Eight-year-old girls at sleep-away camp, some for the first time. Out-of-town families spanning generations, crammed into recreational vehicles to relax by a river in Central Texas. Local residents, ages 22 to 85, traveling to or from work, or simply sleeping at home.
In the predawn inkiness of Independence Day, the rains came, and the waters rose. And rose. And rose. By Wednesday morning, at least 119 people had died from the Guadalupe River pouring over its banks. Many perished in the dark, in raging floodwaters, as they were swept out of cars, cabins, houses and trailers. The disaster ranks as one of the deadliest for children in the United States in recent decades.
Among the dead: at least two dozen girls and staff members at a storied Christian summer camp, a 23-year-old police officer and his parents camping in their R.V., a 62-year-old woman driving to her job at Walmart.
And there will be more. As of Wednesday morning, more than 161 people were missing from one county alone — Kerr — northwest of San Antonio, according to Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas.
Stories are emerging about some of the victims, as identified by The New York Times through interviews with families, school officials, church leaders and official statements.
The Times will continue to update this page with glimpses into the lives of the victims of the Texas floods.
Campers and Vacationers
People have long come to Texas’ Hill Country to boat and fly fish in tranquil waters teeming with largemouth bass and catfish, and hike rugged terrain with views of limestone canyons that are surrounded by wildflowers and cypress and pecan trees. Visitors browse antique shops and wineries, or check out a century-old rodeo, and look for gray foxes, armadillos and white-tailed deer. This bucolic region is also known as Flash Flood Alley.
Jeff Wilson, 55
Blair Harber, 13,
and Brooke Harber, 11
Katheryn Eads, 52
Bobby Martin, 46,
and Amanda Martin, 44via The Kerrville Daily Times
Bailey Martin, 23
via Odessa Police Department
Reece Zunker, 36,
and Paula Joe Zunker, 35via The Kerrville Daily Times
Jake Moeller, 38,
and Megan Moeller , 33
Mollie Schaffer, 76
Joyce Catherine Badon, 21
via Mackenzie Cahill-Hodulik
Reese Manchaca, 21
via Mackenzie Cahill-Hodulik
Tanya Ramsey, 46
Cindy Rushing, 53,
and James Rushing, 64via The Kerrville Daily Times
Julia Anderson Burgess, 39
John L. Burgess IV, 39
Local Residents
Some who died were retired and had lived in these parts for years. Others were newcomers, just starting jobs and putting down roots. They were going about their routines on the Fourth of July.
Tanya Burwick, 62
Julian Ryan, 27
Preston Prince, 22
Kaitlyn Swallow, 22
Sherry Richardson, 64
Clayton Meadows, 29
Braxton Jarmon
Sally Sample Graves, 91
Betty West, 84
Lelwin “Lee” Brizendine, 85
William Venus, 57
Holly Frizzell, 72
Summer Camp Kids
Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian camp near Hunt, Texas, which has been run by the Eastland family since the 1930s, is revered by parents and alumni that includes three generations of descendants of Lyndon Johnson. The former first lady, Laura Bush, once worked as a counselor. About 750 girls were attending Camp Mystic this week.
Several girls who died or are now missing were in the low-lying cabins on the “flats,” where younger campers stay, less than 500 feet from the river. Most of the dead who have been identified, so far, were 8 or 9 years old, and were sleeping in the same cabin, nicknamed Bubble Inn.
Sarah Marsh, 8
via The Kerrville Daily Times
Janie Hunt, 9
via The Kerrville Daily Times
Rebecca Lawrence, 8,
and Hanna Lawrence, 8
Eloise Peck, 8
Lila Bonner, 9
Wynne Naylor
via The Kerrville Daily Times
Hadley Hanna, 8
via The Kerrville Daily Times
Mary Stevens, 8
Mary Kathryn Jacobe, 8
Mary Grace Baker
via The Kerrville Daily Times
Greta Toranzo, 10
Linnie McCown, 8
Camp Counselors and Directors
People working for Camp Mystic also died, including teenage counselors and the longtime director. The same is true of another nearby camp, Heart O’ the Hills.
Chloe Childress, 19
Dick Eastland, 70
via The Kerrville Daily Times
Jane Ragsdale, 68
Other Out-of-Towners
Some people who were not from the region were staying with friends and relatives, or were passing through for reasons that have not yet been confirmed.
Beth Bryan, 61,
and Hutch Bryan, 62
