A Nebraska family has been searching for their missing loved one for twelve days now. For nearly two weeks, Vietnam veteran Kenny Angel's family has wondered what happened to him as he was swept away when the Spencer Dam failed in the early hours of March 14th.
"Pictures will never do it justice," Cody Allen told 6 News, finding it hard to describe the destruction. There are still 30-foot walls of ice and a blown out highway created an 80-mile detour to get to the other side.
Water tossed around tractors on Allen's father's farm that sits seven miles downstream from the dam. He's also missing 15 bulls, 80 cows and a number of calves. But most importantly, he's missing his Uncle Ken, whose place at the base of the dam was wiped out.
"My family learned to swim in the pond behind the house and everything is gone," Allen said.
Allen says no remnants of Uncle Ken's place have been found. "Nothing from the house. Someone found something that may be the backdoor."
But there's also been no trace of Uncle Ken, who was home in the valley when the ice jam destroyed the dam. "We don't know how far he made it. If he made it to the pickup, he might be in it. Otherwise, if he was still in the house, you don't know what you're looking for."
The family, local firefighters and even some strangers have been searching for him. "If somebody doesn't find him, I'm sure we'll be out there most of the summer looking with hopes of finding something," Allen said.
The family just wants to find closure by finding Kenny Angel.