Child sucked into tornado survives

It happened in Alabama the spring of 2011. Reginald and Danielle Epps and their three sons, Reginald Jr. (RJ), 8, James, 6, and Joel, 4, were watching TV when they saw warnings of an approaching tornado. Reginald got some flashlights and they were all in the kitchen when they heard the wind. As Reginald shouted at RJ to come with them into the bedroom, the walls and roof came apart and RJ floated up inside the tornado.

RJ Epps (left front) visiting Disney World with his family.

Reginald remembered, "I got down on top of James while Danielle got on top of Joel to protect them. We held on and prayed for our lives. Danielle was saying 'God protect us! God protect us!" and I told James in his ear, 'It's OK buddy. I'm here for you.'"

Thirty seconds later the tornado was gone. Their house was totally destroyed. "When it settled down, I could see this dark silhouette walking towards us and realized it was RJ. I couldn't believe it," Reginald said. The boy was taken to the hospital but suffered only scratches. He told the nurse he floated up into the tornado and floated back down. He saw his parents' flashlights and started walking toward their light. Reginald thinks his son's return is incredible. "RJ could have been anywhere by now," he said.