter in a windowless bathroom. Fifteen minutes later, the house was torn to shreds and the family ended up in a field of mud.

Nine-year-old Annistyn Rackley, seen in the photo holding her favorite doll, was dead.

Sandra Hooker, the woman to whom Annistyn's mom texted the photo before the storm hit, relayed the story to the Associated Press, with details Hooker said were filled in by first responders and the girls' father.

Hooker said 7-year-old Avalinn told doctors she flew around “in the tornado."

“Their house is splintered,” Hooker told the AP during a telephone interview. "There's debris strewn forever out in the field, and so they were sucked up into the tornado."

Carruthers is a town in Missouri's boot heel, where Missouri borders Tennessee.

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