KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Hunt family is mourning the loss of 9-year-old Janie Hunt in the deadly central Texas flooding that has claimed more than 80 lives.
Tavia Hunt, wife of Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt, posted a tribute on Instagram.
In her post, she said the Hunt family is praying for Mystic, a Christian summer camp that was devastated by the flooding.
“Our hearts are broken by the devastation from the floods in Wimberley and the tragic loss of so many lives — including a precious little Hunt cousin, along with several friend’s little girls,” Tavia Hunt wrote.
Leaning heavily on her faith, Tavia went on to share multiple passages that centered around the question, “How do we trust a God who is supposed to be good, all knowing and powerful, but who allows such terrible things to happen — even to children?”
She ended her message by saying, “For we do not grieve as those without hope.”
At least 28 children died in Kerr County, where 10 girls and one counselor from Camp Mystic are still unaccounted for as of Sunday, according to Sheriff Larry Leitha. Forty adults have also died.
The Christian all-girls camp is located along the Guadalupe River, which rose more than 20 feet in less than two hours overnight into the July Fourth holiday.
The families of at least four campers have confirmed their deaths to CNN, while others are still waiting for news on their children.
Carrie Hanna told CNN her 8-year-old daughter, Hadley, is still missing.
“She is the most joyful, happy kid with a smile on her face,” Hanna said. “She seemed to be loving camp. This was her first year.”
The massive flooding seemed to have ripped the wall off at least one building and left a cabin covered in dirt and mud, with girls’ mattresses strewn across the floor, photos of the devastation show. The water line can be seen nearly reaching the doorway.
Authorities have pledged that they will not rest until all of the missing have been recovered, with search efforts including boats in the river, searches from the air, and crews on the ground. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Friday promised families of missing campers they would “do everything humanly possible to find” their children.
“Twenty-four-seven, looking at every tree, turning over every rock, whatever it takes – if your child is one of those truly missing and not just out of touch – to find your daughter,” Patrick said.
The missing campers are but one element in the sprawling tragedy that struck central Texas, after torrential rain triggered flash flooding in parts of the state Friday. Some parts of Texas saw a month’s rain in just a few hours.
The Trump administration is working with state and local officials in Texas to address the devastating flooding, President Donald Trump wrote on social media Saturday. He described the flooding as “shocking” Friday.
Camp Mystic owner dies attempting to rescue campers
Camp Mystic owner Dick Eastland died while trying to rescue campers during the catastrophic flooding, his grandson shared in an Instagram tribute on Saturday.
“If he wasn’t going to die of natural causes, this was the only other way—saving the girls that he so loved and cared for,” George Eastland wrote. “That’s the kind of man my grandfather was. He was a husband, father, grandfather, and a mentor to thousands of young women. Although he no longer walks this earth, his impact will never fade in the lives he touched.”
A Camp Mystic employee, Glenn Juenke, told CNN Eastland remained “a true hero until the very end.”
“Eastland tragically lost his life while courageously attempting to save several young children,” Juenke said.
Camp Mystic is a private nondenominational Christian summer camp for girls, nestled in Hunt, an unincorporated community in western Kerr County. The camp hosts about 750 kids overall, who can participate in 30 different activities, including archery, canoeing, dancing and fishing.
Founded in 1926, the camp provides a “wholesome Christian atmosphere” and a haven where girls “develop outstanding personal qualities and self-esteem,” according to its website. The girls at Camp Mystic develop friendships, grow spiritually and strive to “be a better person” and to “let Mystic bring out the best in them,” according to the website.
Eastland and his wife Tweety Eastland, are the third generation to manage the camp, according to their website. They’ve been at the camp since 1974.
10 campers missing, several deaths confirmed
The parents of at least four campers have confirmed their deaths. The mother of missing Camp Mystic camper Janie Hunt, 9, told CNN in a message Saturday morning that her daughter had died.
The families of Sarah Marsh, Lila Bonner, and Renee Smajstrla also told CNN that their daughters died in the flooding. In a post on Facebook, US Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama said she and her husband were “heartbroken over the loss of Sarah Marsh, and we are keeping her family in our thoughts and prayers during this unimaginable time.”
Bonner’s family told CNN in a statement that the 9-year-old has died.
“In the midst of our unimaginable grief, we ask for privacy and are unable to confirm any details at this time,” the family said in a statement. “We ache with all who loved her and are praying endlessly for others to be spared from this tragic loss.”
The uncle of 8-year-old Smajstrla described her death as “truly devastating.”
Other family members told CNN they are still awaiting news of their missing campers.
Natalie Landry said her “brave and sweet” 9-year-old daughter Lainey is still missing.
Ellen Toranzo, whose 10-year-old daughter, Greta Toranzo, is missing, told CNN her daughter is “an amazing girl.” Greta is “very smart, sweet, and good at tennis,” she said.
The brother of one missing camper, Blakely McCrory, told CNN his sister is “so loved from everybody around her.” The family also lost their father in March, he said.
“I’m just hoping she comes back home safe,” McCrory said. “Our family has been going through a lot.”
Devastating flooding
The camp is located on the Guadalupe River, where heavy rain swelled two of the river’s forks, city manager Rice said at a news conference Friday.
Storms late Thursday into Friday “dumped more rain than what was forecasted on both of those forks,” Rice said, describing how the river swelled from 7 feet to 29 feet in a short amount of time during the night.
“All of that converged at the Guadalupe, and that’s where we saw those very quick rising floods,” Rice said.
Rice also noted not all areas along the river have alarms to flag flooding. The alarms are typically “further downstream,” he said, in places such as in Comfort, which sits about 15 miles southeast of Kerrville.
A CNN field crew observed some of the destruction at the site, as well as the ongoing search and rescue operations. Trees and building materials were strewn across the grounds, and the roofs of some buildings appeared to be damaged.
Early Friday morning, about 107 game wardens and an aviation group tried to access Camp Mystic, according to officials. Shortly after midday, they were able to enter the camp and start rescuing children.
A US congressman said his two daughters were among those evacuated from the camp. Texas Rep. August Pfluger announced he and his wife were “now reunited” with their daughters in a post on X Saturday.
“The last day has brought unimaginable grief to many families and we mourn with them as well as holding out hope for survivors,” Pfluger wrote.
The wardens, part of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, were seen with a line of trucks coming into the driveway, photos from their Facebook page show. Children gathered into the beds of the trucks to be evacuated.
14-year-old at nearby camp woke up to flooding
At nearby Camp La Junta, one 14-year-old camper says he woke up to “just a little bit of water” before it became “more and more.”
Wyndham Etheridge told CNN’s Fredricka Whitfield Saturday that in the morning, he woke up to people from other parts of the camp coming “to seek refuge” at his cabin.
“We didn’t really know what was going on around us because it was dark. We couldn’t see past the trees. All we really knew is that we needed to move stuff in order for it not to get wet,” he said.
Etheridge and his fellow campers “couldn’t really go anywhere, because around us there were streams, really strong streams converging and we didn’t want to get swept away because of all the runoff from the mountain,” he said.
They then tried to move to the loft of their cabin to escape the water, but Etheridge said “it was leaking up there, so we couldn’t stay.”
“So at some point we just decided … we could go to bed for a little bit, but then we woke up again to more water,” he said.
His parents told Whitfield they received a text message from the camp Friday notifying them of the flood and that their campers were accounted for. They picked up their son last night.
“All those boys were pretty traumatized,” Amy Etheridge said.
Families reunite
School buses and trucks filled with rescued people drove into a reunification center in Ingram, Texas, on Friday as families reunited with their children from the nearby girls’ and boys’ camps.
At Ingram Elementary, families embraced as people lined up around the building and others loaded into an army-style truck.
Some of the children appeared to be emotionally shaken and were heard telling their parents, “I just want to go home.”
Helicopters were seen landing and dropping off campers at the reunification center as yellow school buses arrived, video footage shows.
Director of Heart O’ the Hills camp dies in flooding
Mystic isn’t the only girls’ camp that lost members in the catastrophic flooding. Jane Ragsdale, camp director and co-owner of Heart O’ the Hills in Hunt, Texas, died in the flooding that struck the area overnight, according to an announcement from the camp.
“We at the camp are stunned and deeply saddened by Jane’s death,” reads the announcement. “She embodied the spirit of Heart O’ the Hills and was exactly the type of strong, joyful woman that the camp aimed to develop with the girls entrusted to us each summer.”
The camp, set alongside the Guadalupe River and “right in the path of the flood,” was between sessions at the time of the flooding and “no campers were in residence,” according to the announcement.
The facility sustained “serious damage” that is still being evaluated, the announcement said. The camp will be unable to open for its second session, which was scheduled to start Sunday.
‘We will not stop’
Leitha, the Kerr County sheriff, said first responders will continue to search for “every single person” who is missing in the floods.
“One thing I want to tell you and assure y’all is that we will not stop until every single person is found – we’ve got all the resources we need,” he said during a news conference.
“Tragic incidents like this affect us all. This community is strong and will continue to pull together during this tragic time,” Leitha said. “We have been humbled by the outpouring of support; we are very appreciative everyone that’s stepped up to help us.”
First responder helicopters with infrared technology will be flying overnight in a continued effort to locate any potential rescue victims, a source familiar with the search said.
Gov. Abbott said Saturday the search effort was focused on locating storm survivors.
“My instruction to every state agency involved in this is to assume everybody who is missing is alive,” Abbott said. “And there’s a need for speed, not just every hour, every minute counts, which is why there’s people in the air, people in the water, people on the ground right now, because they’re looking to save every last life.”
“We will be relentless” in the ongoing search for missing people, the governor said.
“We’re not going to stop today or tomorrow,” he said. “We will stop when the job is completed.”
The-CNN-Wire
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