WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. — A Greenbrier County teenager who drowned in the June flood and whose body has yet to be recovered will be remembered during a funeral service Sunday at Bethesda Church in White Sulphur Springs.
Pastor Randy Gilliam with White Sulphur Springs Baptist Church, an uncle to Mykala Phillips, 14, will officiate her service.
On Friday’s MetroNews “Talkline,” he remembered his niece as “a vibrant type of personality,” a “good, all-around teenage girl” who “loved life” and was looking forward to entering high school in August at Greenbrier East High School.
Phillips was swept away in floodwaters on June 23 as she was trying to escape rising water at her family’s White Sulphur Springs home.
Tied to her father and two brothers, ages 15 and seven, with extension cords, Phillips was lost in the raging waters of Howard’s Creek when a cord snapped.
Her dad, James, told Gilliam he heard what he thought was an explosion during the storms.
“What it was was a wall of water that hit the side of their house, knocking it off the foundation, turning it somewhat sideways. They actually had to go out through a window,” Gilliam said.
When the cord broke, Phillips went one way and the three other family members headed in another direction.
She was last seen alive in the fast-moving current going under the water near the porch of a neighbor’s house, witnesses said.
Despite extensive searching during the more than five weeks since the storms, Phillips’ body has not been found.
“You can’t get the complete closure that you would like to have with the body being found, so that holds you back in a certain area,” Gilliam admitted. Still, he said, family members wanted to move forward with Sunday’s funeral service.
Phillips was one of 23 West Virginians killed in the June flood. Fifteen of the flood deaths were in Greenbrier County. She is the only flood victim who remains missing and is presumed dead.
“Mykala loved her family and enjoyed spending time with them. She especially loved children and animals of any sort. She was loved by everyone who met her and was beautiful inside and out. Mykala was and continues to be a blessing to many,” her obituary read.
Sunday’s funeral service was scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. at Bethesda Church, 232 Bob White Lane, White Sulphur Springs.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be sent to Della Gilliam, P.O. Box 277, White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. 24986 or deposited with Premier Bank in care of Della Gilliam for the Phillips family.
The family was originally from Tennessee and had relocated to West Virginia several years ago. Phillips’ mother is an employee of The Greenbrier Resort and was at work when the storms hit.