Child, mother killed when tornado destroyed their home in south Caddo Parish are identified
By Web staff
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SHREVEPORT, Louisiana (KTBS) — A young boy and his mother were found dead in the wooded area of the Pecan Farms subdivision in southwest Caddo Parish west of Keithville, where their home was destroyed by a tornado Tuesday evening.
Sheriff’s deputies, K-9 teams firefighters and volunteers searched for the two. A woman was also injured and homes were leveled on Pecan Road.
The Caddo Coroner’s Office on Wednesday morning identified the victims as Yoshiko A. Smith, 30, and Nikolus Little, 8. Little was found in a wooded area at 10:55 p.m. Tuesday, while his mother’s body was found under storm debris at 3:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Deputies said the damage is in the area of Lareta Street in Keithville’s Pecan Farms. That’s where a radar-indicated tornado touched down as a storm cell entered Louisiana from east Texas and raced to the northeast.
“He had to show us where the house used to be,” Sheriff Steve Prator said of the man whose wife and child were in the house.
Prator estimates 20 or more houses were severely damaged. But he said that number could change as they assess the area.
“There are pads where houses used to be and we’re looking for the house,” Prator said.
Deputies are going house-by-house checking for any occupants. Cadaver dogs also will be used in the search, as well as a drone that will use a heat-detecting device to locate any individuals who may be trapped in the strewn debris.
Search teams are having to maneuver through downed electrical lines and trees, Prator said.
Anyone with damage to their home from the storm in Caddo Parish should seek help from the American Red Cross at 800-RED-CROSS.
The Four Forks Water System has issued a boil order for the Pecan Farm subdivision were a tornado caused extensive damage late Tuesday afternoon.
About 100 customers just in the subdivision are affected. The water system said broken lines in the subdivision are the cause of the boil order.
Scattered reports of damage were reported in some areas including in Elysian Fields in Harrison County, Texas. There’s damage in what’s called the Golden Farm at FM 451 and Old Town Road. The roof is damaged on a home there and pillars on the back porch were ripped off. Siding and doors were torn off two nearby shop buildings. Some of that debris was tossed into an adjacent pond. Fortunately nobody was hurt. Several 100 year old walnut trees on the property were badly damaged and likely will not survive.
The Storm Prediction Center had the southern half of the ArkLaTex from I-20 south to Toledo Bend under an enhanced risk of severe storms. The threats included gusty winds, tornadoes, large hail, and flash flooding.
Officials in Texarkana were concerned about flash flooding in the US 59 and I-30 area as heavy rain fell.
At one point Tuesday, the National Weather Service office in Ft. Worth took over Shreveport operations because a tornado passed too close to the Shreveport office which prevented the collection of accurate information.
The KTBS MEGA 3 Storm Team also placed the region under a Yellow Weather Alert early Tuesday before bumping it up to a Red Weather Alert by the afternoon.
By late morning, after the first watches and warnings were issued, a number of area schools began releasing students early due to the storms.
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