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Three die in Southeast Missouri tornado

By JIM SALTER

Associated Press Writer

Three Missouri Bootheel family members died and other relatives were injured when a tornado destroyed three homes and a farm shop near the small town Cooter, the Pemiscot County Sheriff's Department said Tuesday.

The tornado was part of a band of storms that struck parts of the state Monday night. No other deaths were reported. Cooter, a town of about 400 residents, is just a few miles north of the Arkansas border and west of the Tennessee boundary.

The tornado touched down about 7:45 p.m. Monday on property owned by Don Tims south of Cooter. Three homes on the property and a farm shop were destroyed.

Killed were Don Tims' sister Joyce Crossno, his brother-in-law Jamie Smith and his father Leroy Tims. Leroy Tims was 86; ages of the other victims were not released.

Don Tims, his wife and sister-in-law were hospitalized; their conditions were not immediately known. Three or four children in the residences were treated for minor injuries.

The Kennett Daily Dunklin Democrat said the victims were inside mobile homes.

"We had a problem finding some of the victims," Sheriff's Deputy Ferrell Stewart told the newspaper. "One was found across the roadway from the residence." The others were found about 100 feet from their homes, he said.

Parts of the mobile homes were found a mile away, Stewart said.