Texas flood victims: What we know

AUSTIN - The flash flooding on the Guadalupe River in central Texas has killed at least 79 people. Local officials in Kerr County said on July 6 that 10 girls and one counsellor from Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian summer camp, are still missing.

On July 6, near the bank of the Guadalupe River in Ingram, the search for survivors grew more desperate as volunteers prepared horses to help search and rescue efforts.

Flood damage made it difficult for vehicles to reach many areas. The death toll is expected to rise, and forecasters warn of more rain on July 6 in areas that were already hard hit.

Here is what we know about those who were killed.

Chloe Childress

Ms Chloe Childress, 18, a counsellor at Camp Mystic, died when floodwaters swept through the camp, according to the school she had recently graduated from.

Mr Jonathan Eades, head of school at the Kinkaid School in Houston, wrote in a statement that Ms Childress lost her life upholding a “selfless and fierce commitment to others”.

“She was wise beyond her years, with a steady compassion that settled a room,” he wrote. “Whether it was sharing her own challenges to ease someone’s burden or quietly cheering a teammate or classmate through a tough day, Chloe made space for others to feel safe, valued and brave.”

According to her LinkedIn profile, Ms Childress had been working as a counsellor at Camp Mystic since June, shortly after graduation.

Dick Eastland

The long-time director of Camp Mystic, Mr Dick Eastland, was among the dead, elected officials and family members confirmed.

Mr Eastland and his wife Tweety have run the nearly century-old Christian summer camp on the banks of the Guadalupe for decades. 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.

“That’s the man my grandfather was. A husband, father, grandfather, and mentor to thousands of young women, he no longer walks this earth, but his impact will never leave the lives he touched.”

Julian Ryan

Exhausted from a long night working as a dishwasher at a local restaurant, Mr Julian Ryan, 27, was asleep in his trailer home in Ingram when the river reached his front door on July 4 before dawn.

By the time he and his fiancee Christinia Wilson woke up, water was up to their ankles. His mother Marilyn Ryan and his six-year-old son had already rushed into the room for safety.

In what seemed like a blink, Ms Wilson said, the water was up to their waists; their front door had burst open and the river had gushed into the house.

Their mattress began to float, so they placed their 13-month-old son and the six-year-old atop it. The bedroom door was stuck shut from the water pressure on the other side.

In a panic, Mr Ryan tried to punch through a window so they could escape. But the sharp glass cut nearly through his arm, causing him to bleed profusely, Ms Wilson and Ms Marilyn Ryan said on July 5 in a phone interview.

They called 911 again and again, but no one came, both women said. With the water rising to their chins, the women shouted for help as Mr Ryan started to lose consciousness, they said.

“He had lost so much blood and knew he wasn’t going to make it,” Ms Wilson said. “He said, ‘I love you. I’m so sorry.’ In minutes, he was gone.”

Ms Wilson said the trailer was torn in half by the force of the water, yet everyone in the family but Mr Ryan survived.

“He was the best father, and was always such a happy person who was never above helping people, no matter what it cost,” she said. “He died trying to save us.”

Blair and Brooke Harber

Two young sisters, Blair and Brooke Harber, were staying in a cabin along the Guadalupe with their grandparents when their cabin was washed away, according to the Reverend Joshua J. Whitfield, the pastor of their Dallas church, St Rita Catholic Community.

Blair, 13, was headed to eighth grade at St Rita’s school. Brooke, 11, was bound for sixth grade there.

Both girls died and their grandparents are still missing, the pastor said on July 5 in a letter to parishioners.

Their parents – Ms Annie Harber, a first and second grade instructional specialist at St Rita’s, and Mr RJ Harber – were staying in another cabin and are safe, he said.

“In moments like this, we are reminded of life’s fragility and the lasting power of faith,” Mr Whitfield wrote, adding, “we will honor Blair and Brooke’s lives, the light they shared, and the joy they brought to everyone who knew them”.

A prayer service for the girls was held at the church on the afternoon of July 5. A photo of the service shows a packed house.

Katheryn Eads

Ms Katheryn Eads, 52, died after being swept away in the floodwaters, her husband Brian said in a brief phone call on July 5.

The couple were awakened by rushing water surrounding them inside their recreational vehicle (RV), Mr Eads said.

They managed to get out, and a man driving another RV offered them a ride.

They made it across the street when the vehicle they were in died, Mr Eads said.

The couple was swept out of the vehicle by water. Mr Eads said he was struck in the head by debris and lost track of his wife. He survived by holding onto a tree until he reached dry land, he said.

Sarah Marsh

Sarah Marsh, an eight-year-old student at Cherokee Bend Elementary in Mountain Brook, Alabama, was one of the campers at Camp Mystic in Hunt, Texas.

In a statement posted online, Mr Stewart Welch, the mayor of Mountain Brook, a suburb of Birmingham, confirmed that Sarah was among those who died in the flood and said that the city was heartbroken.

“This is an unimaginable loss for her family, her school and our entire community,” he wrote. “Sarah’s passing is a sorrow shared by all of us, and our hearts are with those who knew her and loved her.”

In a text message on July 5, Sarah’s grandmother Debbie Ford Marsh said that Sarah’s parents were not able to talk and declined to comment on behalf of the family.

Earlier, on Facebook, she posted: “We will always feel blessed to have had this beautiful spunky ray of light in our lives. She will live on in our hearts forever!”

Janie Hunt

Janie Hunt, nine, of Dallas, died in the flash flooding, her grandmother Margaret Hunt said in an interview.

Janie was also attending Camp Mystic. It was her first time there as a camper, and she attended along with six of her cousins, who were safe, Ms Hunt said.

Ms Hunt said she was in Vermont when she got a call from her daughter Anne Lindsay Hunt telling her about the flooding.

Janie’s parents drove to Ingram Elementary, the reunification centre, where they were told to visit a funeral home and identify their daughter. Janie, a great-granddaughter of the oil baron William Herbert Hunt, was the eldest of three children.

Bobby and Amanda Martin

Mr Bobby Martin, 46, and his wife Amanda, 44, were among those killed, Mr Bobby Martin’s father, Mr John Keith Martin, told The New York Times.

The couple from Odessa, Texas, were reportedly camping by the Guadalupe River when their RV was swept away by rising floodwaters.

The elder Martin said one of his grandchildren and that grandchild’s girlfriend were with the couple and were still missing.

“He was an adventurous man, adventurous and outgoing. He had many good friends, because he was a good friend,” Mr John Keith Martin said of his son. “He’s just incredible.”

Jane Ragsdale

Ms Jane Ragsdale, director and co-owner of the Heart O’ the Hills summer camp in Kerr County, is among those confirmed dead in the flooding, according to a statement posted to the camp’s website. No campers were residing at the site when the floods hit.

“We at the camp are stunned and deeply saddened by Jane’s death,” the statement said. “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.”

Ms Ragsdale, who became camp director in 1988, started as a camper and later became a counsellor. NYTIMES