Stories from Sunday, December 12, 2021

MAYFIELD, Ky. (AP) — Rescuers combed through fields of wreckage after a tornado outbreak roared across the middle of the U.S., leaving dozens dead and communities in despair. A twister carved a track that could rival the longest on record as the stormfront smashed apart a candle factory, crushed a nursing home and flattened an Amazon distribution center...

STEELE, Mo. — A Sikeston man died in a two-vehicle crash early Friday in Pemiscot County. According to Missouri State Highway patrol, the crash occurred at 8 a.m. on southbound Interstate 55 at the 2.4 mile marker, seven miles south of Steele, as the vehicle driven by Matthew J. Frias, 39, of Sikeston ran off the right side of the road and struck the rear of a stationary tractor-trailer...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The State Emergency Operations Center remains activated and state agencies continue to assist Missouri communities affected by a series of strong tornadoes and severe storms that swept through the state Friday night. The storms killed at least two people and destroyed or did major damage to hundreds of homes and buildings, based on initial assessments...

SIKESTON — Matthew Joseph Frias, age 39, of Sikeston died Friday, Dec. 10, 2021, near Hayti, Missouri. He was born June 24, 1982, at Bryan, Texas, to Gilbert Roland Frias and Rebecca Lynn Chappell Frias. He was a 2001 graduate of Sikeston High School and had lived in Sikeston most of his life...

PADUCAH, Ky. — Crews from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, KYTC, District 1 are working in multiple areas assisting with emergency response efforts along the tornado corridor - particularly in Graves County and Marshall County. Crews worked through the Friday night and continued work Saturday moving downed trees, debris and other road hazards from highways, county roads and streets to allow emergency responders to gain access to the damage corridor...

SIKESTON — Jeffery Lee Beeson Sr., age 52, of Sikeston, died Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021, at the Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.He was born Aug. 28, 1969, at Sikeston, to the late Cecil Thomas “Tommy” Beeson and Christine Cooksey Beeson. He had lived in Sikeston and the Bertrand area his entire life.