ST. LUCIE COUNTY – A dog was rescued Thursday morning from the rubble of a home hit by a tornado spurred by Hurricane Milton at a 55 and older retirement community. A resident found the dog, Benji, at the Spanish Lakes Country Club Village retirement community near Fort Piece.
CBS News Miami reporter Morgan Rynor was on the scene while appearing live on “CBS Mornings.”
“I cannot believe I am starting this right now with some happy news,” Rynor said during the segment.
“He got Benji. He got Benji. Oh my goodness,” Rynor said seconds after a man found the dog in debris.
Benji had gone missing Wednesday night after tornadoes hit the community. On Thursday, the dog was taken to a veterinarian to be checked out.
Morgan Rynor
Two people in the house died, the neighbor told Ryner.
At least four people died in St. Lucie County after several tornadoes spawned from Hurricane Milton touched down, county spokesman Erick Gill told CBS News Miami.
Gill couldn’t confirm the number of victims at the retirement community at Spanish Lakes Country Club Village near Fort Pierce. The modular homes are off the Turnpike Feeder Road, west of Route 1.
“This is like nothing other we’ve seen,” Sheriff Keith Pearson told CBS’s affiliate WPEC.
He said 12 confirmed high-strength tornadoes tore through the area within 20 minutes.
More than 100 personnel, including the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Florida Highway Patrol, National Guard and state Florida Fish & Wildlife on the scene, including some door-to-door at the community to conduct search and rescue operations.
They called off their search and rescue overnight because of bad weather conditions but resumed the search in the morning.
“Every possible thing we can do is being done to search the area. Check the residences and, if there is anyone inside the residences, we’re going to work through the storm to get them out,” Pearson said.
