Camp Mystic ‘grieving the loss’ of 27 campers and counselors following catastrophic Texas floods

KERRVILLE Texas AP Camp Mystic says it is grieving the loss of campers and counselors as the search continued Monday for casualties of catastrophic Texas flooding over the Fourth of July holiday weekend The announcement adds another layer of heartbreak to the devastating flooding sent a wall of water through the century-old summer camp We have been in communication with local and state executives who are tirelessly deploying extensive guidance to search for our missing girls the camp declared in a declaration posted on its website We are deeply grateful for the outpouring of assistance from society first responders and representatives at every level With more rain on the way the threat of life-threatening flooding was still high in central Texas on Monday even as crews search urgently for the missing following a holiday weekend deluge that killed more than people Representatives stated the death toll was sure to rise Residents of Kerr County began clearing mud and salvaging what they could from their demolished properties as they recounted harrowing escapes from rapidly rising floodwaters late Friday Reagan Brown noted his parents in their s managed to escape uphill as water inundated their home in the town of Hunt When the couple learned that their -year-old neighbor was trapped in her attic they went back and rescued her Then they were able to reach their toolshed up higher ground and neighbors throughout the early morning began to show up at their toolshed and they all rode it out together Brown revealed A meager miles away rescuers maneuvering through challenging terrain filled with snakes continued their search for the missing including those from Camp Mystic an all-girls summer camp that sustained massive damage On Sunday afternoon more than two days after the floods tore through the camp administration had disclosed that specific of the girls and a counselor had still not been revealed Gov Greg Abbott revealed Sunday that people were unaccounted for across the state and more could be missing In the Hill Country area home to several summer camps searchers have revealed the bodies of people including children Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha reported Ten other deaths were communicated in Travis Burnet Kendall Tom Green and Williamson counties according to local agents The governor warned that additional rounds of heavy rains lasting into Tuesday could produce more dangerous flooding especially in places already saturated Families were allowed to look around the camp beginning Sunday morning One girl walked out of a building carrying a large bell A man whose daughter was rescued from a cabin on the highest point in the camp walked a riverbank looking in clumps of trees and under big rocks One family left with a blue footlocker A teenage girl had tears running down her face as they slowly drove away and she gazed through the open window at the wreckage Searching the catastrophe zone Nearby crews operating heavy equipment pulled tree trunks and tangled branches from the river With each passing hour the outlook of finding more survivors became even more bleak Helpers and a few families of the missing came to the calamity zone and searched despite being requested not to do so Personnel faced growing questions about whether enough warnings were issued in an area long vulnerable to flooding and whether enough preparations were made President Donald Trump signed a major mishap declaration Sunday for Kerr County and mentioned he would likely visit Friday I would have done it the present day but we d just be in their way It s a horrible thing that took place absolutely horrible he stated reporters Prayers in Texas and from the Vatican Abbott vowed that executives will work around the clock and explained new areas were being searched as the water receded He declared Sunday a day of prayer for the state In Rome Pope Leo XIV offered special prayers for those touched by the accident The first American pope spoke in English at the end of his Sunday noon blessing saying I would like to express sincere condolences to all the families who have lost loved ones in particular their daughters who were in summer camp in the mishap caused by the flooding of the Guadalupe River in Texas in the United States We pray for them Desperate refuge and trees and attics Survivors shared terrifying stories of being swept away and clinging to trees as rampaging floodwaters carried trees and cars past them Others fled to attics praying the water wouldn t reach them At Camp Mystic a cabin full of girls held onto a rope strung by rescuers as they walked across a bridge with water whipping around their legs Among those verified dead were an -year-old girl from Mountain Brook Alabama who was at Camp Mystic and the director of another camp up the road Two school-age sisters from Dallas were missing after their cabin was swept away Their parents were staying in a different cabin and were safe but the girls grandparents were unaccounted for Warnings came before the catastrophe On Thursday the National Weather Institution advised of anticipated flooding and then sent out a series of flash flood warnings in the early hours of Friday before issuing flash flood emergencies a rare alert notifying of imminent danger Leadership and elected authorities have announced they did not expect such an intense downpour the equivalent of months worth of rain for the area Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice disclosed agents are committed to a full review of the urgency response Trump sought whether he was still planning to phase out the Federal Urgency Management Agency noted that was something we can talk about later but right now we are busy working He has commented he wants to overhaul if not wholly eliminate FEMA and sharply criticized its performance Trump also was sought whether he planned to rehire any of the federal meteorologists who were fired this year as part of widespread establishment spending cuts I would think not This was a thing that happened in seconds Nobody expected it Nobody saw it Very talented people there and they didn t see it the president mentioned Seewer broadcasted from Toledo Ohio Contributing to this account were Associated Press writers Christopher Weber in Los Angeles Adrian Sainz in Memphis Tennessee Cedar Attanasio in New York Sophia Tareen in Chicago Michelle Price in Morristown N J and Nicole Winfield in Rome Source