Purcell man identified as 1 of the 4 who died in Matador, TX tornado
MATADOR, Texas — After a devastating tornado swept through Matador, Texas, four people were reported dead. One of the people who died in the storm was from Purcell, Oklahoma according to the Department of Public Safety.
The community of Matador completed the search and recovery of victims from the deadly tornado that swept through on Wednesday night around 7 p.m. All citizens have been accounted for, and no additional deaths have been reported.
The four who lost their lives to the tornado were identified as 59-year-old Randell (Randy) Rolin from Purcell, OK, 85-year-old Jo Etta Bumgardner from Matador, TX, 43-year-old Victor Valenzuela Jr. from Austin, TX, and 23-year-old Troy Hernandez from San Angelo, TX.
DPS says Rolin had taken shelter at the truck stop that was in the path of the deadly tornado.
An additional 15 people were injured in the storm.
The tornado destroyed 29 structures, significantly damaged 11 buildings, damaged 23 buildings, and 61 properties were affected by the storm.
As of 9:30 p.m. on Thursday, 80% of power had been restored to the town.
"City and County officials would like to thank all the people from surrounding cities and counties for their overwhelming support and outpouring of food, water, and supplies," DPS said in a statement. "Matador does not have any unmet needs at this time and would ask that people stop sending water, food, and supplies as they cannot store any more supplies. Please do not donate clothing to this relief effort. Officials are not equipped to store or categorize those types of donations."
For those who want to offer monetary donations, and account has been set up through Happy State Bank under the name of Matador Relief Fund.
The family of Randy Rolin also has a GoFundMe account set up to help with funeral expenses.
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