Bootheel tornado kills three in family

~ From wire reports

COOTER, Mo. -- Three family members in Missouri's Bootheel died and other relatives were injured when a tornado destroyed three homes and a farm shop near the small town of 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 on Pemiscot County Road 554 south of Cooter. Three homes on the property, owned by Don Tims, 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 victims were inside mobile homes.

"We had a problem finding some of the victims," sheriff's deputy Ferrell Stewart said. "One was found across the roadway from the residence." Others were found about 100 feet from their homes, he said.

Damage was also reported elsewhere in eastern Missouri. The Cotton Wood Point area south of Caruthersville reported trees and power lines down. And in Arbyrd in Dunklin County, part of the roof was blown off city hall.

In Potosi, witnesses said a tornado was to blame for a roof collapse at a lumber company. Seven people were inside when the roof fell at around 4 p.m.

A man in the parking lot was injured when an exterior wall collapsed on him. An employee also had minor injuries.

The storm damaged dozens of houses and knocked over trees in Mineral Point, said Lt. Shannon Thompson of the Washington County Sheriff's Department.

Large hail fell in Bonne Terre and in Ste. Genevieve County. And lightning apparently caused a garage fire in the St. Louis suburb O'Fallon. The homeowner suffered minor burns on his arm and shoulder while trying to drive his two vehicles out of the blaze.