By Mike Hayes, Adrienne Vogt, Aditi Sangal and Melissa Macaya, CNN
From CNN’s Caroll Alvarado
Nyssa Brown, the 13-year-old whose family was killed by Friday night’s tornado is still missing, family member Dornicho Jackson McGee told CNN.
McGee, who is Brown’s great-aunt, said the teenager is still missing as of Wednesday afternoon and the search is continuing.
Brown’s grandmother, mother, father, and three siblings were killed by the tornado that hit Bowling Green, Kentucky.
From CNN’s Caroll Alvarado
A married couple was killed when Friday’s tornado hit Dawson Springs, Kentucky, the Hopkins County coroner’s office said in a statement.
Jeff and Jennifer Eckert were together in their home when the tornado hit, according to family members.
Jeff, 70, and Jennifer, 69, had been married for 14-years and had recently moved back to Dawson Springs full-time after spending years living in Florida during the winter, according to Jennifer’s daughter Amy Blades.
Blades describes her mother and stepfather as a couple that was full of life, loved traveling, and did anything for their grandchildren.
“They were complete night and day, but I feel like they saved each other. They loved traveling and had fun. They were perfect together," Blades said.
Jeff was originally from Ohio and had played in several bands throughout his life, Blades told CNN.
When speaking about her mother, Blades said “She was full of laughter and always made everyone laugh.”
Jennifer is survived by her two children and five grandkids.
President Biden shared words of encouragement this afternoon from Dawson Springs, Kentucky, a community still in shambles following devastating tornadoes last weekend.
"I intend to do whatever it takes as long as it takes, as long as it takes to support your state, your local leaders, and as you recover and rebuild because you will recover and you will rebuild," Biden said this afternoon. "You know, the scope and scale of this destruction is almost beyond belief when you look around here. It's just almost beyond belief. These tornadoes devoured everything in their path."
From CNN's DJ Judd
President Biden greeted 12-year-old Dawson Springs, Kentucky, resident, Rayliee, telling reporters he gave her a presidential “command coin.”
“She’s 12 years old! I just gave her a command coin,” Biden told reporters traveling with him in Kentucky. “I told her, you know I give command coins to battlefield commanders. She’s in the battlefield.”
From CNN's DJ Judd
President Biden toured storm damage in Mayfield, Kentucky, Wednesday, joining Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and a group of local officials surveying the debris after tornados decimated the region this weekend.
“A lot of people are going through a God-awful mess now. And right now, they’re just recovering from the shock of it all. But in a month, in two months, in three months, when things are going to get really — they’re going to get really worried because they’re not — it’s not — can’t all be done that quickly,” Biden told reporters traveling with him in Kentucky. “But we’re not leaving. We’re not going to leave. I promise you, the federal government is going to be involved until this gets rebuilt, this whole — not just here, but particularly here, but also the other states as well.”
The President also said he was “impressed” at the community’s resilience following the storm.
“I really mean it. It’s just amazing. The stories I’ve heard are all personal stories, not stories about “I lost…”, “I did this.” They’re talking about other people and helping other people. It’s just been amazing, and — but not surprising,” he said.
The White House said Biden amended the disaster declaration today for Kentucky, issued Sunday, increasing the federal level of funding for emergency work.
"Under the President's order today, Federal funds for debris removal and emergency protective measures, including direct Federal assistance, has been increased to 100 percent of the total eligible costs for a 30-day period from the date of declaration," the statement said.
From CNN's Melissa Alonso
Kentucky's confirmed death toll from Friday's tornado outbreak has been updated to 71 due to duplicate reporting, according to Kentucky Emergency Management spokesperson John Bobel.
On Tuesday, the death toll in Kentucky stood at 74, but this included duplicate reporting on the local level, Bobel told CNN on the phone.
Two jurisdictions reported the same deaths, said Bobel. After "deconflicting those reports, the death toll is now 71," Bobel said Wednesday afternoon.
From CNN’s Caroll Alvarado
Carl Hogan, 60, was killed when a tornado hit his home in Dawson Springs, Kentucky, the Hopkins County coroner’s office said in a statement.
He was home alone when the tornado hit, his daughter Katie Fields told CNN.
“I lived just a mile from him but couldn’t get him awake and moving in time to get him to come to my house,” Fields said.
Hogan grew up in Providence, Kentucky, but has called Dawson Springs home for the last four years.
In September, he celebrated his 41-year wedding anniversary and had dedicated the last several years to taking care of his wife who suffered a stroke.
He’s survived by his two daughters and four grandchildren.
“He was a retired truck driver. Just a wonderful husband, father, and grandfather. A good, honest man and all of his neighbors would say so,” Fields told CNN.
From CNN's Betsy Klein
President Biden addressed state and local officials in Mayfield, Kentucky, during a briefing on last week’s severe weather and tornadoes, expressing his shock at some of the images he saw during his aerial tour of the area as he pledged the full force of the federal government to help rebuilding and recovery efforts.
Biden said he was “amazed” at the way the community has come together in the wake of the storm.
“People just come out of nowhere to help as a community, and that’s what it’s supposed to be, that’s what America’s supposed to be. There’s no red tornadoes or blue tornadoes, there’s no red states or blue states when this stuff starts to happen. And I think, at least it my experience, it either brings people together or really knocks them apart, and moving together here,” he said.
He pressed to the local leaders that the federal government was there to help in the immediate aftermath, but would also be there further into rebuilding efforts.
“I just want you to know – I’m driving the governor crazy calling him all the time – but there may be things available that would be helpful six weeks, six months from now that you’re unaware of. And so we’re – I’ve instructed my team to make you all aware of everything that is available from a federal level,” he said, later telling them, “Don’t hesitate to ask for anything.”
Biden said he was “here to listen.”
“I think the vast majority of Americans know what you’ve been through just looking on television. It has been incredible. Your colleagues talk about it – they’ve seen it, they say, ‘holy gosh, what’s going on?’” Biden said.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell also addressed the group.
From CNN's Nick Valencia and Jade Gordon
Eleven of the people killed in the swarm of tornadoes that ravaged Bowling Green, Kentucky, over the weekend were from two families on one street, police and family members tell CNN.
Five relatives of an immigrant family from Bosnia were among the 11 killed on Moss Creek Avenue, Ronnie Ward, Bowling Green Police Department spokesperson, told CNN.
The five members of the Besic family were located near their residence in the aftermath of the tornadoes. The bodies included two infant girls, police said.
“They were not found in the house. They are all related, but there are two brothers. One of them was having construction done on their home and had moved in with the other,” said Ward.
“The other part of this is the Brown family," who according to Ward, also lost several members. Rachael and Steven Brown and three of their four kids were killed when the tornado hit their Moss Creek Avenue home, CNN previously reported. Rachael's mother, Victoria Smith was also killed in the storms, Brown's aunt, Dornicho Jackson McGee, told CNN.
The homes of the Besic and Brown families were just doors apart in the same neighborhood.
“That’s devastating to two families. It’s devastating. It’s hard to understand and comprehend how that happened,” Ward added.