What We Know About the Victims of Hurricane Milton, Including Beloved Grandparents and Army Veteran

• Among the seven victims from Hurricane Milton who have been publicly identified, six were killed in St. Lucie County, Fla., officials say
• One of the dead, Randy Snyder, was a friend of Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood
• Debbie Kennedy, another victim, had moved from upstate New York to the Spanish Lakes Country Club Village only seven months ago

While the final death toll remains in flux around 20 after Hurricane Milton hit Florida last week, the names and stories of some of the storm’s victims — including six people killed at a retirement community in one county following a tornado on Wednesday, Oct. 9 — have emerged. 

“It is with a very heavy heart that I inform you of the tragic passing of the following St. Lucie County residents who lost their lives as a direct result of the tornado that touched down in Spanish Lakes,” St. Lucie County Sheriff Keith Pearson said in a Monday, Oct. 14, statement shared with PEOPLE.

“I, along with the men and women of the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office, express our heartfelt condolences to their family and friends during this extremely difficult time," Pearson said.

As Floridians continue to recover — with some 340,000 customers still without power — loved ones are mourning Milton’s victims.

Randy Snyder

In a Saturday, Oct. 12, Facebook post, Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood announced the death of his friend Randy Snyder, 66. Kennedy was one of four people in Volusia County who died during the hurricane. 

Chitwood wrote that Snyder was a resident of Orange City and had a wife, Barbara, of 43 years, adding that his daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren reside in DeLand. 

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“His family was his world, and he attended every concert, play, and soccer game the kids had. He was just recently celebrating his grandson getting into FSU,” Chitwood wrote. 

“Randy's many friends will tell you he always made you feel cared for. That he was excited to see you every time you crossed his path,” the sheriff added. 

Chitwood expressed his condolences to Snyder’s family and the other families who lost someone due to the storm. 

“Certainly there are many who knew Randy well, loved him dearly, and are grieving his loss,” the sheriff wrote. “I am just honored he would call me a friend.”

Debbie Kennedy

Debbie Kennedy, 66, was a retired nursing home custodian who reportedly moved to the Spanish Lakes Country Club Village in St. Lucie from upstate New York only seven months ago.

She died as a result of the tornado that hit prior to Milton making landfall on Wednesday, Oct. 9 — as the storm was drawing closer, making the weather more severe — her daughter Brandi Smith told The New York Times and Syracuse.com. 

A GoFundMe established on behalf of Kennedy’s relatives, to pay for funeral and medical expenses, remembered her as “the heart of our family—an incredible mother, grand mother and friend who always put others before herself. She leaves behind children, and grand kids who are now facing an unimaginable loss.”

Smith told the Times that she had spoken with her mother on Wednesday, adding that her mom felt she was safe in her mobile home; there was a school nearby where Kennedy could take shelter if things got worse.

But Smith said her text messages to her mother went undelivered until Kennedy’s body was discovered in the neighborhood by authorities on Thursday, Oct. 10. 

The family said, per Syracuse.com, that their goal now is to bring Kennedy’s body back to New York to be buried alongside her husband, Jeff, who died in 2021. 

“She was an amazing mother, grandmother and great-grandmother,” Smith said. “She was there for anything, whether big or small.”

Alejandro Alonso and Mary Grace Viramontez

Two other residents from the Spanish Lakes community, Alejandro Alonso, 66, and his girlfriend, Mary Grace Viramontez, 70, were also killed, the Times and local station WPTV reported. 

Victor Linero, Alonso’s grandson, later recalled that he was on the phone begging his grandfather to seek shelter after he saw video footage of a tornado near Spanish Lakes. 

“I was screaming, ‘Papi, get shelter now!’ ” Linero told the Times of his conversation with Alonso before the call ended abruptly. “And then I start hearing, ‘Oh my God. Ahh!’ ” 

According to the Times, Alonso served in the U.S. Army and worked for the Postal Service, while Viramontez was a social worker in Detroit, according to her son Adam Torres.  

Among Alonso’s hobbies included fishing and motorcycling, Linero told Treasure Coast Newspapers.

“He was the type of person that if you needed him, he was going to be there,” Linero said of his grandfather. 

“He was the most loving man I ever knew, and probably the most loving man a lot of people knew,” Linero added. “It’s so hard to even come up with words, because it doesn't feel real.”

Alonso not only left behind his family members but also his two beloved dogs, Lulu, a Shih tzu, and Shiba, a Rottweiler, who survived the destruction, according to a GoFundMe established to help Alonso’s pets.

“Lulu, who was shaken up, is receiving necessary veterinary care, while Shiba, who was presumed lost, was later discovered and reunited with us,” states the fundraiser, which has raised some $1,300 as of Monday. “These dogs were everything to Alejandro, and we are committed to providing them with the love, medical attention, and safe home they need as they recover from this traumatic event.”

In addition Kennedy, Alonso and Viramontez, the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office identified three other victims who died in the Spanish Lakes community following the tornado: William Cutlip, 82; Roger Ammon, 85; and 84-year-old Sandra MacDonald.