‘My life is gone’: Pain and loss amid tornado’s destruction

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‘My life is gone’: Pain and loss amid tornado’s destruction

By KIM CHANDLER and JEFF MARTIN Associated Press

March 05, 2019 12:43 AM

Danny Allen helps recover belongings while sifting through the debris of a friend's home destroyed by a tornado in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019.

Danny Allen helps recover belongings while sifting through the debris of a friend’s home destroyed by a tornado in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. David Goldman AP Photo

Danny Allen helps recover belongings while sifting through the debris of a friend’s home destroyed by a tornado in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. David Goldman AP Photo

BEAUREGARD, Ala.

Residents of a small Alabama community hit by a powerful tornado are mourning the deaths of 23 people as they pick through shattered homes for salvageable belongings and crews search for more victims.

Carol Dean found her wedding dress Monday among the wreckage of her mobile home in Beauregard. But the storm took her husband. She said: “My life is gone.”

Dean said her spouse, 53-year-old David Wayne Dean, was killed Sunday when the twister struck their home while she was at work. She said he had been texting a friend to beware of the approaching storm.

Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones says crews with dogs and drones have combed over the hardest-hit areas, but there’s more searching to be done.








Ashley Griggs, right, helps Joey Roush, left sift through what's left of his mother's home after it was destroyed by a tornado in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019.

Ashley Griggs, right, helps Joey Roush, left sift through what’s left of his mother’s home after it was destroyed by a tornado in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019.David GoldmanAP Photo








Danny Allen recovers a family photo while sifting through the debris of a friend's home destroyed by a tornado in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019.

Danny Allen recovers a family photo while sifting through the debris of a friend’s home destroyed by a tornado in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019.David GoldmanAP Photo








Danny Allen helps recover belongings while sifting through the debris of a friend's home destroyed by a tornado in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019.

Danny Allen helps recover belongings while sifting through the debris of a friend’s home destroyed by a tornado in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019.David GoldmanAP Photo








Students, teachers and local residents hold a prayer circle in the gymnasium of Beauregard High School for those in their community that lost their lives in a Sunday night tornado on Monday, March 4, 2019, in Beauregard, Ala.

Students, teachers and local residents hold a prayer circle in the gymnasium of Beauregard High School for those in their community that lost their lives in a Sunday night tornado on Monday, March 4, 2019, in Beauregard, Ala.Atlanta Journal-Constitution via APCurtis Compton/








This aerial photo shows damage caused by Sunday's powerful tornado in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. (DroneBase via AP)

This aerial photo shows damage caused by Sunday’s powerful tornado in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. (DroneBase via AP)AP








Brittney Downs looks through the debris of a family member's destroyed home the day after a deadly tornado ravaged the area, in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019.

Brittney Downs looks through the debris of a family member’s destroyed home the day after a deadly tornado ravaged the area, in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019.Julie BennettAP Photo








Debris litters the property of a destroyed home on Lee County Road 63 in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019, the day after a deadly tornado ravaged the area.

Debris litters the property of a destroyed home on Lee County Road 63 in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019, the day after a deadly tornado ravaged the area.Julie BennettAP Photo








Julie Morrison looks through the debris of her destroyed home on Lee County Road 63 in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019, the day after a deadly tornado ravaged the area, in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019.

Julie Morrison looks through the debris of her destroyed home on Lee County Road 63 in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019, the day after a deadly tornado ravaged the area, in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019.Julie BennettAP Photo








Debris from a friend's home stands in the background as Ashley Griggs wipes away dirt from a photo found in the rubble of what it used to look like before it was destroyed by a tornado in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019.

Debris from a friend’s home stands in the background as Ashley Griggs wipes away dirt from a photo found in the rubble of what it used to look like before it was destroyed by a tornado in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019.David GoldmanAP Photo








A man salvages belongings near Beauregard, Ala., on Monday March 4, 2019. Friends in eastern Alabama are helping tornado survivors retrieve the scattered pieces of their lives after devastating winds destroyed their homes and killed at least 23 people.

A man salvages belongings near Beauregard, Ala., on Monday March 4, 2019. Friends in eastern Alabama are helping tornado survivors retrieve the scattered pieces of their lives after devastating winds destroyed their homes and killed at least 23 people.Montgomery Advertiser via APMickey Welsh








Carol Dean, right, cries while embraced by Megan Anderson and her 18-month-old daughter Madilyn, as Dean sifts through the debris of the home she shared with her husband, David Wayne Dean, who died when a tornado destroyed the house in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. "He was my wedding gift," said Dean of her husband whom she married three years ago. "He was one in a million. He'd send me flowers to work just to let me know he loved me. He'd send me some of the biggest strawberries in the world. I'm not going to be the same."

Carol Dean, right, cries while embraced by Megan Anderson and her 18-month-old daughter Madilyn, as Dean sifts through the debris of the home she shared with her husband, David Wayne Dean, who died when a tornado destroyed the house in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. “He was my wedding gift,” said Dean of her husband whom she married three years ago. “He was one in a million. He’d send me flowers to work just to let me know he loved me. He’d send me some of the biggest strawberries in the world. I’m not going to be the same.”David GoldmanAP Photo








Debris from a home litters a yard the day after a tornado blew it off its foundation, at right, in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019.

Debris from a home litters a yard the day after a tornado blew it off its foundation, at right, in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019.David GoldmanAP Photo








ADDED SHARED WITH-Carol Dean, right, is embraced by David Theo Dean as they sift through the debris of the home Carol shared with her husband and David's father, David Wayne Dean, who died when a tornado destroyed the house in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. "He was my wedding gift," said Dean of her husband whom she married three years ago. "He was one in a million. He'd send me flowers to work just to let me know he loved me. He'd send me some of the biggest strawberries in the world. I'm not going to be the same."

ADDED SHARED WITH-Carol Dean, right, is embraced by David Theo Dean as they sift through the debris of the home Carol shared with her husband and David’s father, David Wayne Dean, who died when a tornado destroyed the house in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. “He was my wedding gift,” said Dean of her husband whom she married three years ago. “He was one in a million. He’d send me flowers to work just to let me know he loved me. He’d send me some of the biggest strawberries in the world. I’m not going to be the same.”David GoldmanAP Photo








A resident looks through the debris of a family member's destroyed home the day after a deadly tornado ravaged the area, in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019.

A resident looks through the debris of a family member’s destroyed home the day after a deadly tornado ravaged the area, in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019.Julie BennettAP Photo








Tornado damage overwhelms the landscape near Lee County Road 38 in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019, a day after tornados ravaged the area.

Tornado damage overwhelms the landscape near Lee County Road 38 in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019, a day after tornados ravaged the area.Julie BennettAP Photo