Ga. man finds graduation photo 100 miles from tornado-ravaged Ala. town

GORDON COUNTY, Ga. — A family in Gordon County were stunned to learn that a photo they found in their backyard after tornadoes hit the southeast came from nearly 100 miles  away.

Stuart Mason said he found the graduation photo in his backyard in Ranger, Georgia on Saturday morning, days after a series of devastating tornadoes rocked the  southeast.

The laminated photo shows a teen smiling in her pale blue cap and gown and holding a diploma alongside a family member. It’s dated May 24, 2007.

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Mason said the only identifying things in the photo were the gown’s colors and the letters PV on the sash. Curious, Mason took to social media to try to identify where the photo came from. Less than 12 hours later they located the graduate  -- a teen from Jacksonville, Alabama.

Jacksonville was one of the towns devastated by a tornado on Thursday. Through social  media, Mason figured out that the “PV” stood for Pleasant Valley High School. He reached out on the high schools’ Facebook page and someone recognized the girl in the photo and was able to connect Mason with her so he can send the photo back.

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“We are being told that she lost everything  in the tornado and is so thankful just to be getting this picture back,” Mason said.

Severe Weather Team 2 Meteorologist Glenn Burns said that while rare, it is possible for an object to  be carried by a tornado and end up miles away without a scratch.

“It’s the nature of the tornado,”  Burns said. “It can leave a picture unscathed as it travels nearly a hundred miles and a mile away.  You can Google it and see some of the bizarre things can have happened in tornadoes.”

Mason said he would share the owner of the photo’s name if she is willing. He is also working to  set up a fundraiser to help her.

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