Joan Gay Croft has haunted me. The most likely scenario is that a childless woman hired men who are skilled at kidnapping kids to give to childless couples. These men found out about the tornado and decided to visit the hospital for seemingly orphaned kids or kids who injuries rendered them “out of it”, so to speak.
I believe Joan lived to adulthood. If she has passed, it’s as an adult of natural causes. Those men DID NOT kill her.