Hardy Infant Boy Found in Mud After Tornado Hit
Discovery of boy alive in mud helps weary rescue workers cope with the carnage.
Feb. 7, 2008— -- Found amid tornado-strewn rubble and bodies in the Tennessee town of Castilian Springs was a tiny miracle — a rugged infant boy who survived lying face-down in the mud for hours during the night wearing only a T-shirt and diaper that dangled off his bottom.
The remarkable survival of 11-month-old Kyson Stowell has helped the battered town and its exhausted rescue workers cope with the carnage.
The town was smashed by tornadoes Tuesday, leaving six people dead — including Kyson's 24-year-old mother, Kerri Stowell, whose body was found late Tuesday night in the same field where her son was later found face-down in the mud. Kyson was located around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, about 100 yards from where his home once stood.
Firefighters David Harmon and Carl Wagner from neighboring Wilson County, found the baby. They had come into Sumner County to help local officials with the search and resuce effort They were led to the field by a canine search and rescue team headed by Dr. Melissa Riley. Working their way through the pitch-black darkness, they shined their flashlights on the wreckage of the town.
Half of a boat, an entire motor and a transmission torn from a car, and a couch lay in the middle of the field. There were also plenty of bricks from a post office that no longer stood.
Though the dogs were trained to pick up on live human scent, there appeared to be nothing alive in the messy gloom.
Wagner was the first to notice a baby stroller propped up against a fence. Then Harmon said he saw what he thought was a baby doll, face-down in the mud with both arms above his head, motionless.
"We knew there was some kids that had lived in the area. I was telling my partner, 'Hey there's a baby doll here,'" Harmon said. "But before I could completely get that out of my mouth, the baby moved its body."
The infant was covered in mud and grass and wearing nothing but a T-shirt and a dangling diaper.
"The diaper was hanging halfway off the kid," Harmon said. "When the exposed bottom wiggled just a little bit, I said, 'It's not a baby doll. It's an actual human.'"
Harmon said that he felt the baby was twitching in response to their voices and approaching footsteps. "It's like he was letting me know he was there. 'I'm here, I'm alive. Help' is kind of the way I feel about it."
Riley said she heard Harmon yell, "Hey I've got a baby here!"
Keeping the head in line with the spine as a precautionary measure, the two firefighters turned the baby over.
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