1 of 3 Fourmonthold boy found safe after a tornado swept him from his home. Photo: Caitlyn Moore/GoFundMe The fourmonthold boy was found safe after a tornado swept him from his home. — Photo: Caitlyn Moore/GoFundMe
A fourmonthold baby was found alive “by the grace of God,” his parents said, after the child was sucked into a tornado in Tennessee.
The couple said a strong tornado on Saturday (September 12) destroyed the house where they lived and took away a crib with the baby in it.
The boy survived and was found in a fallen tree in the pouring rain.
The baby, his oneyearold brother and his parents suffered only minor cuts and bruises.
As the tornado approached, 22yearold Sydney Moore, a mother of two, said the roof of her home had been ripped off.
“The tip of the tornado came down and picked up the crib with my baby, sir, in it,” Moore told a local news outlet. “He was the first to go up.”
Her friend and the boy's father threw himself to protect Lord in the crib, but ended up being swept away by the tornado too.
2 of 3 Princeton and Lord who was found in a tree survived the tornado in Tennessee Photo: Reproduction/Personal Archives Princeton and Lord who was found in a tree survived the tornado in Tennessee Photo: Reproduction/Personal Archives
“He held the crib the whole time, and they formed circles, he said, and then they were thrown,” Moore said.
While this was happening, Moore grabbed her oneyearold son, Princeton.
“Something inside me told me to run and jump on my son,” Moore said. “Literally the moment I jumped on it, the walls collapsed.”
“I was really devastated. I couldn’t breathe,” Moore recalled.
After the tornado passed, Moore was able to escape the rubble with Princeton. She and her friend immediately went looking for Lord.
After searching for the baby in the pouring rain, they found the child alive in what Moore said “looked like a small tree nativity scene.”
“I thought he was dead,” Moore said. “I was sure he was dead and we wouldn’t find him.”
“But he’s here, and it’s by the grace of God.”
3 of 3 Tornado caused destruction in Tennessee last Saturday Photo: Caitlyn Moore/GoFundMe Tornado caused destruction in Tennessee last Saturday Photo: Caitlyn Moore/GoFundMe
Moore's sister Caitlyn started an online fundraiser to help the family who lost their car and home in the tornado.
The children and Moore escaped with only minor cuts and bruises, but their friend broke his arm and shoulder, Caitlyn Moore said.
According to the text posted on GoFundMe, the platform where the family donated online, Lord appeared to have been “gently placed in the tree” as if “an angel was guiding him safely to that place.”
“I will die for my children. And my friend would do the same thing,” Moore said.