NetflixWill Norton was one of 161 people who died from the devastating 2011 Joplin tornado, and a heartbreaking tribute has now resurfaced following the release of The Twister: Caught in the Storm.
The new documentary landed on Netflix yesterday (March 19), examining the sometimes catastrophic power of mother nature by retelling the events of May 22, 2011, when an EF5 tornado – the strongest on the scale – hit Joplin, Missouri.
As well as killing dozens of people, the natural disaster injured 1,150 others and ripped the area into smithereens, making it the deadliest tornado in the US since 1947 and the seventh deadliest in history.
Through firsthand footage, The Twister: Caught in the Storm tracks the events of that day. The Netflix documentary also speaks with survivors, and memorializes those who weren’t as lucky.
Will Norton tribute resurfaces after The Twister: Caught in the Storm
Will Norton was one of many students who was celebrating their graduation day from Joplin High School when the tornado hit. The 18-year-old YouTuber tragically died while on his way home from his commencement ceremony.
A tribute has resurfaced following the release of the documentary, in which a Redditor shared a photo of Will smiling in his graduation gown while holding his certificate.
Alongside the image, they wrote, “One of the last known photos of Will Norton at his graduation from Joplin High School on May 22, 2011. Sadly, he was killed while on his way home from the ceremony when the infamous EF5 tornado hit Joplin.”
An acquaintance of Will’s replied to the post, writing, “Will was a year older than me but we shared a TV Productions class together. He was one of the smartest kids in the class by far – and the only one with a successful YouTube channel.
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“He was also one of the nicest kids I knew. Despite the fact his family was enormously wealthy he never thought of anyone else differently because of how much or how little their family had. It’s a shame that his life ended so early… Driving home from his high school graduation.”
Another replied, “Thank you for posting his channel. He seems like he really just enjoyed entertaining people. What’s that old saying: ‘All the best ones die young’.”
The Netflix documentary features clips of news reports, demonstrating how Will was initially announced missing. As family and friends searched for him, he became a symbol of the missing Joplin residents in the aftermath of the storm.
A newscaster shares clips from his YouTube channel, stating, “Already a star on YouTube with more than a million and a half views of his videos. He disappeared Sunday when the twister hit his SUV.”
Tracey Pressler, Will’s aunt, is then interviewed, confirming Will had been coming home from graduation when disaster struck.
“The sirens were going off, so everybody went different directions to try to get into shelter,” she says. “And he was driving, my brother was in the passenger seat. The tornado basically just grabbed them and took them into the air.”
Pressler said her brother reached over to grab Will, who started quoting scripture. “The tornado literally pulled him through the sunroof while my brother had a hold of him,” she says.
The search for Will continued until May 27, 2011, when his body was found in a pond not far from where the twister had picked him up. Tributes poured in, with reporters, family, and friends urging viewers to memorialize him by watching his YouTube channel.
High school football captain and Will’s friend, Keegan, says, “For those who haven’t seen it, Will maintained a YouTube channel. He has tons of videos up there, and they embody Will’s life everyday – his enthusiasm for living.”
The Twister: Caught in the Storm is streaming on Netflix now. For more documentary news, read about the American Manhunt: Osama Bin Laden delay, where Ruby Franke is now, and what happened to Michael and Kristine Barnett.