Authorities have identified the six people killed when a tornado brought in by Hurricane Milton touched down in the Spanish Lakes mobile home community in St. Lucie County.
Sheriff Keith Pearson said the six victims of the twister on Oct. 9 were:
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- William Cutlip
- Mary Grace Viramontez
- Alejandro Alonso
- Roger Ammon
- Sandra MacDonald
- Debra Kennedy
"It is with a very heavy heart that I inform you of the tragic passing of the following St. Lucie County residents who lost their lives as a direct result of the tornado that touched down in Spanish Lakes," Pearson said in a statement. "I, along with the men and women of the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office, express our heartfelt condolences to their family and friends during this extremely difficult time."
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The sheriff says his team rescued 25 people from the neighborhood of largely older, manufactured homes.
NBC affiliate WPTV reporter Dave Bohman was at the news conference and asked the sheriff if crews are still looking for survivors.
“Wednesday night, and even Thursday was a search and rescue mission. Is it fair to call it a search and recovery?” he asked.
“I’m going to stay optimistic all the way through, but we know the reality of it is a lot of elderly people have medical conditions,” Pearson answered. “We’re going well beyond 48 hours. That means 48 hours with no medicine, 48 hours with no food.”
The sheriff said one of the challenges of the operation at Spanish Lakes is that his teams can’t get an accurate count of those who might be missing, as many residents are snowbirds and others may be renters.
Eduardo Toursarkissian, a Merchant Marine who lives in Spanish Lakes, said it was an experience unlike any other.
He said as water was rising, he heard voices yelling for help.
"I heard the voices, someone saying 'please somebody help me, somebody help me.' I said 'this is crazy, no one is in the street at this time.' The water is floating. I open up my door and I find this car completely underwater," he said.
Toursarkissian said he went out to the car, broke the glass and tore the seatbelts so he could rescue the two women who were inside, including an elderly woman.
“I said 'God, in this moment where I need to help somebody, give me your power.' Because it’s very bad," he said.
They took shelter in Toursarkissian's car port, and then the tornadoes came.
“We saw the door, a normal door flying in the sky like that like a twister. And I said 'go inside, go inside,' and we go inside my house, and my house move like that. And the windows scream like that," he said.
They were spared but Toursarkissian said his friend died in his home and many neighbors now want to leave.
"I understand the people, some people lose life, I’m sorry," he said. "It’s hard for me, it’s hard, it’s, I don’t feel good. But I say thank you Lord for one more day."
