Nine-year-old Annistyn Rackley was killed when a powerful tornado destroyed her family’s newly purchased home near Caruthersville, Missouri. Just minutes before the storm struck, her mother sent a photo of Annistyn and her sisters smiling in a bathroom they were using as a safe shelter.
The tornado tore the house apart and carried the family into a nearby field. Annistyn died, while her parents and two sisters survived with serious injuries. Her mother suffered broken bones and a brain injury, and her 7-year-old sister Avalinn sustained broken vertebrae.
After reaching a hospital, Avalinn reportedly told doctors, “I was flying around in the tornado and I prayed to Jesus to take care of me, and he spit me out,” believing God had protected her during the storm.
