Central Arkansas teacher's project reunites 2014 tornado victims with their photos

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/BENJAMIN KRAIN --05/2/14--
Family photos found in the dirt among rubble in from homes damaged in a tornado in  Vilonia.
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/BENJAMIN KRAIN --05/2/14-- Family photos found in the dirt among rubble in from homes damaged in a tornado in Vilonia.

A toddler on an orange tractor. A stage full of elementary schoolers dressed as penguins. A bride smiling shyly at the camera.

Those are some of the photos found in the rubble left by the tornadoes that tore through Arkansas in 2014 that Erin Rappold is working to return to their owners four years later.

With a group of her students, the Vilonia High School teacher runs a website called "AR Photos Reunited," on which more than 700 photos have been scanned and put online in hopes that those who lost them will see them again.

The photos were found in the areas of Vilonia, Searcy, Heber Springs, Batesville, Tuckerman, Hoxie, Imboden, Pocahontas, Marked Tree and Trumann as well as in southeast Missouri, according to the website.

The images include babies, couples, puppies, graduations, weddings, vegetable gardens, vacations, baseball games and a pet monkey.

Vilonia and Mayflower were among the hardest-hit areas when a EF-4 tornado touched down April 27, 2014, destroying hundreds of homes and killing 16 people.

"We are continuing to upload more pictures. Please check back daily for your memories," the site reads.

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