Devastating flash floods that raced into a Texas summer camp on July 4th left at least five girls dead and numerous more missing.
The all-girls private Christian summer camp Camp Mystic near Hunt, Texas, was wrecked by surging waters, leaving five campers dead and eleven females missing.
The Guadalupe River flooded and swelled by up to 30 feet above its normal water level on Friday, resulting in 69 deaths overall, including 21 children.
Richard “Dick” Eastland, 70, the beloved director of Camp Mystic, lost his life attempting to save girls as a month’s worth of rain fell in a few minutes.
Source: Unsplash
Videos of the kids joyfully dancing around on stage during their first term choral and dance production were posted on social media by the camp one week before to the disaster.
According to the NYT, older females slept in rooms on higher ground, while the youngest children slept on low-lying ‘flats’ inside the camp’s cabins.
The majority of the missing girls are younger and were resting a few yards from the Guadalupe River’s banks.
About 750 girls were residing at the camp when the floodwaters struck, according to Texas Governor Greg Abbott.
What we know about every female who perished in the flood is as follows.
Renee Smajstrla, 8
Renee Smajstrla, age eight, was one of the people who perished in the devastating floods, according to her family.
“We are thankful that she was with her friends and having the time of her life, as evidenced by this picture from yesterday,” her uncle Shawn Salta wrote on Facebook.
“She will forever be living her best life at Camp Mystic.”
Janie Hunt, 9
Janie Hunt, a Dallas girl, told the local media that her daughter was among the campers that perished in the flood.
“We are just devastated,” she told NBC 5.
Sarah Marsh, 8
According to her family, Sarah Marsh, a native of Alabama, perished after the waves surged over Camp Mystic.
“Thank you for the outpouring of love and sympathy! We will always feel blessed to have had this beautiful spunky ray of light in our lives. She will live on in our hearts forever! We love you so much sweet Sarah,” her grandmother said, according to The Kerrville Daily Times.
Lila Bonner, 9
Lila Bonner’s death was confirmed to NBC News by her family. Bonner and her best friend Eloise Peck shared a cabin at the camp.
“In the midst of our unimaginable grief, we ask for privacy and are unable to confirm any details at this time,” the family said.
“We ache with all who loved her and are praying endlessly for others to be spared from this tragic loss.”
Eloise Peck, 8
The flood also claimed the life of Eloise Peck, a Dallas girl who had just completed second grade at Bradfield Elementary with her best friend Lili.
“Eloise was literally friends with everyone. She loved spaghetti but not more than she loved dogs and animals,” her mother, Missy Peck, told FOX 4.
“She passed away with her cabinmate and best friend Lila Bonner who also died. Eloise had a family who loved her fiercely for the 8 years she was with us. Especially her Mommy.”
Several individuals who perished in the biblical floods were not present at Camp Mystic.
There are currently 67 people dead, 38 of whom are adults.
According to individuals who spoke to the Daily Mail, Texas’s Division of Emergency Management estimated that the death toll from Kerrville’s devastating flooding will surpass 100.
Following the flooding, people have been posting frantically about their missing friends and family in an attempt to aid in the hunt for them.
Two additional young sisters who were visiting their grandparents when the flood rushed through their cabin are among the youngsters who sadly perished despite not being at the camp.
Blair Harber, 13
The fatal floods in Texas claimed the lives of two sisters, Blair and Brooke Harber.
When the natural calamity occurred, they weren’t at Camp Mystic.
According to FOX 4, the girls were washed away as they were at a cottage on the Guadalupe River with their grandparents.
The parents of the girls are safe and were staying at another property. Mike and Charlene Harber, their grandparents, are not present.
Brooke Harber, 11
Over the holiday weekend, Blair’s younger sister, Brooke Harber, was officially declared deceased.
According to their pastor, Father Joshua J. Whitfield, Blair and Brooker attended St. Rita Catholic School in the eighth and sixth grades, respectively.
“Even if we may never fully understand why such tragedies happen, we are called to respond with love, compassion, and prayer,” Whitfield said.
“We will honor Blair and Brooke’s lives, the light they shared, and the joy they brought to everyone who knew them.”
Missing girls lost in the flood
Camp Mystic has lost at least eleven of its girls.
On Sunday morning, county sheriff Larry Leitha announced that one counsellor was still missing.
KENS 5 reports that two of the missing children are Kellyanne Lytal and Lainey Landry, who attended Camp Mystic.
On Saturday, Ty Badon, a distraught father, informed CNN that his daughter and her pals are missing and have not been heard from or seen since the catastrophic water rush.
Around four in the morning on Friday, his daughter Joyce Badon and her friends Ella Cahill, Reese Manchaca, and Aiden Heartfield were last heard from.
Unsettling images from Sunday showed groups sifting through the undergrowth while young girls strolled around the remains of Camp Mystic with adults.
Amid a flurry of criticism directed at his administration for significant cuts to federal budget that affect agencies like FEMA, which are in charge of responding to natural disasters, Donald Trump signed a massive disaster designation for Texas on Sunday.
“I just signed a Major Disaster Declaration for Kerr County, Texas, to ensure that our Brave First Responders immediately have the resources they need,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Many lives have been lost and many more are still missing, leaving these families to deal with an unfathomable tragedy.
“The Trump Administration continues to work closely with State and Local Leaders.”
“Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem was on the ground yesterday with Governor Greg Abbott, who is working hard to help the people of his Great State.”
“Our incredible U.S. Coast Guard, together with State First Responders, have saved more than 850 lives. GOD BLESS THE FAMILIES, AND GOD BLESS TEXAS!”
