Tornado Victims Scour Apartment Ruins For Belongings

INDIANAPOLIS -- Three days after a tornado swept through part of Indianapolis' east side, apartment dwellers uprooted by the storm were allowed back into their homes to retrieve some belongings.

Officers escorted residents of Falcon Point apartments to their damaged homes. Residents were given approximately 30 minutes each, and carried garbage bags full of things they had retrieved, 6News' Derrik Thomas reported.

Natasha Prim, one of the residents allowed back inside, donned a hard hat, eager to get what she could. She had already been escorted inside to get her car.

"This board and this tree were on top of my car," Prim said, pointing to a pile of debris in front of an apartment. "Two police officers told me to back out as fast as I could and let the stuff fall."

The storm blew through at about 10:30 p.m. Friday, packing winds of up to 125 mph, causing substantial damage to all 35 buildings in the complex on Marietta Drive, near 38th Street and Mitthoeffer Road.

Prim and her mother, Shirley Allen, had lived in Falcon Point for two years. Pressed for time, they searched for the other resident in their home -- a cat named Sassy -- who was left behind after the storm.

"I'm trying to get my daughter's computer things out," Allen said. "I've got to get my medicine, and I'm trying to find my cat. However, I found a ferret who doesn't belong to me who is living here."

The ferret was corralled after a brief chase and was returned to his owner, who lives down the street. Sassy was found underneath a bed.

"This is a rescue cat that weight 6 ounces when we got him," Allen said. "He's terrified, but he's alive."

Prim was happy to find that no one had looted her apartment and that she still had some jewelry inside.

Others were not as fortunate. Despite a strong police presence at the complex, Keyston Rice said items were stolen from his home.

"All my game systems are missing. My DVDs and my video games were all gone," Rice said. "I'm not the only person who got robbed out here."

Despite Rice's complaints, police said they were not aware of any looting.

Victims waited patiently for hours for a chance to recover their belongings. Even though they had all been through quite an ordeal, Prim had a positive outlook.

"Just start over. Look for a place to live. We did find our cat," Prim said. "We are praying that they'll let us come back and get a few more items. If not, we'll pick up the pieces."