Kentucky tornadoes: Lost photos found 140 miles away

Michaela Copeland's wedding photo was found by a farmer and posted on Facebook

Days after tornadoes ripped through the US state of Kentucky, people are being reunited with missing items, with some found more than 140 miles (225km) away.

More than 70 people died in the state after the tornadoes struck last weekend.

Officials in Kentucky say they were the most devastating in the state's history.

States including Illinois, Arkansas and Tennessee were also hit by the powerful storms.

In Kentucky, groups on social media have been working to reunite people with missing items from photographs to bibles and quilts.

Michaela Copeland is among those whose missing photographs have been returned. She had kept her wedding photos at her in-laws house in Mayfield - one of the most severely hit cities.

Her in-laws' home suffered considerable damage and the wedding photos were among the lost items.

"The photos mean the world to me as it pictures one of the best days of my life," she told the BBC.

Days later, she was tagged in multiple posts on Facebook from people who had spotted the images in the "Quad State Tornado Found Items" Facebook group. It was then that Ms Copeland discovered her photos had been found in three different locations - with one picked up in Breckinridge County, some 140 miles away.

"When I found out and was tagged in each photo that was found, I got chills down my spine and thought it was so bizarre. Finding one is one thing but three is crazy," she told the BBC.

Pamela Compton in Breckinridge County posted the wedding photo online after her husband found it on their farm.

"My husband was on the four-wheeler checking to make sure our cattle was alright and he said the photo was laying face down along with siding from homes and pieces of some heavy metal from objects that had been blown and carried by the tornado," Ms Compton told the BBC.

Her husband brought the photo home and Ms Compton posted it in the Quad State Tornado Found Items group on Facebook, to try and find the owner.

"I never expected to find the young lady in the photo," Ms Compton said. "I knew their heart had to be so heavy from the grief and pain of all the devastation. I never gave up on finding her."

The photo has now been sent to Ms Copeland but the town's post office was also hit by the tornado.

"We'll see how long it takes to get here. All three of the photos are headed to Mayfield at some time or another," Ms Copeland said.

• Eyewitness: 'I don't know how anybody could've lived'

Ms Compton has since been able to locate the owner of the other photo found on her family's farm. The owner lost his grandmother in the tornado and his grandfather is in hospital.

"My heart aches but each photo has a story good or bad. I just want everyone to know they are not alone," Ms Copeland said.

The Facebook group is full of people going online to try to locate lost possessions or reunite items with their rightful owners.

Posts have managed to reunite people with animals, trophies and even boats.

The tornadoes caused extensive damage

Kim Tyler, from Alabama, is the administrator of the Quad State Tornado Found Items group and says she set it up after Kentucky's experience brought back memories of the April 2011 tornado in her state.

"I was watching the news and recalled how in 2011, pictures and memorabilia were being found several miles from the original location," she said.

Ms Tyler added that seeing the strength of the tornado made her think the same thing could have happened in Kentucky.

"It has been heart-warming knowing so many families are reconnecting with their items.

"Everything from pictures, basketballs, memorial pillows, marriage certificates, quilts, and the list goes on," she said.