Texas Couple Gets Engaged In The Midst Of Tornado Cleanup

When an EF-4 tornado hit the Paris home of Dakota Hudson and Lauren Patterson, their house was destroyed, along with nearly everything they owned. Among the items lost was an engagement ring. As the tornado whirred by, their house began to lift. "You could hear the creaking of the house as it pulled up off the slab," Patterson told FOX 4.

"That’s when I realized I had just put that ring in the back house to hide it and I didn’t know how I was going to tell her, but I had to so I just came and told her and about lost it," Hudson said. "I was at a complete loss whenever I found out the ring was gone. I never really thought I was going to see it again. We started going through debris for hours. Her cousin found the top half of the ring box torn up. So we started looking in that area."

It wasn't until days later when they returned to searching through the debris. The Paris Junior College softball team helped the couple go through the rubble. It wasn't long before they found out an engagement ring was missing. "I guess when you tell 20 girls that you’re looking for an engagement ring they’re going to make sure you’re engaged by the end of the day. They did not let up. They all came out there and they were all work horses. The amount of work they were able to put in to help us out was phenomenal," Hudson said.

Patterson mentioned if they found the ring, Hudson said he'd propose on the spot. One of the softball players, Kate, was able to find the ring — it was covered in mud. "The first thing I could see was a water bottle to rinse it off and I just walked over and asked her to marry me," Hudson said. "Making it through a tornado, what else am I going to wait for?"

The newly engaged couple hopes their story can inspire others.

"This is a little light at the end of the tunnel for us. We still lost everything, just like everyone else did, but we’re so fortunate with how the community has banded together to try and help support everyone," Hudson said.