Tornado winds carry family photo to Allmond Avenue

On December 16, Louisville Water Metering Specialist Billy Upton was returning from his shift at the Allmond Avenue Distribution Center. It was about 4 p.m. when he finished up his paperwork and was getting ready to go home.

“I got out of my metering van and as I walked behind it, I saw laying on the ground up next to the building a picture of a family,” said Upton, who has been with Louisville Water for eight years.

“I did not recognize anyone in it, so I took it inside and asked a couple other guys and they did not recognize anyone either.”

Upton brought the picture home and found a page on Facebook of lost items from the tornadoes that created a path of destruction, including major damage in western Kentucky. He posted it and within 30 minutes the owner had contacted him and told him they were from Dawson Springs, KY, which is about a 2 ½ hour drive from Louisville.

“She said everyone was OK but their house was very heavily damaged and they were staying in one of the state parks,” Upton said. “She gave me their address, and I returned the picture to them.”

Upton said that he was determined to find the family in the picture and was relieved to have found them safe.

“I was pretty excited until after I posted it,” he said. “Then I thought that if I get the worst news possible — that it was of a family that had lost their lives. I wasn’t sure how I would handle that, but thank goodness they were all safe, so it was a big relief.”