11 of 15 killed by tornado in Bowling Green were from two families. 7 were children.
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Kentucky tornadoes: Victims, searches, response
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Most of the 15 people who died as a result of the powerful tornado that hit Bowling Green early Saturday were from two families who lived along one street.
Of the 15 who died, 11 were from the same street and seven of those were children, according to a list released Monday by Warren County Coroner Kevin Kirby.
“Our community took a hard hit,” Kirby said.
The dead included Rachel Brown, 36; Steven Brown, 35; Nariah Cayshelle Brown, 16; Nyles Brown, 4; and Nolynn Brown, a child whose age was not provided. They were all family, Kirby said.
Steven Brown had posted on his Facebook page that he and Rachel had been married 10 years, and that she was his “best friend and true love.”
A woman named Dornicho Jackson McGee, who said Rachel Brown was her niece, said on Facebook that another victim, 64-year-old Victoria Smith, was Brown’s mother. Brown’s first name is spelled Rachael on social media, but the spelling was listed differently by the Warren County coroner.
“This is absolutely devastating,” McGee said. “They are all resting in the arms of Jesus.”
Several members of a Bosnian family also were killed. They were Alisa Besic, an adult; children Selmir Besic and Elma Besic, whose ages were not given; and Samantha and Alma Besic, who were infants.
Bowling Green has developed a large immigrant community with the help of the International Center of Kentucky, a refugee resettlement agency in town.
The Browns, the Besics and Smith all lived on Moss Creek Avenue, which is off Russellville Road in Bowling Green. The coroner’s release noted that they were found near their residences.
Kirby had said at mid-afternoon Sunday that the death toll was 12, but searches found another victim later Sunday. In addition, two people who died at local hospitals were added to the list.
The others who died as a result of the storm were Cory Scott, 27; Mae F. White, 77; Robert Williams Jr., 65; and Say Meh, 42. White lived near the street where the 11 people died.
Charles Morris, who started a GoFundMe page for donations for Say Meh’s family, said she was a Burmese refugee. She was studying to become a U.S. citizen and is survived by her husband and three children, the post said.
“Say Meh loved life and never met a stranger. Her tireless spirit, and her charming smile will be missed,” Morris said.
James Rondell Carr, who worked with Mae White several years ago at a facility in Bowling Green that provided services for people with intellectual disabilities, said she was one of the kindest, most loving people anyone could ever expect to meet.
“She was very sweet, very humble,” Carr said.
A fundraiser to cover expenses for Scott’s family raised more than $9,500 in five hours on Monday.
Scott lived at Rockfield and the rest lived in Bowling Green. Williams and Meh died at the hospital and the others were killed when the tornado hit.
Firefighters, police and others started combing through piles of debris soon after the tornado hit to look for victims, and that work continued Monday.
Asked whether there is a potential to find more victims, Kirby said “I pray that there won’t be no more.”
Bowling Green police Chief Michael Delaney said at a press conference Monday that the department had investigated 136 missing person reports since the storms. As of Monday evening, 13 people are still missing and search and rescue efforts continue, Delaney said.
“We want to make sure everybody gets their loved ones back and are reunified if they’ve been displaced,” Delaney said.
Officer Ronnie Ward, spokesman for the police department, said the hope is that the people still unaccounted for are alive but just haven’t been in communication with families or authorities.
As of Monday evening, about 5,000 people in Bowling Green are still without power, Ward said.
The neighborhood with most of the deaths was on the west side of fast-growing Bowling Green in an area of subdivisions filled with single-family homes and multi-unit town houses. A number of immigrants have settled in the area.
The population of Warren County grew by 18.2 percent between 2010 and 2020 — one of the fastest rates in the state — boosted by its location between Louisville and Nashville, good interstate access and Western Kentucky University.
Travis Puckett, the deputy emergency manager for Warren County, said one tornado caused most of the death and destruction in Bowling Green, with an estimated 500 homes and 100 businesses damaged or destroyed. Officials are checking the potential that a second tornado hit the county as well.
This story was originally published December 13, 2021 at 3:58 PM.
