HILLSBORO, Ohio — Two tornadoes touched down in the Hillsboro area during heavy thunderstorms, the National Weather Service announced.

The NWS said an EF0 tornado touched down near the intersection of Danville and Roush Road in Highland County, damaging the roof and windows of one home just before 1 a.m. Saturday. The tornado continued down Roush Road, where a home on the north side of the road sustained roof damage. The tornado eventually dissipated east of Kesler Road.

An EF1 then touched down 3 miles north of Hillsboro minutes after the first. The NWS said the tornado removed a large portion of a roof from an outbuilding on Selph Road near Lewis Lane. The garage door of one home on Kincaid Road was also smashed. The NWS said the most intense damage was along Morrow Road, where surveyors found "numerous trees" snapped and uprooted and several outbuildings damaged. The tornado weakened about 5 miles northeast of Hillsboro.

Wil Burns and his family were inside their home when the tornado touched down. Moments before the tornado hit, Burns said, he got an alert on his phone.

"My wife and I, we got the kids in the center of the house," Burns said. "There's no basement, just crawl space, but it's the best spot for them...we had a 10-minute warning with the alert, so we're pretty fortunate."

The winds pushed a carport from his home and through his yard.

"We [heard] the low rumble sound," Burns said. "It wasn't quite like a freight train for us. It was like a distant jet that was low-flying or really big heavy vehicle on the road that just never seemed to pass."

Burns' backyard, where his family raises livestock, was also damaged — a chicken coop was destroyed and one of the family's rabbits was killed. While there is a lot to clean up, Burns said he is grateful his family is safe.

EF0 and EF1 tornadoes are considered weak, but bring winds between 65 and 110 miles per hour.

HILLSBORO, Ohio —

An officer with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources is being remembered for his strong work ethic and passion for the job.

Jason Lagore died Tuesday night of an apparent heart attack while responding to a rescue at Rocky Point Lake in Highland County.

"He assisted on countless, countless search and rescues, bringing closure to families and also finding people and being able to help them," said LaGore's friend, Shaun Lentini.

Tuesday night, LaGore was trying to help a teenager who fell into icy water.

Around 6:30 p.m., a 13-year-old boy started screaming for help near a private dock. A nearby contractor heard his cry and called 911.

"I'm at Rocky Fork. I had some little kid come up to me and said his sister's in the water dead," the caller said. "He come running up to us saying, 'Somebody please help me, please help me.'"

The Paint Creek Joint Fire District responded to the scene.

"By the time our crews got there, she was under the ice," said Lt. Branden Jackman.

Jackman said they called in additional units from Hamilton and Franklin counties to help.

"The water was 36 degrees. Ya know, you look at water and think, 'It's just water.' A 36-degree water is no different than a three-story house fire. They'll both kill you just as quick," Jackman said.

The 16-year-old's body was recovered about four-and-a-half hours later. The coroner said she drowned. He is waiting until all of her family members are notified before he releases her name.

Sometime during the rescue-recovery mission, LaGore fell in the water after suffering a medical emergency. First responders tried to save him. He died at the hospital. The Highland County Coroner said preliminary results indicate LaGore had a heart attack.

"It affects us all. We all feel it because we're all family," Jackman said.

Lentini said LaGore had a big heart and big vision. He said LaGore began the K9 program for the division of parks and watercraft at ODNR and has since led the first K9 academy. He had worked for ODNR for the past 15 years.

"He was well respected. He did a lot of training around all of Ohio. He worked with a lot of organizations with search and rescue," Lentini said. "When he wasn't working, he loved hunting. He was a guy that I went over his house for dinner and he'd send me home with some deer."

Lentini said LaGore was a big family man. He is survived by his wife, Michelle, two small sons and his K9 partner, Sarge.

The FOP Lodge 149 has started a fundraiser for LaGore's family. More information can be found here:

https://www.unit2.org/jasonlagorek9