PIEDMONT, Okla. -- Oklahoma authorities say a 3-year-old boy who went missing when a tornado struck his home earlier this week is the state s tenth storm-related fatality.
Oklahoma Highway Patrol Capt. Chris West says Ryan Hamil s body was found Thursday morning along the shore in Lake Falcon, near the boy s home in Piedmont. He says Ryan s body was likely washed ashore by changing currents.
The boy s 15-month-old brother, Cole, was also killed in the storm and his mother and sister are hospitalized with injuries.
It is a bad deal, Hank Hamil said crying at a news conference Thursday. I lost both of my boys.
Hank Hamil was out of town on business when the tornado hit. He rushed back to help search for his missing 3-year-old.
Ryan was my little buddy, Hamil said. Cole was too. I loved them both.
The family huddled in a bathtub as the tornadoswirled towardtheir neighborhood. The storm's powerful winds ripped the children from their mother's arms.
The children s grandmother, Debra Hamil, says the boys mother, Catherine, and 5-year-old sister are doing well and are expected to recover.
Catherine Hamil has undergone two surgeries, but her unborn baby is fine, according to doctors.
The storms that spawned the deadly tornadoes killed at least 16 people in Oklahoma, Kansas and Arkansas on Tuesday and Wednesday.
