Nearly two dozen girls at a Christian summer camp are missing — and potentially dead — after their cabins were apparently washed away by “catastrophic” and fatal flooding in Texas that has left at least 13 people dead, officials announced Friday.
Around 20 children are unaccounted for at Camp Mystic alongside the Guadalupe River in Hunt, a suburb of San Antonio in Kerr County, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said at a news conference.
“That does not mean they’ve been lost. They could be in a tree. They could be out of communication. We’re praying for all those missing to be found alive,” Patrick said.
So far, at least 13 people are dead in Kerr County, and several are missing.
“There’s still several people unaccounted for right now, at this point, but we’re working really hard. And we’re going to continue. This is probably going to be a couple of day process,” Kerr County Sheriff Larry L. Leitha warned.
The all-girls sleep-away camp was evacuated overnight as the area was hit with up to 10 inches of rain, but some of the campers were left behind.
Some cabins were reportedly flooded and others washed away, with the surrounding roads suffering a washout.
Some of the children have been located and are stranded, but “about 23” of the 750 Mystic campers were still unaccounted for, Patrick estimated.
Up to 500 rescue workers and 18 helicopters are scouring the area for survivors, Patrick said. The state also deployed 40 helicopters, 12 drones and nine dive and rescue teams earlier Friday.
“I want all of you to know we will do everything humanly possible. 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 vowed.
Camp staff sent out an email to families informing them of the tragedy, and that the camp lost power, water and Wi-Fi.
“If you have not been personally contacted, then your daughter is accounted for,” said the horrifying email, obtained by KSAT.
“We are working with search and rescue currently. The highway has washed away so we are struggling to get more help.”
Camp Mystic is a Christian summer camp for girls in Hunt between the ages of 7 and 17.
Patrick urged parents not to rush to the camp because of the dangerous conditions, but promised buses would bring the rescued girls to reconnect with their families as soon as they are found.
“I know if it were one of my children, I would be tempted to want to drive there from Houston as well, but we’re asking people to stay away from the areas,” Patrick said.
“We’ll find a point, and we’ll announce it at that time, where you can be reunited with your child and hug them. Hug them hard because you know they’re frightened.”
Children at other surrounding camps were also accounted for.
Those at Camp La Junta, an all-boys camp also at the lake when the flood started, were “safe and accounted for,” according to its Instagram.
Patrick did admit, however, that some of the campers could be among the young bodies that rescuers found during the flood searches.
An undisclosed number of bodies, both adult and child, were discovered Friday, including some inside cars and others that washed out from the river.
State officials declined to reveal the preliminary death toll, claiming that the numbers would continue to change as missing people were recovered.
At least six people were killed, officials told the Austin American-Statesman.
Gov. Greg Abbott described the situation as “devastating flooding” across Hill County and the Concho Valley.
The portion of the Guadalupe River near Hunt reached its second-highest level on record amid the flash flooding emergency, according to the National Weather Service.
Rainfall is expected to continue to fall, which will contribute to continued flooding.
“There is an ongoing threat for possible flash flooding from San Antonio to Waco for the next 24 to 48 hours, in addition to the continued risks in west and central Texas,” Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said in a statement.
“I urge Texans in impacted areas to heed the guidance of their local officials.”
An evacuation order was issued for Kerr County, with residents ordered to move to higher ground.
All Kerr County residents who live near the Guadalupe River have been asked to evacuate their homes and move to higher ground.
The state deployed 40 helicopters, 12 drones and nine dive and rescue teams, as well as 500 people on the ground.
The Texas National Guard was activated Thursday night, and is orchestrating helicopter searches throughout Hunt and Kerrville.
The US Coast Guard and the Federal Emergency Management Agency are also assisting.
President Trump has been notified and the White House has been in touch several times to relay that “whatever we need, we will have,” Patrick said, according to CNN.
