Search for mother trapped in fires ends in heartbreak
SANTA ROSA, Calif. — Jessica Tunis screamed at her mother to run out of the burning house but Linda Tunis said she was trapped, there was fire everywhere, and the last thing she said to her daughter was that she was going die before the call dropped.
The younger Tunis immediately called 911 early Monday, but didn’t know if they rescued her 69-year-old mom before her house was levelled in wildfires that swept Northern California’s wine country.
She turned to social media, along with hundreds of others looking for loved ones. She posted a picture of her mother smiling at a café with the caption, “Does anyone know if Journey’s End Mobile Home Park got evacuated before it burned down? I can’t find my mom, Linda Tunis.”
The post spawned more than 100 comments, largely from strangers who offered encouragement and tips, she told an AP reporter Tuesday night. Some even went to shelters to search for the woman who loved bingo and the beach.