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 Texas Hill Country. Local residents, 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
He was a beloved high school teacher who would often bolt out of his classroom on Friday afternoons so he and his wife could take Shiloh, their son, to rodeo competitions.
Blair Harber, 13,
and Brooke Harber, 11
Blair and Brooke were middle schoolers at St. Rita Catholic School in Dallas. They were kind, had a strong Christian faith and were energetic, the school said. Blair played volleyball, basketball and lacrosse, and was a cheerleader. Blair played soccer, basketball, volleyball and lacrosse. The sisters were active in the speech and drama program. Blair was excited to audition for the lead role in the eighth-grade play. Brooke had a gift for improv and making people laugh. They were found holdings hands, their aunt, Jennifer Harber said.
Katheryn Eads, 52
“She was an incredible wife, daughter, mother, grandmother and person who spent her life helping kids,” Victoria Eads, her daughter, wrote in an email. Her mother helped children in the foster care system when she worked in early education as a psychologist. She also helped young people during her time as a college professor, her daughter wrote.
Bobby Martin, 46,
and Amanda Martin, 44
via The Kerrville Daily Times
Bailey Martin, 23
via Odessa Police Department
Mr. Martin, the son of Bobby and Amanda Martin and an officer with the Odessa Police Department, was camping with his parents when the floods hit.
Reece Zunker, 36,
and Paula Joe Zunker, 35
via The Kerrville Daily Times
Mr. Zunker was the boys’ soccer coach at Tivy High School in Kerrville; Ms. Zunker had recently stepped back from teaching English in the same district. The soccer team at the school credited Mr. Zunker as someone who “rebuilt the soccer program and left a legacy.”
Jake Moeller, 38,
and Megan Moeller , 33
Mollie Schaffer, 76
Joyce Catherine Badon, 21
via Mackenzie Cahill-Hodulik
Ms. Badon, who was from Beaumont, was staying with Reese Manchaca and other friends at a house in Hunt.
Reese Manchaca, 21
via Mackenzie Cahill-Hodulik
Ms. Manchaca was a student at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
Tanya Ramsey, 46
Ms. Ramsey, who was from Lewisville, northwest of Dallas, was camping in her R.V.
Cindy Rushing, 53,
and James Rushing, 64
via The Kerrville Daily Times
The Rushings, who were from Sulphur Springs in East Texas, were camping in their R.V.
Julia Anderson Burgess, 39,
and John L. Burgess IV, 39
The Burgesses were camping with their young sons, while their daughter was at a nearby camp. Mr. Burgess was a financial adviser, Ms. Burgess an elementary school teacher. In a statement, the Liberty ISD Education Foundation, where Ms. Burgess had worked since 2019, saluted “her bubbly personality, radiant smile and deep love for her students.” Their daughter is safe.
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
Ms. Burwick was driving to her job at a Walmart in San Angelo when her vehicle was caught in rising floodwaters, according to her son, Zac Burwick. She lived in Blackwell, about 48 miles north of San Angelo. “She had a heart of gold,” Mr. Burwick said. “She never knew a stranger and loved everybody that was around her.”
Julian Ryan, 27
Mr. Ryan had been a stay-at-home father until he started a job recently as a dishwasher in a local restaurant to bolster the family’s income. But even when money was tight, he would go out of his way to help others, said Christinia Wilson, his fiancée. “If he saw someone with a sign on the road, asking for money, he would always stop and give something, no matter how little we had,” Ms. Wilson said. “He’d always say, ‘If you bring positivity into the world, you’ll get it back.’” He died trying to save his family from the flood, his family said.
Preston Prince, 22
Kaitlyn Swallow, 22
Sherry Richardson, 64
Ms. Richardson moved to a small cabin along the Little Creek river in Liberty Hill three years ago, right behind a care center for people with disabilities where she worked. She is survived by two daughters and five grandchildren. She loved to crochet, and her daughter, Deliah Greenslet, said that items Ms. Richardson made for her family — baby blankets, hats, tapestries — are some of the only items she has left to remember her mother by.
Clayton Meadows, 29
Braxton Jarmon, 15
Sally Sample Graves, 91
Ms. Graves lived in Ingram, in Kerr County, according to an obituary notice. She and her late husband had two children, 10 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren.
Betty West, 84
Ms. West had worked for decades as an electronics inspector at Texas Instruments. The night before she died, Ms. West’s daughters said, family members had driven her to the family’s cemetery plot to show her some new lighting on one grave. She approved, telling them she would like lights on her own grave when her time came. She also wanted “Bridge Over Troubled Water” played at her funeral.
Lee Brizendine, 85
Mr. Brizendine was a Navy veteran who for many years worked as a nurse at Austin State Hospital, a psychiatric hospital, before retiring. When he wasn’t working, several of his friends said, he liked to go country-western dancing. He also loved tinkering with clocks and could repair anything from vintage grandfather clocks to newer wristwatches, his friends said.
William Venus, 57
Mr. Venus, who served in the Army for 33 years, delivered medication to hospitals and nursing homes. His son William Venus Jr. live-streamed the search for him on Facebook, drawing residents to help. Searchers found his body on Monday, the son said.
Holly Frizzell, 72
Ms. Frizzell, who lived in the Casa Bonita subdivision in Hunt, once owned a clothing boutique in Abilene. After her late husband was diagnosed with dementia, she helped others who were dealing with that and supported the Alzheimer’s Association of Abilene, according to an obituary notice.
Alissa Martin, 54
“She was my whole world,” Jermaine “J.J.” Jarmon, Ms. Martin’s longtime partner, said. “She took care of everything I had, and was proud to help anyone she could.”
Malaya Hammond, 17
Clay Parisher, 20mos
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
For Janie, of Dallas, going to Camp Mystic was a family tradition. This summer was her first time going. A great-granddaughter of the oil baron William Herbert Hunt, Janie was the eldest of three children.
Rebecca Lawrence, 8,
and Hanna Lawrence, 8
Hanna and Rebecca, twins from Dallas, were also among the girls at Camp Mystic, according to their grandfather, Dave Lawrence, a former publisher of The Miami Herald. “It has been an unimaginable time for all of us,” Mr. Lawrence said. The two girls, he added, gave “all in our family so much joy. They and that joy can never be forgotten.”
Eloise Peck, 8
Eloise had just finished second grade at Bradfield Elementary School in Dallas. Known as Lulu, she adored animals, especially her Boston terrier, Oliver. Before heading to camp, Eloise had started a dog-walking service, pledging a quarter of her earnings to Blueberry Hill Farm and Rescue in Arkansas, which is run by family friends. “Her profound love and compassion for animals shone brightly, reflecting the purity and kindness of her heart,” the rescue said on its website.
Lila Bonner, 9
via The Kerrville Daily Times
Wynne Naylor , 8
via The Kerrville Daily Times
Hadley Hanna, 8
via The Kerrville Daily Times
Mary Stevens, 8
Mary Kathryn Jacobe, 8
Called Mary Kate by her family, she was from Houston. The family said in a statement she was “tiny, but mighty, full of love and joy with a smile that melted your heart.”
Mary Grace Baker
via The Kerrville Daily Times
Greta Toranzo, 10
Greta, a student at Sinclair Elementary School in Houston, was attending Camp Mystic in Hunt for a third year. “She was overjoyed to be reunited with her camp friends for weeks of fun, laughter, sports and sisterhood,” her parents, Ellen and Jorge Toranzo, said in a statement.
Linnie McCown, 8
Linnie was a student at Casis Elementary School in Austin, and the community is tying green bows on the trees and signposts in her memory and for all those lost in the flood. She was a happy girl, a sister to two brothers and someone who loved to giggle, a neighbor said. In a statement, her family described Linnie as “a shining light who filled our lives with indescribable joy.”
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
Ms. Childress, a recent graduate of the Kinkaid School in Houston, had been working as a counselor at Camp Mystic since June. “She was wise beyond her years, with a steady compassion that settled a room,” wrote Jonathan Eades, head of the Kinkaid School.
Dick Eastland, 70
via The Kerrville Daily Times
Mr. Eastland had run Camp Mystic for decades, along with his wife, Tweety. He was reportedly swept away while trying to rescue children from rising floodwaters. “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,” Mr. Eastland’s grandson George wrote on Instagram.
Jane Ragsdale, 68
Ms. Ragsdale was a camper and later a counselor at Heart O’ the Hills summer camp in Hunt before becoming the camp director in 1988, and was also a co-owner. “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 said in a statement.
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
