‘TELL ME THEY ARE ALIVE’

Dad of Baby Twins Killed in Tennessee Flood Recounts the Horror and Guilt

The 7-month-olds were ripped from his arms and are among 22 dead in Humphreys County.

The parents of 7-month-old twins swept away by killer flooding in Tennessee said the water poured into their home with such ferocity there was no escape. Danielle Hall told WTVF that she yelled out a window for help but ended up clinging to a tree for six hours. Her partner, Matt Rigney, battled the rapids inside, holding the babies, Rilieghana and Ryan, and 19-month-old Brayla and 5-year-old Maleah. “The water, when it hit us just pulled us under, all of us trapped underneath a bed,” Rigney told the station. The twins were ripped out his arms, but he managed to clamber to the roof with the older kids.

“Through the trees, I saw him get on the roof, but I didn’t see my babies and I screamed please tell me they are alive,” Hall recalled. Rigney added, “That’s the one thing I dreaded telling my wife that I didn’t have all four, like I failed them.” Authorities say 22 people died and more are still missing in Humphreys County.