Search crews are still looking for around two dozen girls who are thought to have been carried away from a Christian summer camp during the terrible floods in Texas.
Officials said that between 23 and 25 campers from Camp Mystic in Kerr County are still missing after the Guadalupe River rose more than 20 feet in 90 minutes after a rainfall on Friday, July 4.
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The camp is in Hunt, a suburb of San Antonio, and it serves girls from 7 to 17 years old. Most people were forced to leave when the floodwaters rose, but some kids were left behind and are now thought to be lost in the fast-moving water.
Sky News said that on Friday night, 237 individuals were rescued from the floods, 167 of them by helicopter. Some people are still missing.
It’s not clear if any of the 24 de@d are among the campers who are still missing. According to The New York Post, one victim was located in Kendall County, but officials have not said if the de@th is related to the main flood zone.
Credit: campmystichunttx/Instagram
According to Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, there was no warning system in place for the campers. The previous flood of this magnitude in the region occurred in 1987, when ten teenagers were killed when floodwaters overtook a church bus.
Kelly was questioned at a press conference about why Guadalupe River campers hadn’t been evacuated earlier.
We were unaware that this flood would occur. According to BBC News, he claimed that there was no warning system in the area and that no one realized this type of flood was approaching.
Parents from all over Texas have gathered at the river’s brink to wait for news. Camp Mystic told parents that if they hadn’t heard from them directly, they should presume their daughters are safe, but administrators told families not to jump to conclusions.
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That doesn’t mean they’ve gone missing. They might be in a tree. Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick warned they might not be able to talk to each other. “We’re praying that everyone who is missing will be found alive.”
At a press conference, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said that counties around San Antonio were in a state of calamity and promised to deploy all available resources to find the missing.
Abbott stated, “We will do everything in our power to ensure that every resource, individual, and strategy—no matter what—will contribute to the process of saving everyone.”
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The names of some of the missing campers have started to surface as families share their stories in the hopes of locating their daughters alive.
Hadley Hanna’s parents told WFAA that they hurried to Hunt from Dallas to assist with the hunt.
Lainey Landry is nine years old. Her mother told CNN that Lainey was “brave and sweet.”
Fox 4 said that Eloise Peck’s parents said that she was in the same cabin as a few other missing girls.
In a photo her parents posted, Lila Bonner, a Dallas native, was seen grinning with Eloise.
Renee Smajstrla’s parents confirmed to NBC DFW that their daughter was in the same cabin as Eloise and Lila.
CNN reported that her mother said, “We are just praying.”
Credit: Keenan Willard/X
According to the Houston Chronicle, Greta Toranzo, a pupil at Sinclair Elementary School in Houston, is gone.
Kellyanne Lytal and Virginia Hollis are two other teenagers who have been confirmed missing.
Officials are telling Texans to stay away from flooded regions while rescue crews work.
We are thinking of everyone who has been affected by this.