LAUREL COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — Families in southeastern Kentucky are facing devastation after Friday's EF-4 tornado, leaving many without homes and scattering their belongings far and wide.
In Laurel County, however, social media is offering a glimmer of hope as some victims begin to reconnect with possessions they thought were lost forever.
One such story is that of the Hensley family. Despite their home taking a direct hit from Friday night's tornado, the family members survived, with just scratches from the rubble.
Jessica Hensley was sifting through the remnants of her home, when she heard a family on the other side of her neighborhood spotted something they believed to belong to her.
"My wedding dress. Someone found my wedding dress!" Hensley said.
The dress was discovered by Lyndsey Antos, who was at her parents' house in the same neighborhood, doing her part to help.
When she spotted a white wedding dress amid the debris, she knew she needed to help get it back home.
She turned to a lost and found Facebook group, where a commenter with a good eye soon connected her with Hensley.
On Wednesday, Hensley met Antos for the first time and expressed her disbelief that the dress had survived.
"I figured it was tangled around the tree, ripped. I didn't think it was even possible that it survived it," Hensley said.
Whether it's a birthday card or a keepsake like her wedding dress, Hensley said it all has become so much more meaningful.
"When you lose everything, anything means something," she said.
The reunion with a memory from one of Hensley's happiest days is providing solace amid this challenging time, making some of her worst days a little more bearable.
