Bec Oakes
A baby who was swept away by a Tennessee tornado has been found alive and well in a rather unusual spot.
Sydney Moore, her boyfriend and their two children were inside their Clarksville home last week when a tornado ripped through the community.
The EF3 tornado left six people dead — three in Clarksville and three in Nashville — and more than two dozen injured when it touched down in Montgomery County on Saturday (December 9).
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22-year-old Moore recalls the moment the tornado hit.
"Something in me just told me to run and jump on top of my son," she told WSMV News. "The moment I jumped on him, the walls collapsed.
"I was being really crushed. I couldn't breathe."
But, as Moore protected her 1-year-old son, Princeton, the bassinet which held her sleeping four-month-old baby was picked up by the storm.
Her boyfriend witnessed the terrifying event as it happened.
"The roof came off first, the tip of the tornado came down and picked up the bassinet with our baby," she said. "He was the first thing to go up."
The dad lunged to try and rescue baby Lord, but ended up getting picked up by the storm, too.
Moore recalls: "He was just holding on to the bassinet the whole time, and they went into circles, he said, and then they got thrown."
When the tornado finally passed, the couple sprung into action to find their missing son.
Miraculously, he was alive, having landed in a tree that had fallen in the storm, in what the young mom describes as looking like 'a little tree cradle.'
"I thought he was dead," Moore said. "I was pretty sure he was dead and we weren’t going to find him. But he’s here, and that’s by the grace of God.
"I will die for my kids. That’s not even a question, and my boyfriend would do the same thing."
It has since been confirmed that the family escaped the tornado with just minor injuries. Moore's boyfriend is said to have suffered a broken arm and shoulder, while the others have just 'minor cuts and bruises.'
But, while all four family members were safe, their mobile home and most of their belongings were destroyed in the tragic incident.
Their community has rallied around them, providing them with essentials like diapers, and formula, and they are now searching for a new home.
A GoFundMe page has been set up by Moore's sister to help them get back on their feet.
In the listing, she wrote that four-month-old Lord 'looked like he was placed on the tree gently' as if 'an angel guided him safely to that spot.'
She also extended her thoughts and prayers to everyone affected by the storm.