TOWN CREEK, Ala. — A tattered photo of an Alabama couple killed in a tornado Monday night was found 60 miles from their home and, according to their family, a photo of their critically injured son was found more than 100 miles away in Tennessee.
Justin Chase Godsey, 35, and Keisha LeAnn Cross Godsey, 34, died when an EF-2 tornado struck their home in Town Creek, a small town of about 1,100 people in Lawrence County. The twister was one of six to touch down across northwest Alabama, according to WAFF in Huntsville.
The couple was found dead near their mobile home. Lawrence County Emergency Management Agency officials said their 7-year-old son, Landen Godsey, was found alive but critically injured in a nearby wooded area and carried out by neighbors to emergency personnel.
Landen was flown to Children’s of Alabama in Birmingham, where he remained Friday morning. The boy’s uncle, Chad Godsey, wrote on Facebook that he suffered a fractured skull and some bleeding on his brain.
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Chad Godsey wrote Tuesday night that the boy was expected to make a full recovery. On Thursday night, he called his nephew an “awesome miracle” and used the hashtag #LandenStrong.
“Landen is doing and progressing more and faster than the doctors expected. He’s such a fighter!!” Chad Godsey wrote. “Unfortunately, he has a very long road ahead of him, but things are looking more positive on every update.”
WAFF reported Tuesday that Sherry Dutton and Kent Dutton found a photo of Justin Godsey and Keisha Godsey that morning on their farm in Ardmore, about 60 miles from Town Creek. The Duttons told the news station it was not the first time they had found debris from a tornado on their land.
The couple told WHNT News 19 they were watching a news broadcast about the Godseys’ deaths Tuesday when they realized who was in the photo they’d found.
Chad Godsey posted a photo Wednesday evening that a woman in Hillsboro, Tennessee, found. He wrote that the image was of him and his wife holding Landen when the boy was a newborn.
The woman who located the photo, Jessica Bell, wrote about the find on her own Facebook page Thursday night.
“I never in my dreams would have thought posting that picture would have turned into the sad story that it has,” Bell wrote. “That picture made it through a storm in Alabama all the way to my front yard in Hillsboro, Tennessee.”
She wrote that she had mailed the photo, along with a gift for Landen, to Chad Godsey.
“I pray this family finds peace and comfort in this time,” Bell wrote. “I pray Landen pulls through and fights as hard as he can to get better.”
Those who knew Justin Godsey, who went by the name Chase, and Keisha Godsey in Town Creek mourned their loss earlier this week. Pastor Mitch Hallmark of the Lawrence County Dream Center told WHNT the community is a close-knit one.
“They were great people,” Hallmark told the news station. “We do a lot of outreach here at the church, and they would donate things and help us and come from time to time. Just a good family.”
Jimmy Graham said the Godseys would do anything they could for their neighbors.
“Take care of their kids, play football and sports and stuff and everything,” Graham told WHNT. “They’re good people."
People who cared about the Godseys are now trying to help take care of Landen and his 18-year-old sister, Ali Cross, as well as pay the couple’s funeral expenses. Chase Godsey’s employer, Contractor Service & Fabrication Inc., has set up a GoFundMe page in memory of the couple.
As of Friday morning, the fundraising page had raised nearly $23,000.
“All of us at Contractor Service & Fabrication that knew Chase, Keisha and Landen are devastated,” the page reads. “We are using this GoFundMe campaign to raise money for funeral expenses and the continued medical expenses for Landon as he continues to fight for his life.
“All funds will be given to his brother Chris and his wife India to assist them in caring for the family in this difficult time.”
Keisha Godsey worked at Moulton Elementary School, according to her obituary.
A joint funeral for the couple will be held Saturday in Trinity, with burial following at Elmwood Cemetery in Town Creek.