Garvin Co. Sheriff's Office Returning Photos Found After May Tornado Near Katie

As clean up continues following last month's tornadoes, some keepsakes once thought to be lost by the storm have resurfaced. Photos found are now at the Garvin County Sheriff's office waiting to be returned.

The photos were posted on the sheriff's Facebook page, and through the power of social media many of them are now back with the families to which they belong. But there are six left the sheriff hopes to return.

The EF-3 tornado tore through the small community of Katie near Wynnewood leaving behind a 3-mile long path of destruction.

5/10/16 Related Story: NWS Confirms At Least EF-3 Damage With Tornado Near Katie

Several homes and buildings were either damaged or destroyed, sending memories flying. Keepsakes scattered in the wind, some never to be found.

“Sheriff and I were at the scene and we were able to walk and visit with the families and we saw some things that would be blown away that stayed there that didn't look like it got touched. And other things that twisted in and just broken into hundreds of pieces,” said Undersheriff Jim Mullet, Garvin County.

But weeks after the storm spotted in fields nearby, were photographs from a trip to Montana, and an afternoon at the park, another of a young couple.

A thin layer of red dirt coats the pictures and some are a little torn, but they are cherished memories.

This week, nearly a dozen pictures and a photo album still intact, surviving winds blowing nearly 200 miles an hour, were given to the Garvin County Sheriff's Office. Within a half hour of the sheriff's office posting the pictures on Facebook, all but six photos returned home with two families.

“It was quick. We had it posted this morning and it was a really quick response. It felt good to watch them walk out with their, clinging to their possessions,” said Undersheriff Mullet.

The sheriff's department says any other mementos or photos found after the storm can be brought to them and they will again post it on Facebook.