6-Year-Old Found Dangling In Tree After Tornado Ripped Through Home And Family Needs Prayer

After an EF-3 tornado ripped through their home in Salado, Texas, the family of Vanessa and Joel Rios needs prayer. The storm put all of the family members in the hospital with serious injuries and even left 6-year-old Miriam Rios dangling from a tree unconscious. Now, the community comes together to pray and help get the family back on their feet.

When tornado warnings came in, Vanessa and Joel Rios loaded their family into their truck. They tried to leave for somewhere safer but soon discovered there was no escape. The pelting hail and horrendous conditions forced the Rios family to turn around and head back home.

A pregnant Vanessa Rios, her husband, Joel, and their two children, Miriam (6) and Ezra (1), huddled in their mobile home hoping to ride out the storm. Sadly, though, they sat directly in the path of the EF-3 tornado.

The deadly tornado reaching winds of 165 mph passed right over the Rios family’s mobile home, ripping it from its foundation. It tore the structure apart and tossed the family members around like rag dolls.

“(Their mom) remembers waking up, rolling over on her side, and seeing her daughter in a tree and she can’t get up or do anything. She just rolled over and cried,” recalled Vanessa’s brother, Stephen Perez

Family Devastated By EF-3 Tornado
The storm completely destroyed the home. Both Joel and Vanessa Rios were tossed around inside.

Tragically, Vanessa suffered a miscarriage as a result of the incident. Though Joel Rios was buried under loads of debris, he used all of his strength to yell and wave for help. Passerby Blake Miller saw Jole and raced over to help him. But the father kept pointing and insisting he search for his family.

. You could tell he used every last bit of his energy and strength that he had, he just tried to get help for his family,” Blake recalled. “That man was in pieces and he was still fighting for his family.”

Blake found 6-year-old Miriam Rios dangling upside down and unconscious from a cedar tree. The EF-3 tornado had carried her hundreds of yards from her home. She was severely injured but, miraculously, still alive.

. Blake also found the couple’s 1-year-old son, Ezra, in a field, covered beneath limbs and debris.

“I mean, I had to dig, probably three-feet into these trees and limbs that were everywhere,” the Good Samaritan explained. “The little baby was underneath all of it. Underneath the whole pile…

Miraculously, he was alive. The little boy managed to suffer the least amount of injuries. And Blake Miller is just grateful the Lord used him to help this family after something so horrific.

“I don’t think of myself as no hero or anything,” he said. “It’s something that the Lord blessed me with, to help people, and that’s what I’m going to do.”