Woman shares details of parents' rescue after tornado collapses home in Streator, Illinois

One of the most devastating tornadoes from Thursday's storms ripped through the town of Streator. It's where Gary and Roxanne Rymeck had their home collapse around them.

Their daughter, Jill, spent Saturday digging through the wreckage, trying to salvage what she could for her parents.

Her father is now in need of surgery from an injury after part of his house landed on his leg, and is just grateful to be alive.

They are thanking the freelance journalist who was on the scene after their home was destroyed and came to their aid.

Dave: So the last thing you received from your mom was a message that she loves you and sent you a picture of the tornado coming.

Jill: Yes. 

Dave: So you didn't know what was going to happen?

Jill: No. Just looking at the picture my mom sent me the minutes before it hit, and she called me to tell me she loved me, and I thought that was going to be the last time I was going to hear from my family. 

Jill said the tornado was pushing down on her parents. She said they told each other that they loved each other as they thought it was their final moments. 

The freelance journalist, Steve Lasker, became a first responder that day, helping Gary from the rubble. Jill said she had a chance to speak with Lasker. 

"I actually got a good chance to talk with him this morning. I couldn't thank him enough for being there for my dad and my mom, and saving my family, because I don't know what, you know, what would've happened if they didn't," Jill said. 

Jill, on Saturday, was at the spot where her parents were found. She said they were in a closet and there was a crawl space underneath their bedroom. When the tornado approached, they went through the floor. 

She says now her family will start a GoFundMe, as it remains unclear where they will live. She says everything her parents worked for in the past 65 years was taken away in one tornado.

"I just thank god that my parents are alive. There's no way that god wasn't with them that day," she said. 

Jill says her father recently retired as a union pipefitter, and he and his wife lost everything—even their cars were destroyed.