O'Keon held odd jobs over the years, including driving a truck for the International Paper plant in Riegelwood and working for a cell phone company in Wilmington.

Rufus Wilson described Tynesha, whom everyone called "Ty," as an enthusiastic homebody. Ty worked with disabled people in their homes.

"She was good as gold," he said.

The couple lived with their adopted 8-year-old son, Christopher. The Wilsons loved dogs and kept at least eight, mostly pit bulls, in a kennel behind their mobile home. Motorcycles were another love of O'Keon's; he used to belong to a Wilmington biker club and named a dog Harley.

Christopher took after his father, if you swap bicycles for motorcycles.

Nekesha Yeoman, 25, and her boyfriend, Darryl McNair, 34, lived next door. The two couples would often buy food for each other's dogs and cats. McNair also shared another hobby with O'Keon: racing remote control cars and trucks. O'Keon loved souped-up toy cars that could scream along at up to 50 mph.

"I don't know how he could keep those things on the ground," Rufus Wilson said.

On Friday morning, Yeoman and McNair searched through the wreckage of the two families' trailers looking for remote-controlled cars or anything else that reminded them of better times.

Yeoman's white cat, Powder, joined them. Harley and the rest of the Wilson's dogs barked from what remained of their kennel. Yeoman said she had to go buy dog food.

"You couldn't ask for better neighbors and better friends," she said.