Distraught Dad Says He Found the Body of a ‘Little Boy' While Calling Out His Missing Daughter's Name amid Texas Floods
The distraught dad said the boy was about '8 or 10 years old"
The death toll in the region has reached at least 79 peopleA father who is searching for his adult daughter amid the flooding of Texas' Guadalupe River made a horrible discovery.
Ty Badon, the father of missing 21-year-old Joyce Badon, told CNN on July 5 that he was calling out his daughter's name when they discovered the body of a child as they were searching an area of Hunt, Texas.
'My son and I were walking and I thought it was a mannequin. It was a little boy, 8 or 10 years old, and he was dead,' said Ty, the dad of one of four college-aged friends who were believed to have been swept away in the floodwaters on July 3.
'We were just walking, doing the same thing we were doing when we stumbled across him,' he added. 'Hopefully we can find our children, my daughter and her friends alive.'
His daughter's group of college friends, who were staying in a cabin along the river, included Ella Cahill, Aidan Heartfield and Reese Manchaca, according to the Beaumont Enterprise and 12 News Now.
"It's been four o'clock yesterday morning that we were told that they were on the phone with Aidan's dad, who they own the house where they were," Ty told CNN, adding that the house "is no longer there."
"Aidan said, 'Hey I've got to go, I've got to help Ella and Reese ... they just got washed away,' and then a few seconds later the phone just went dead, and that's all we know," the 21-year-old's father said, recalling his last contact with the group.
"We pray that all four of them are still alive," Ty continued, sharing that authorities presume all four young adults were washed away in the flood. "All four are missing. They're still missing."
Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Flooding in the Guadalupe River caused it to reach its second-highest height ever, ABC News reported. The area received at least 10 inches of rain, per San Antonio outlet KSAT, and several counties are reporting a death toll, including Kerr, Travis, Burnet and Kendall, per KXAN.
Kerr County, which is approximately 50 miles northwest of San Antonio, has been hit especially hard by the floods. The city of Kerrville declared a state of emergency due to the floods, while Hunt (also in Kerr County) experienced more than six inches of rain in three hours on Friday, which is a "1-in-100-year event" in the region, according to CNN.
CNN reported that the flooded region experienced "more than an entire summer's worth of rain" in a matter of hours.
The death toll in the region had reached at least 79 people as of Sunday, July 6, according to the Associated Press, as first responders continue search and rescue operations.
By Sunday morning, 11 campers and a counselor from Camp Mystic, a Christian girls' camp nestled in Texas Hill Country, were still unaccounted for, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said.
To learn how to help support the victims and recovery efforts from the Texas floods, click here.
Read the original article on People

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Kenmore man sentenced for injuring woman in hit-and-run after Bills game
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — A Kenmore man was sentenced to 1 1/3 to four years in prison on Monday after he injured a woman in a hit-and-run in Orchard Park following a Bills game, the Erie County District Attorney's Office announced. Alfred Santiago's driver's license was revoked as part of the sentence. Officials said the 63-year-old woman he hit is still receiving treatment. Just before 5 p.m. on Sept. 8, 2024, Santiago, 41, was reportedly driving under the influence of alcohol on West Abbott Grove Avenue when he hit the woman. Witnesses tried to stop Santiago, but he left the scene without calling police, officials said. The woman was taken to ECMC to be treated for fractured ribs and upper body injuries. Santiago was later located by police on Victoria Boulevard. Santiago pleaded guilty in February to one count of leaving the scene of an incident resulting in serious physical injury and one count of driving while intoxicated. Katie Skoog joined the News 4 team in April 2024. She is a graduate from the University at Buffalo. You can view more of her work here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
42 minutes ago
- Yahoo
R.I. Turnpike & Bridge Authority to pay $515K for State Police patrols over three years
A member of the Rhode Island State Police is shown at the start of the Newport St. Patrick's Day Parade on March 15, 2025. (Photo by Janine L. Weisman/Rhode Island Current) Rhode Island State Police will continue 24/7 patrols of the four bridges owned by the Rhode Island Turnpike & Bridge Authority (RITBA) for another three years, according to an agreement reached between the two agencies in mid-June. The memorandum of understanding calls for RITBA to pay the base salaries of two troopers through the end of June 2028 to assist with speed enforcement, potential vehicle collisions, and preventing deaths by suicide. Under the new contract, the authority will pay about $515,000 to the State Police, with payments scheduled on a quarterly basis over the three-year period. A similar agreement was first reached by the RITBA and the State Police in 2021, though a copy was not immediately made available. At the time, the Newport Daily News reported that a speed study by RITBA found 29% of drivers were traveling at least 15 miles per hour over the limit on the Pell and Jamestown Verrazzano bridges. Then–State Police Superintendent Col. James Manni told RITBA's board in October 2021 that 'a gray cruiser is the biggest deterrent we have in the state right now,' according to the meeting minutes. How much RITBA will pay the Rhode Island State Police Year 1 (July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2026): $165,417 Year 2 (July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027): $172,034 Year 3 (July 1, 2027 – June 30, 2028): $177,195 The amount is equivalent to the salaries of two 'less senior' officers who will be assigned to posts covering the Pell, Mount Hope, Jamestown Verrazzano, and Sakonnet River bridges — along with Route 138 through Jamestown and the 10 smaller bridges associated with the state highway. State Police will determine which troopers are assigned to patrol RITBA bridges, with day-to-day rotations likely. Only one trooper will be assigned to the bridges at a time per shift. One trooper is scheduled to patrol the bridges from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., while the other works from 9 p.m. to 8 a.m., said Lt. Col. Robert Creamer, the State Police deputy superintendent and chief of field operations. In addition to 24-hour patrols, State Police enforce weight restrictions on the Mount Hope and Pell bridges at least bi-weekly. The Pell Bridge, which was constructed in 1969, has a weight limit of 80,000 pounds, but vehicles weighing up to 160,000 pounds can cross if they are given a permit. No vehicles over 60,000 pounds are allowed to cross the Mount Hope Bridge, which was built in 1929. Under the new contract, RITBA may provide office space for troopers if available. The closest State Police facility to the authority's Jamestown office near the Pell Bridge is the Wickford Barracks in North Kingstown. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Youngstown police early Sunday grapple with 2 large crowds causing havoc
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) — Reports said city police early Sunday were faced with two large crowds that tied up every car on the road. Read next: YPD officers have to take cover as gunfire breaks out while they investigate fight Reports said a large crowd in the Commerce Street parking lot of the Hookah Lounge about 2:15 a.m. blocked the entire lot. People were drinking, dancing on cars and there were at least two fights, reports said. Reports said nearly every car in the city was needed to control that crowd, and when the crowd was broken up, it reformed downtown. About 2:35 a.m., reports said every car was needed for another large crowd on South Avenue between Dickson and Cameron avenues where a large crowd from a nearby bar, the Local Celebrity, blocked parking lots, sidewalks and streets before moving to a nearby gas station, where they 'filled the lot to capacity, blast music from their vehicles, dance in the parking lot and on top of their vehicles while filming themselves and each other while they disturb the peace of anyone who might be in nearby homes, trying to sleep.' Reports said this is a 'regular occurrence' and that officers had a similar situation the evening before. Additionally, cars were parked on sidewalks and illegally parked on the street, blocking traffic on South Avenue, reports said. Two people were issued citations for fourth-degree misdemeanor disorderly conduct charges for walking in the street and ignoring requests to walk on the sidewalk. Also, reports said, several people who were fighting were sprayed with pepper spray. A message was left with city spokesman Andy Resnick asking if the department will have a strategy in the future to deal with large crowds. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.