Spring Hill woman identified as person in picture found 71 miles away after storms
SPRING HILL, Tenn. (WKRN) — The search for the woman whose picture was found more than 70 miles away from her Maury County home is now over.
The severe weather that tore through Middle Tennessee on Wednesday, May 8 destroyed Valerie Bernhart’s home along Blackburn Lane in Spring Hill. She and her husband, John Bernhart, consider themselves very lucky to have survived the storm.
“We went to the laundry room, and we had just gotten there and about that time, it hit. We huddled in a corner, I put that blanket over me, John shielded me, we felt the debris pelting us in the back. He’s got a big bruise on his back where he was pelted. And I was just huddled there, praying constantly, ‘Lord, please help us,” Valerie recalled.
PREVIOUS: Woman finds photo after strong storms blow through Putnam County
Valerie said they heard their house being ripped apart. When the storm passed, their laundry room was all that was left of their home.
Meanwhile, a photo of Valerie ended up in a Putnam County field. Terrie Van Curen found the picture on her farm along Little Indian Creek in Buffalo Valley, and she reached out to News 2, hoping to to identify the woman.
Before traveling 71 miles away, that photo was in the room next to Valerie’s laundry room. She considers this picture one of the few things left of her home after the storm.
“I was shocked! Somebody emailed us or called us, and I said, ‘What?!’ And then my next thought was, ‘Okay what picture? Was it a good picture,'” Valerie said as she laughed. “But it was a family portrait. I could tell that my family was standing around me. You can’t see the rest of them, but that’s just incredible…It’s torn and everything, but yeah, let’s get it back, just as a souvenir! I’ll frame it and say ‘the tornado picture!'”
News 2 is working to reunite Valerie with her photo next week.
Meanwhile, The Associated Press published pictures of Valerie and John sorting through debris at their Spring Hill home on Thursday, May 9:
Valerie Bernhart looks through debris at her storm damaged home Thursday, May 9, 2024, in Spring Hill, Tenn. A wave of dangerous storms began crashing over parts of the South on Thursday, a day after severe weather with damaging tornadoes killed at least three people in the region. (AP Photo/George Walker IV) Valerie Bernhart searches for belongings outside her storm damaged home Thursday, May 9, 2024, in Spring Hill, Tenn. Severe storms tore through the central and southeast U.S., Wednesday, spawning damaging tornadoes, producing massive hail, and killing several people in Tennessee. (AP Photo/George Walker IV) John Bernhart picks up debris at his storm damaged home Thursday, May 9, 2024, in Spring Hill, Tenn. A wave of dangerous storms began crashing over parts of the South on Thursday, a day after severe weather with damaging tornadoes killed several people in the region. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Don’t forget to take the power and reliability of the WKRN Weather Authority with you at all times by downloading the News 2 Storm Tracker app.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.
