A family of four is among the 15 killed by tornadoes that ripped through Georgia.
The Black family, Christopher, 47, Pamela, 46, Cody, 21, and Chelsea, 16, were found in a ditch area yards away from where their house previously stood on Friendship Road, Coroner Vanita Hullander told the AJC. Chelsea Black was a junior at Ringgold High School, which was partially destroyed.
Adam Carroll, who also attended Ringgold High, was killed at a home in Apison, Tenn., about 11 miles north.
Also found within 200 yards of the Black family were Robert Jones, 47, Jack Estep, 61, and Holly Readus, 26, Hullander said. All three were killed in their homes, which previously stood in the Cherokee Valley Road area.
Former Ringgold High School Principal and Marine Rhea McClannahan, 86, was also killed when his house collapsed on him, Hullander said. More on the storm that hit Catoosa.
Other Georgians killed in the storms include:
Rabun County
Elbert Earl Patton, Jr., 83, an Atlanta real estate developer and former state senator, was killed at Lake Burton. Patton was a past board chairman of the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau. Friends said he was alone when his home was struck. More on Patton.
Spalding County
Charlie Green, 55, a former plumber stricken by a serious stroke, was killed when the storms blew his mobile home 100 yards away. Green, partially paralyzed, insisted on using his worker's compensation settlement to pay for full-time help so as not to burden his family.
Jamie White, 22, was Green's caregiver and a single mother of three. White was huddled in the bathroom with Green when the storm hit. Spalding County Coroner Sonny Foster said neither White nor Green stood a chance. The twister threw the mobile home up to 100 yards and tore it to shreds.
Lamar County
Investigators believe Ellen Gunter, 63, and her husband, Paul Gunter, 73, of Barnesville, were in bed when their home was demolished early Thursday. They were found among debris in their back yard.
The couple not only cared for Paul Gunter's 95-year-old father, they also had an 8-year-old adopted daughter, Chloe. Both of them survived, though a family member said the girl suffered a broken shoulder and cuts to her face.
Dade County
Donnie Walston, 47, was killed when his mobile home was blown across the street, Coroner Johnny Ray Gray told the AJC.
Jerry Williams, 49, was worried by the storm reports and decided to check on a friend when her apartment was demolished. Gray said Williams was killed, but his friend survived.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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