ST. LUCIE COUNTY, Fla. — The St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office continues its investigation into the deaths of six people at the Spanish Lakes subdivision in St. Lucie County where a tornado touched down Wednesday.
Sheriff Keith Pearson says deputies are still going building to building including several that were toppled by the strong winds.
On Monday, Sheriff Pearson released the names of the six Spanish Lakes victims:
William Cutlip
Mary Grace Viramontez
Alejandro Alonso
Roger Ammon
Sandra MacDonald
Debra Kennedy
"It is with a very heavy heart that I inform you of the tragic passing of the following St. Lucie County residents who lost their lives as a direct result of the tornado that touched down in Spanish Lakes," Pearson said in a statement. "I, along with the men and women of the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office, express our heartfelt condolences to their family and friends during this extremely difficult time."
Region St Lucie County
'Amazing' woman among 6 killed in St. Lucie County tornadoes
The sheriff says his team removed 25 individuals from the neighborhood of largely older, manufactured homes.
WPTV Reporter Dave Bohman was at the news conference and asked the sheriff if crews are still looking for survivors.
“Wednesday night, and even Thursday was a search and rescue mission. Is it fair to call it a search and recovery?” asked Bohman.
“I’m going to stay optimistic all the way through, but we know the reality of it is a lot of elderly people have medical conditions,” responded Sheriff Pearson. “We’re going well beyond 48 hours. That means 48 hours with no medicine, 48 hours with no food.”
Sheriff Pearson said one of the challenges of the operation at Spanish Lakes is that his teams can’t get an accurate accounting of those who might be missing.
The sheriff says many park residents are snowbirds and others may be renters, according to the Sheriff, and his teams cannot tell if the seasonal residents are in this area or still up north.
