Couple looks for missing 14-year-old tornado victim after finding family photo album

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Many people are helping neighbors and friends sift through the debris for cherished items after deadly tornadoes ripped through Warren County Saturday.

The Carver family is on a similar mission. Derek Carver and his wife Courtney, who manage properties in the Moss Creek area, have been checking on their tenants.

“We were trying to help families gather their clothes and personal items and we came across the album,” said Derek. 

A nameless photo album; Courtney immediately logged onto Facebook and began posting pictures from the album trying to locate its owner.

She discovered the photos belonged to the Brown family who lived in Creekwood subdivision. The Brown’s were one of two families killed by the tornado. 

36-year-old Rachel Brown, 35-year-old Steven Brown, Steven’s mother Victoria Smith their and children, Nariah, Nolynn, and Nyles were all swept away in the middle of the night.

Local authorities are still searching for 14-year-old Nyssa Brown.

“I just never thought that that would be the case,” said Courtney.  “Just knowing that that whole family is just devastating. It breaks my heart. It was just really really hard to hear – it was a whole family.”

Courtney found Rachel Brown’s brother and will mail the photo album to family, but the couple couldn’t stop there knowing 14-year-old Nyssa Brown is still missing.

“I’d like to search behind the Browns home on Moss Creek,” said Derek. “There’s a field behind there, and I think part of the family was found in that field. So, I’m thinking the little girl must be somewhere out there.”

Once again in the field searching Tuesday afternoon, Derek said, “It hurts every time I come out here. I’ve been out here since Sunday, and it makes me cry just to think about losing children and parents and brothers and sisters. It’s hard. It’s hard to see everything like this. You always see it on TV but it’s devastating in real life.” 

People who find belongings during cleanup, or people missing something lost in the storm, can visit the Facebook page Quad State Tornado Found Items. The page has over 63K members. This is where Courtney posted the missing photo album.