'A Huge Undertaking': GRDA Police Officer Comments On Rescuing Kids From Tornado-Damaged Home

One week after a deadly tornado tore through Rogers and Mayes counties, killing a mother and grandmother of one family, a first responder looks back on his actions from that night. 

Alan Davis said he knew all his life he wanted to help people in their time of need, so it was a no-brainer to jump into action when he heard people yelling for help after a tornado tore apart their home.

May 25th was a night many people in Mayes County would never forget.

"I just was saying send me everybody we can send," Davis said as he recalled his moments on the scene of what used to be a home. 

Davis has been a first responder for more than two decades. He's said he's gone to many devastating scenes, but none like the one in Mayes County.

"I've been to Moore, I've been to Joplin, I've been to some local tornado responses, but nothing where you were there within minutes of the response," he said.

Davis said he lives about two miles from a home the tornado destroyed.

"A gentleman stopped in the middle of the road and flagged me down and said his cousin had called him and that the tornado hit their house, the house is gone and the whole family is gone, he can't find them," said Davis, recalling moments after the storm hit. 

He and a couple of other officers began crawling through debris, over and under large trees that had been uprooted, doing whatever they could to get to the rest of the man's family.

"I don't know what's behind this tree, I don't know what's on top of it, I don't know what's around it, I don't know if there's power lines, you just don't know, but you could hear people screaming for help and you just go," Davis said.

Once they made it, they began searching for the family, finding the youngest kids first and comforting them. 

"So, you know Deputy Ruppert, he's your school deputy," he said to the youngest daughter, "and then she didn't know me, but she knew my son Hudson, so I could say I'm Hudson's daddy, I'll hold you," he assured the girl. 

After finding the kids, Davis and another deputy didn't hesitate to take the shirts off their backs to keep the kids warm.

"They were wet and cold, so I took my shirt off, my uniform shirt, gave it to the little girl, wrapped her up in it, then deputy Ruppert had done the same thing and wrapped the little boy in his," said Davis. 

Days later, Davis saw that shirt in a Facebook post from the children's father. The post said, "Sir, if you are out there or anyone who knows him, please let him know my children made it to the hospital and we are getting taken care of. Sir, there are no words I can say to tell you how thankful I am for you and the other personnel that helped me save what's left of my family," Davis read aloud. 

And while Davis was grateful for the post, he said it was nothing he could have done alone.

"It was just a huge undertaking by so many great first responders and civilians alike, and nobody would have made it out of there if those other guys and gals hadn't shown up, just wouldn't have happened," Davis said. 

Unfortunately, two of the family members in that home were killed by the tornado as they tried to make it to their storm shelter.

The father was not ready to speak at the time of this story, but Alan said he hoped to touch base with the family when they were out of the hospital and settled.