LAKE VILLAGE — Two people are dead after what appeared to be a tornado ripped through northwest Indiana Tuesday night.
According to officials, a tornado hit Lake Village, a small community in Newton County, about 125 miles northwest of Indianapolis, around 7 p.m. Multiple homes were destroyed.
The Newton County Coroner confirmed the victims, "tentatively identified" as Edward L Kozlowski, 89, and his wife, Arlene Kozlowski, 84, were found deceased after their home in the 8000 block of CR 600 W was struck and destroyed.
Their preliminary cause of death has been ruled as “multiple blunt force trauma,” and an autopsy has been scheduled for Friday morning at the Tippecanoe County Coroner’s Office in Lafayette.
Lori Postma of the Lake Township Volunteer Fire Department also confirmed the fatalities on Wednesday morning alongside the Newton County Sheriff's Office and Indiana State Police.
According to Potsma, crews searched overnight but were limited by darkness. Wednesday morning, they will resume with help from Indiana Task Force 1, who arrived Wednesday morning.
A team of 43 personnel with INTF-1 will conduct search and rescue operations in heavily damaged areas. Task Force 1 Commander Chief Tom Neal said the team returned to Indianapolis at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
"The team is grateful for the opportunity to assist our fellow Hoosiers, specifically the residents of Lake Village, in their time of need." Chief Neal said in a press release. "The men and women of IN-TF1 are highly skilled and professional with the work they completed and were able to execute the task with utmost efficiency.”
Residents displaced by the storm can go to North Newton Jr/Sr High School, which is serving as an emergency shelter.
"We will be working feverishly to bring our little town back to where it was," Postma said. "We are a very strong community, and we will be just fine."
Newton County Sheriff Shannon Cothran urged people to stay away Tuesday night.
"Lake Village has experienced a tornado; there are several houses that have been hit, a lot of damage," Cothran said. "Please, do not come here. Do not try to help right now. Let the first responders do what they gotta do."
