Granddaughters of Miami childhood education advocate David Lawrence die in Texas flood
The girls, both eight years old, and their 14-year-old sister attended Camp Mystic in Kerr County, an area where dozens people died after the Guadalupe River swelled with rainwater and flooded the Texas Hill Country early Friday morning.
'It has been an unimaginable time for all of us. Hanna and Rebecca gave their parents John and Lacy and sister Harper, and all in our family, so much joy,' Lawrence said in a statement to the Herald. 'They and that joy can never be forgotten.'
Eleven campers and a counselor from Camp Mystic remained unaccounted for as of Sunday night, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said in a statement. The death toll from the flooding reached 79 people, Texas officials said Sunday.
In Kerr County, 59 people have been confirmed dead, including 38 children and 21 children Leitha said.
Many of the victims were among the 750 people staying at the all-girls Christian Camp Mystic, located along the banks of the Guadalupe when the flood waters rushed in. The camp's director, Richard Eastland, also died, according to Texas Public Radio.
Camp Mystic was one of several campsites struck by the floodwater.
John Lawrence, is one of David and Roberta Lawrence's five children. He and his wife Lacy Lawrence are attorneys in Dallas, Texas, the elder Lawrence told the Herald.
David Lawrence is the board chair and founder of The Children's Movement of Florida and the former publisher of the Miami Herald, which he led from 1989 to 1999.
Lawrence left the Herald to focus on early childhood intervention in education. This includes being founding chair of The Children's Trust, described on The Children's Movement website as 'a dedicated source of early intervention and prevention funding for children in Miami-Dade County.'
He was instrumental in passing the statewide constitutional amendment to provide free pre-kindergarten education to all four-year-old children in Florida.
He had a 35-year career in the newspaper industry, including as publisher and executive editor of the Detroit Free Press and editor of the Charlotte Observer, according to his Children's Movement biography. While leading the Herald, the newspaper won five Pulitzer Prizes.
While Kerr County was the hardest hit from the flooding, and accounted for most of the deaths, people also died in Travis, Burnet, Kendall, Tom Green and Williamson counties.
President Donald Trump announced Sunday that he signed a Major Disaster Declaration for Kerr County. Florida Gov. Don DeSantis said that he has directed the Florida Division of Emergency Management to send three swiftwater rescue teams to assist Texas officials with rescue and recovery operations
'We're standing by to lend more help as requested,' DeSantis said Sunday on X.
Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava also released a statement on X that she is prepared to send assistance if requested.
'As Florida sends crews to support the rescue efforts, Miami-Dade County stands at the ready to send support if needed,' Levine Cava said.
This is a developing story.
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