Kentucky city's final missing person, a 13-year-old girl, is found dead

"We wish the outcome had been different."

ByEmily Shapiro
December 16, 2021, 3:56 PM

A 13-year-old girl who was the last person missing in Bowling Green, Kentucky, from the tornadoes has been found dead, officials said Thursday.

Bowling Green initially had 244 people reported missing, police said, and Nyssa Brown was the last person still missing as of Wednesday.

On Thursday, Nyssa's body was found in a "very dense briar thicket," Bowling Green police spokesman Ronnie Ward said at a news conference.

"Search and rescue they worked tirelessly," Ward said. "We wish the outcome had been different."

Nyssa's parents, three siblings and grandmother also died in the tornado, Ward said.

PHOTO: People clear belongings and debris from a line of townhomes destroyed by the Dec. 11 tornadoes on Hillridge Court in Bowling Green, Ky., Dec. 15, 2021.
People clear belongings and debris from a line of townhomes destroyed by the Dec. 11 tornadoes on Hillridge Court in Bowling Green, Ky., Dec. 15, 2021.
Grace Ramey/Daily News via AP
PHOTO: Residents look at the damage following a tornado that struck the area, Dec. 11, 2021, Bowling Green, Ky.
Residents look at the damage following a tornado that struck the area, Dec. 11, 2021, Bowling Green, Ky.
Gunnar Word/AFP via Getty Images

"We just need people to pray," Ward said.

ABC News' Ahmad Hemingway contributed to this report.

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