NORTHWEST ARKANSAS — The little pillow embroidered with the name Kallie Anne Hignight turned up in a field south of Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport’s runway.
Airport employees have recovered scraps of metal and other debris since a Dec. 31 tornado tore through the Washington County community of Cincinnati more than 20 miles away from Highfill. However, the pillow went unnoticed until two weeks ago, when maintenance worker Bill Schoepf spotted it and took the time to pick it up and bring it to the shop.
Other maintenance workers told him to throw it away because it had been laying on the ground and was dirty, but Schoepf took it to the administrative offices instead.
“This little girl’s family would want this back,” Schoepf said.
At the airport’s administration offices, it caught the eye of Terry Franklin, the airport’s chief financial officer.
“I made up my mind right then that I was going to find the parents of that little girl,”he said.
After calling “every Hignight in the phone book” and contacting two hospitals, Franklin on Tuesday night got a phone call from Kallie Anne’s mother, Kristin Hignight.
Ben and Kristin Hignight and their daughter Kallie Anne rode out the deadly tornado in their hallway, the only area of their house on Gregorin Road that was standing after the storm passed.
“I’m getting [the pillow] back,” said Kristin Hignight, a Washington Regional Hospice nurse. “That’s from my family. It’s special.”
The pillow was a Christmas gift to Kallie Anne from an uncle and aunt, Danny and Amber Schweider. Embroidered by Kristin Hignight’s sister Heidi Smith, the pillow lists Kallie Anne’s name, date of birth (Aug. 25, 2010), time (2:35 a.m.), weight (7 pounds, 4 ounces), length (21 inches) and place of birth (Fayetteville) in pink letters.
“It took me a few hours to do over a couple of nights,” said Smith, who’d never asked about the pillow after the tornado. “I definitely want to see it now.”
Franklin’s search started with calling Hignights in the phone book. There were just three, and none of the people who answered knew Kallie Anne Hignight. Two of those who answered suggested Kallie Anne might be related to Hignights in Oklahoma. Franklin soon figuredout his search wasn’t on a good course.
“I decided that it was a wild goose chase,” he said.
Franklin on Monday turned to his next-best pillow evidence:Fayetteville, Kallie Anne’s birthplace. He called Washington Regional Medical Center but also Willow Creek Women’s Hospital in nearby Johnson.
“They were both nice and said they could have the parents call me if they found them,” Franklin said.
“That’s when I got the call on Tuesday night at work.
“[Kristin Hignight] was a neat person, and she was excited that I found that pillow and that no one gave up. She’s going to bring her daughter out here to see me.”
The meeting of Franklin, Kristin Hignight and her daughter was expected to occur Friday. That’s when the pillow was returned to its owner.
“It’s one of those almost miracle kind of things,” Franklin said. “If that pillow had landed 1,000 feet to the west, it’d still be lying in the weeds.”
News, Pages 1 on 03/16/2011