The tornado that ripped through Valley View Saturday evening destroyed more than 200 homes and other structures, damaged another 120 buildings and injured about 100 people.
And it killed seven.
Laura Esparza and her two children, 15-year-old Miranda and 9-year-old Marco Esparza, were among those killed in the storm. The neighbor, 47-year-old Jose Narango, told the Star-Telegram that he and 12 family members took shelter in his mother’s kitchen when the tornado hit their mobile home across the street from the Esparza family.
When the tornado left the area, Narango Cuco found Esparza trapped between two cars, screaming and writhing in pain, looking for his wife.
Narango and others used their phone lights to search for the family. They found Miranda, the daughter, dead. Then they found Marco, the son, pinned under a truck. Laura was found dead in her gold SUV.
Two more children and two other adults were also killed.
The children were siblings, ages two and five, according to the Cooke County Sheriff’s Office. They were missing for several hours until they were found dead near a pond where three other siblings had previously been found alive but injured, KXAS-TV reported. The children were pulled from their home by the tornado, where a sixth sibling was unharmed.
Victor Manuel Ortiz’s family has identified him as one of the other two adults killed in the tornado. They share their story in a GoFundMe and ask for help.
“All we can do is pray for information. After a long night we find out that two family members have been hospitalized,” Amber Ortiz wrote in the GoFundMe description. “One is my father-in-law who is currently in hospital recovering from surgery. In addition to his mother, who is also in hospital and fortunately stable.”
News of Victor Ortiz’s death in the family came Sunday morning.
“We are all devastated to lose such a wonderful member of our family as we continue to process the effects of this tornado and now mourn the life of our dear loved one,” Amber Ortiz wrote.
Ortiz was a husband, father and grandfather who was loved by his family, according to GoFundMe.
Authorities confirmed that another adult was killed in the tornado. Their identities have not been released.
