Witness says he found body of 24-year-old in field after tornado

The person who died as a result of Tuesday night’s tornado in Perry County was 24 years old, according to the man who says he found the victim in a field near Interstate 55.

Fred Carrico, 60, said he was returning to St. Louis from Sikeston, Missouri, when he discovered the body of a 24-year-old Perryville man in a field east of the interstate.

Fred Carrico holds a wallet he found in a field near Perryville, Missouri, on Wednesday morning.Tyler Graef

He said he'd pulled over after a piece of debris caused a problem with the trailer he was hauling for his job as an electrician. While stopped, he found a man, injured and unresponsive lying a short distance away. A law enforcement officer who arrived on the scene gave him a blanket to cover the man, he said. Carrico said the officer told him the man's injuries had been caused by a car, but Carrico said the man was not in a vehicle when he found him. Carrico gave the officer a driver's license he said belonged to the injured man.

"I feel bad about the kid," he said.

He returned to the scene at 8:30 a.m., he said, to see if he could gather items belonging to the victim that he could return to the man’s family.

"I'd want them to do it for me," he said.

At the scene, Carrico found the blanket he'd used to cover the man, as well as a muddy leather wallet. Inside were four dollar bills and a state-issued photo ID that matched the information previously stated by Carrico. He said the man's photo also matched the man he'd found Tuesday night.