Two girls, 9, who were 'inseparable' best friends, found dead in devastated Oklahoma elementary school 'holding onto each other'



The bodies of Antonia Lee Candelaria and Emily Conatzer were found in Plaza Towers Elementary School



Relatives told MailOnline that their daughters were 'never apart' and they took some comfort from the fact that they had each other until the end



All seven children who died at the school have now been identified



Search parties announced they had completed their search this morning

Nine-year-old best friends Antonia Lee Candelaria and Emily Conatzer died hand-in-hand as their school was torn apart around them it has emerged today.

In an exclusive interview with MailOnline nine-year-old Antonia’s mother, Brandie Candelaria told of the comfort both families draw from knowing their children were together, holding each other’s hands, when the unthinkable happened.

Brandie wept as she recalled: ‘I went to see my little girl yesterday at the Chief Medical Examiner’s office.

‘There were little marks, imprints and tiny scratches on her forearm like someone had been holding onto her, clinging to her.

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Tragedy: The body of little Antonia Lee Candelaria was discovered in Plaza Towers Elementary school holding her dearest friend Emily Conatzer

Best friends: Emily Conatzer was found in the rubble of Plaza Elementary school with Antonia Lee Candelaria

‘We take some comfort in thinking that she and Emily were holding onto each other and not alone.’

The little girls were, Ms Candelaria said ‘inseparable in life.’

They had long been best friends at Plaza Towers Elementary where both were in the third grade.



When the Conatzers moved into the Candelaria’s neighborhood last year they were, Ms Candelaria said ‘just never apart.’

Now the families who were once bonded simply by their daughters’ friendship are united in the bitter blessing of having each found and lost a child in the storm that leveled a swathe of Moore, Oklahoma.

Antonia was the middle child of three – her little sister, Lillian, is four months old and her older, Trinity, is 10.

Trinity was pulled from the rubbled of Plaza Towers by her father, Jimmy Rosson, who helped save several children in his hunt for his girls.

Emily Conatzer was one of two girls - her little sister, Luci, was also rescued and returned to her parents, ‘a little bit banged up but otherwise fine.’

Ms Candelaria said: ‘I don’t remember exactly how it happened. I was at home with my youngest and we stayed together when the Tornado hit.

‘As soon as it was over me and Jimmy and the baby got out of our house and looked across to the Conatzers.



Heartbroken: Emily's mother shared her grief and thanked people for their kind wishes

Devastated: Emily's mom Kristi wrote about her grief on Facebook saying she had worst news a parent could have

Big sister: Emily was big sister to Luci, pictured

‘Her husband was working on getting them out – they were okay but they were trapped a while.’

The parents were, Ms Candelaria said, ‘just frantic’ to get to the school where both had two daughters.

The first to be found was the Conatzer’s youngest, then Trinity Candelaria.

Ms Candelaria said: ‘Jimmy brought Trinity back to me and wanted to go and carry on searching for Antonia but when he went back they stopped them digging.

‘They stayed looking as long as they could but they couldn’t get to them – they couldn’t get to my little ladybug or Emily.’

Her voice cracking, wrung out with grief, Ms Candelaria said: ‘That’s what she was – my little Ladybug.

‘My other girls are my Lovebugs. She’d just recently become a big sister and she loved it, she loved spoiling her little baby sister.

‘She had such a beautiful innocence about her, such a whole different way of looking at things. You’d think 'How in the world did she come up with that?' Then you’d think about it and it would make a kind of sense.’

Ms Candelaria, herself a state employee, praised the teachers who helped rescue her eldest child.

Questions have been asked as to why Plaza Towers Elementary and Moore Elementary, both razed by the storm, did not have underground bunkers or safe spaces built into the fabric of the schoolhouses. Such measures could have been the difference between life and death for those trapped within.

Destruction: Officials said 2,400 homes had been destroyed or damaged in the tornado

Rebuilding: Families were combing through belongings and beginning to try and take stock of the damage today

Ms Candelaria said: ‘There’s a lot of questions as to why things happened the way they happened but now isn’t the time for pointing fingers or laying blame.

‘We have to do what we can for our little girls. There are so many stories we have to share with each other, so many memories or our beautiful ladybug.

‘Her service is tomorrow and all the prayers and memories people have shared means so much.’

As does the thought that, as the storm raged, her little girl was not entirely alone.

Ms Candelaria said: ‘I couldn’t be there with her but she was with her best friend and now she’s still with her best friend and knowing that helps a bit.’

Kristen Strickland Conatzer shared her grief for little Emily online.



Writing on Facebook yesterday she said: 'Today was the day that no parent wants to encounter, the words you never want to hear as a parent.



'Our baby didn't make it. I am overwhelmed by the support that is pouring in from all of my friends, family and Facebook family. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart.



'I hope I wake up and she is jumping around on me giggling...but i know that she is in heaven smiling down. My baby I know you are with the unicorns tonight. Sleep well my angel.'



Distraught: Laurinda Vargyas fought to save her baby Sydney, pictured, and 4-year-old, Karrina, who both died

Tragedy: Megan Futrell, pictured, and her five-month-old baby were among those killed at a 7-Eleven store in Moore, Oklahoma, which was destroyed in Monday's tornado

Others rushed to pay tribute to the two little girls and spoke about their lovely enduring friendship.



Antonia's uncle Paul Rosson wrote yesterday: 'Thanks everyone for your prayers and thoughts. We are doing the best we can considering. They found her this morning holding her best friends hand. They went to heaven together so they didn't have to be alone.'

All seven children who died at the school have now been identified and all came from the same third grade class. Taking shelter in the basement it is believed many drowned in water from leaking pipes.



The other five were named as Janae Hornsby, Sydney Angle, Nicolas McCabe and Christopher Legg and eight-year-old Kyle Davis

It was initially reported that the children died from drowning, but officials said the causes of death were mechanical asphyxiation, which is suffocation after being crushed by a heavy object.

The chief of the Moore Fire Department officially called off the search at the site of the school today.



They combed the debris three times and discovered no further victims beyond the seven discovered earlier in the week.

Of the remaining 17 victims Terri Long, 49, Shannon Quick, 40, Jenny Neely, 38, and Cindy Plumley and Deanna Ward, whose ages are unknown, also lost their lives.

Lost: Nine-year-old Janae Hornsby was one of the children who died. Her father said she always had a smile on her face

Victims: Kyle Davis, 8, and Sydney Angle, 9, were confirmed as deceased

Confirmed: Officials confirmed today that 9-year-old Nicholas McCabe was among those deceased



Family members said Jenny Neely was with her son Jacob when she died but no other details are forthcoming.



They also confirmed Megan Futrell, 29, and her five-month-old baby, Case Futrell were killed in an obliterated 7-Eleven store.



Four-year-old Karrina Varygas and her baby sister Sydnee Varygas, who was seven months, were also killed by blunt force trauma injuries when their house was ripped apart. Their mom Laurinda desperately tried to save them.



Authorities added that eight other adults aged between 39 and 65 died - mostly from blunt force trauma.



Local reports named one of those victims as 65-year-old as Hermant Bhonde, who became separated from his wife when the powerful force hit their home.

Relatives also named Tawauna Robinson.

