A 32-year-old mother of three died with her youngest child in her arms Sunday when she was thrown from her Venus home by a tornado that ravaged the region. The woman was identified as Heather Town. Her 3-year-old daughter suffered broken ribs and a fractured pelvis.

Highlands County Sheriff Susan Benton said the “human side of the story” is the “protection of a mother for her child; she never let go of her little one, even in death.”