Will Norton was on his way home from his Joplin High School graduation ceremony when the tornado hit on Sunday. The 18 year-old graduate was sucked through the sunroof of the car he was riding in with his father. He hasn’t been seen since.
Will Norton graduated from high school but never made it home. He is missing in Joplin, Missouri along with 232 other people.
Missouri officials released the names of 232 individuals who remain missing in Joplin four days after the massive tornado.
More than 230 people remain unaccounted for four days after the deadliest single tornado in more than six decades tore through the middle of Joplin, Missouri officials said Thursday.
Officials released a list of names, and Andrea Spillars, deputy director and general counsel for the Missouri Department of Public Safety, urged any survivors on the list to check in.
Officials said previously they believe people who are unaccounted for aren’t necessarily dead or trapped in debris. They say many are probably safe and but failed to tell friends and family where they are. Cell phone service in Joplin remains spotty.
“Our goal is to get that number to zero,” Spillars said of the missing. “We will dedicate as much state resources as needed around the clock to ensure those families who have loved ones that they cannot find are connected.”
… Among those still missing is 16-year-old Lantz Hare. He was driving with a friend who said the two tried to take cover in the parking lot of a grocery store. The tornado shattered the windows and crumpled the car, and Lantz’s father, Mike Hare, found his son’s backpack in the wreckage.
Mike Hare has called hospitals from Dallas to Kansas City and taken dozens of calls offering advice, prayers and hopeful tips. None of the calls came from Lantz or offered any hope he might still be alive. But Hare said he’ll keep searching until he finds his son.
Here is the current list. It will be updated daily. It looks like at least half of the missing individuals are seniors.
Lantz Hare was driving with a friend who said the two tried to take cover in the parking lot of a grocery store. The tornado shattered the windows and crumpled the car. Lantz has not been seen since the tornado struck. Lantz’s father, Mike Hare, found his son’s backpack in the wreckage.
