PARKERSBURG (AP) - The town's lost-and-found became a trove of items after an EF5 tornado blew away dozens of homes.

Mementos began arriving at City Hall a couple of days after the storm destroyed nearly a third of Parkersburg, killed eight people in Butler County and swept away daily life. Three months later, the items continue to pour in daily.

Wedding albums. Baby pictures. A wedding dress. A football and baseball card collection. A signed certificate of training from the Air Force.

"There's very sensitive stuff. Stuff that's priceless," Police Chief Chris Luhring said.

For example, there's a Bible that contains a family history dating back generations. Officials store that keepsake in a freezer to preserve the book, which has some water damage.

"You can't replicate that," Luhring said. "You can't do that over again."

Doreen Thorne, 77, loves quilting and decided to make a quilt for each of her eight grandchildren. She had sewn four.

On that Sunday in May, she heard the city's outdoor warning sirens. She and her 84-year-old husband rushed to the basement. When they came out, everything was gone.

"After the tornado, I wasn't looking for anything," Thorne said. "There was nothing laying around the house. I assumed everything was blown away."

She heard the city was collecting items returned to Parkersburg. Peeking out of plastic bag was one of her quilts, which was found on top of a house in Denver about 35 miles away from Parkersburg.

Thorne also found a quilt her daughter had made for her for Mother's Day a few years ago. In the center of the quilt is a picture from Thorne's 25th wedding anniversary.

That quilt was hanging on a wall in her home. She thought she would never see it again.

Then a package arrived at the temporary City Hall. Inside was the quilt, soiled and torn.

The package included a note that read: "Found by Michael McClain when planting corn in the John McClain field between Westgate and Sumner." Which means the quilt flew 60 miles northeast of Parkersburg and about 25 miles from where Thorne's other quilt was found.