Ask any parent, and they'd tell you that they would do anything to protect their child. On Sunday, a couple in Arkansas put those words into practice — and it tragically cost them their lives.

Melissa and Michael Mooneyhan were killed after a massive tornado struck their home. During those final moments, they miraculously managed to save their 18-month-old baby by shielding her from the debris.

On Mother's Day [1], a twister touched down in their trailer park and ripped apart their mobile home, which looked "like it had exploded," Howard County Coroner John Gray told the Associated Press [2]. Rescuers found the little girl squatting between her parents' bodies, awake and teary.

"I don't think she had nearly a scratch on her," said Sonny Raulerson, the site's emergency management coordinator. "There wasn't enough room for her to even stand up. But she didn't try to crawl out. I don't think she wanted to leave her mama."

Melissa was a stay-at-home mom who doted on her daughter, her cousin Polly McCammack said, adding, "You couldn't find two parents who loved a child more."

The young girl was taken to a nearby hospital and later released to relatives. The Mooneyhans were among the five people killed on Sunday after a series of tornadoes struck towns in Texas and Arkansas.