Families Search for Missing Loved Ones Amid Tennessee Wildfires

One man said through tears that he is "just hoping for a miracle."

November 30, 2016, 2:36 PM

— -- Two families are searching for loved ones who went missing after a massive wildfire destroyed their homes in Gatlinburg, Tenneesee.

Both families last heard from their missing relatives on Monday evening, reported ABC affiliate WATE in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Michael Reed told WATE that he had been out on a drive with his son Monday night to check if the fire they saw on the news was close to their home.

    He said that his wife, Constance Reed, and his two daughters -- 9-year-old Lily and 12-year-old Chloe -- had stayed behind.

    While stuck in traffic, Michael Reed said he received a phone call from his wife around 8:15 p.m.

    "She said that there were flames across the street from our house," Michael Reed said through tears. "She said that she didn’t know what to do. I told her to call 911."

    That was the last time he heard from his wife and daughters.

    Michael Reed said he is "just hoping for a miracle." He added that he and his son were able to drive back to what was left of their homes on Wiley Oakley Drive and that there were signs his wife and daughters were able to escape.

    Another woman who lived on the same road also remains unaccounted for, WATE reported.

    Her name is Alice Hagley and she is the mother of brothers James Wood and Lyle Wood.

    Alice Hagler of Gatlinburg, Tennessee, is pictured here in a family handout photo.
    WATE

    James Wood told WATE that his mother last called him around 8:30 p.m. on Monday night, saying that the "house was on fire."

    "I told her to get out immediately, and we got disconnected and have not been able to get in touch with her since," he said. "She's not anywhere to be found as far as we know right now."

    James Wood and Lyle Wood said they lost contact with their mother -- Alice Hagler of Gatlinburg, Tennessee, on the evening of Monday, Nov. 28, 2016.

    Lyle Wood, who came up to Tennessee from Georgia with his wife, Rachel Wood, told WATE, "We're here, [and] we've come to find her."

    "If you see her now and you’re talking to her, she’s probably talking about her grandkids or about her wonderful family," he said. "She loves us a lot, and we love her a lot, too. Our hope is that people see and maybe get in touch with us."

    A school building burns as wildfires move through Gatlinburg, Tennessee, Nov. 28, 2016.
    Bill May/Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts/EPA

    The massive eastern Tennessee wildfire -- which has devastated the cities of Gatlinburg, Pigeon Force and surrounding areas in Servier County -- has killed four people and injured 45 others, officials said at a news conference this morning.

    The deceased have not yet been identified, officials said.

    The remains of a home smolder in the wake of a wildfire, Nov. 30, 2016, in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

    Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam said on Tuesday that this is the state's biggest fire in 100 years.

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