Steve, Blaine and Grayson Gunn.Photo: courtesy Tyler Lee
A father and his 12-year-old son who were on a hunting trip have tragically died after they were caught in thedevastating tornadoes that swept throughcentral Tennessee.
Loved ones of Steve Gunn, 51, and his son Grayson Gunn are now speaking out about their anguish following the disaster that unfolded late Friday evening,killing fourin Tennessee alone.
They were “just big-hearted, southern, country people — giving people who would give you the shirt off their back,” Tyler Lee, a friend of the Gunn family, tells PEOPLE.
“Grayson was an exceptional child for his age. He’d outwork grown men. Had a strong work ethic, and that was all due to his father, Steve,” adds Lee, 51. “He was a huge, huge, huge influence in his life. They were pretty much inseparable.”
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Lee says Steve and Grayson were on a family duck hunting trip in Tiptonville, Tennessee when a tornado hit. The father-son pair, who are from Havana, Florida, were staying at Cypress Pointe Resort with Steve’s brother-in-law, Jamie Hall, and two of their friends.
“It’s a boys' hunting trip on Lake Reelfoot,” Lee explains. “We all do fall hunting trips, and this was just where they happened to land this year… Nobody would expect this.”
Grayson Gunn.courtesy Tyler Lee
The tornado ended up touching down Friday evening and continued into Saturday morning, according toTennessee Gov. Bill Lee. The governor said it was one of at least seven that swept through west and middle Tennessee.
According to Lee, the two friends were the only ones of the hunting group who survived the tornado.
Steve and Grayson’s bodies were later found in the rubble, while Jamie, 47, a father of five from Tallahassee, Florida, is still missing.
The two friends — in addition to Jamie’s son, Michael Gunn-Hall — have since been desperately searching the area, in hopes of finding him alive, Jamie’s daughter Ashleigh Hall tells PEOPLE.
Jamie Hall.Courtesy Ashleigh Hall
“We’re just a wreck,” she says. “My brother is out with the chief of police and the sheriffs and the state troopers, and they’re looking through debris at the resort, but that was washed away. They found the clothes he was wearing the night before but they haven’t been able to find him… And now, it’s been day four and I’ve just lost so much hope.”
“He’s an amazing person,” Ashleigh, 23, adds of her dad. “He always had a smile on his face. He always brought cheer and laughter into the room. A country boy at heart. He was a loving father, I just — I’m at a loss for words.”
As the search continues, Lee set upa GoFundMe pagefor Steve’s wife and Grayson’s mom, Blaine Gunn, to help her with funeral expenses. So far, it has raised over $26,000.
On Monday, Tennessee’s Gov. Leeconfirmed in a press releasethat nine counties — Cheatham, Decatur, Dickson, Dyer, Gibson, Lake, Obion, Stewart and Weakley — were impacted in the tornado outbreak.
The governor said he was requesting federal emergency assistance after the storm, which claimed a total of four lives in Tennessee and left more than 150,000 people without power at the severe weather’s peak.
Joan Turnbow, who lost her home in Dresden, Tennesee, told PEOPLE that the tornado was so strong, “it felt like we [were] getting ready to be vacuumed out of the house.”
“I was just trying to hold [my kids],” Turnbow recalled. “I told them to hold the mattress [we had above us] so I could hold onto them, because I wasn’t letting go. If they went, I was going too.”
Dozens more died after tornadoes and severe weather caused damage in several states across the midwest and southern U.S., including Kentucky, Illinois, Arkansas, Missouri and Mississippi.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear confirmed on Monday that the death toll in their state had hit 74.
Elsewhere,six people died at an Amazon warehousein Illinois and two died in Arkansas, according to theNew York Times.
source: people.com
