Mom dies clutching child in her arms after tornado tears through mobile home park in Madison

MADISON, Tenn. (WTVF) — Wanda McClemor walked out of her home Saturday night hoping to hear a cry.

"We were out here listening for a baby, and they thought maybe (the child) had blown away," McClemor said.

McClemor lives next door to trailers off of Nesbitt Lane in Madison, where a tornado picked up one of the mobile homes and flipped on top of the other. She heard a woosh as the storm passed over her own home, comparing the noise to someone sticking a commercial vacuum right up to her ear. Officials say the tornado was an EF2 with winds of more than 125 mph.

"I looked out and didn't see the trailer, and we heard someone hollering for help. You could hear them calling for help. But by the time we got out here, there were people already trying to get to them."

Neighbors searched frantically for the missing mom and child. Eventually, the 2-year-old was found, still wrapped in his mother's arms. Both of them were gone.

"They said they couldn't find her because she was holding him, trying to protect the baby," said McClemor, trying to hold back tears.

Authorities say 31-year-old Floridema Perez and her 2-year old son Anthony were killed. Their 37-year-old neighbor Joseph Dalton was also killed in the storm. Two other children in the mobile homes were injured — but should be OK.

"I went in last night and I prayed. I prayed they would just be unconscious. I prayed, but maybe he'll just be unconscious," McClemor said. "But that wasn't the case."

The Hispanic Family Foundation is raising funds to help the family of Floridema Perez and Anthony. You can donate to the GoFundMe here.