Number missing in Texas floods drops from 97 to 3, officials say
The city of Kerrville, Texas, said the Kerr County Flood Disaster Joint Information Center confirmed that "through extensive follow-up work among state and local agencies, many individuals who were initially reported as missing have been verified as safe and removed from the list."
'We are profoundly grateful to the more than 1,000 local, state, and federal authorities who have worked tirelessly in the wake of the devastating flood that struck our community,' Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said.
On July 15, Gov. Greg Abbott said 97 people were still listed as missing in the greater Kerrville area, down from 160-plus about a week ago.
'This remarkable progress reflects countless hours of coordinated search and rescue operations, careful investigative work, and an unwavering commitment to bringing clarity and hope to families during an unimaginably difficult time,' Rice said.
Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly thanked law enforcement and others who helped verify the number missing. 'Your dedication, professionalism, and compassion have brought comfort and answers to so many."
Kelly had said earlier that a large percentage of those unaccounted for were probably visiting the area. He said many tourists had come for the Independence Day weekend fireworks and concert. Historic flooding overwhelmed the banks of the Guadalupe River in the predawn hours of July 4.
Recovery operations are continuing to search for those still missing. As of July 17, Abbott said, the death toll stood at 135 statewide, with 116 from Kerr County perishing in the floods.
Contributing: John Bacon
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Boston Globe
9 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Number of missing from floods in Texas county drops from nearly 100 to 3
'This remarkable progress reflects countless hours of coordinated search and rescue operations, careful investigative work, and an unwavering commitment to bringing clarity and hope to families during an unimaginably difficult time,' said Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice. Numbers of those missing in natural disasters are often fluid and can decline dramatically. Overwhelmed local officials can struggle to obtain an accurate count, especially when those missing involve visitors to the affected region or people without stable housing. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Some of those initially described as unaccounted for in Kerr County — the county most impacted by the deadly flooding on July 4 — did not live in the area but had traveled there for the holiday weekend. Advertisement That so many had remained missing more than two weeks after the devastating flooding deepened the horror of the tragedy, which left at least 135 people dead, dozens of them children. Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, has pledged to continue the search until every person is found. 'Our thoughts remain with the families still awaiting news, and we will continue to stand with them as efforts persist,' Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring Jr. said Saturday. Advertisement On Monday, the Texas legislature is expected to convene in Austin for a special session in which lawmakers will discuss the catastrophic flooding. State legislative leaders have formed committees to examine flood warning systems, relief efforts, and disaster preparedness. They plan to hold a hearing in Kerrville on July 31. Jonathan Lamb, spokesman for the Kerrville Police Department, said in a statement Sunday that investigators had engaged in an 'exhaustive effort to verify the status of each individual who was reported missing,' narrowing hundreds of names down to three. 'This process takes time, but it is essential to ensure that every lead is thoroughly followed and each person is properly accounted for,' Lamb said. When flash floods surge through rural areas with rugged terrain, it can take days or even weeks to locate missing people and uncover the bodies of those who were washed away. After Hurricane Helene slammed into western North Carolina in September, the American Red Cross received more than 9,000 reunification requests from family members seeking loved ones. The vast majority were ultimately discovered trapped in isolated locations or lost in the shuffle at shelters, and within a few weeks, the number of people unaccounted for dropped from the thousands to the single digits. The force of the flood waters also complicated the search: The body of one man reported missing from a campground in North Carolina was found six months later at a spot about 12 miles away. At least two other women from the state still have not been found. A similar dynamic unfolded after the devastating 2023 wildfire in Maui, which killed 102 people. More than 1,000 others were initially unaccounted for a week later. A month after the fire, the figure dropped from 385 to 66. Two people remain missing. Advertisement For weeks, more than 1,000 local, state, and federal responders, along with thousands of volunteers, have combed 60 miles of the Guadalupe River through communities in Kerr County and farther south. As hope of finding survivors faded, the massive effort essentially became a search for remains. For those whose loved ones disappeared in the flood waters, the agonizing wait goes on. Sherry McCutcheon, 66, works for the Texas Department of Public Safety. Her mother and one of her brothers died when the rising waters overtook their home in Leander, about 25 miles north of Austin, she said. Another brother, Gary Traugott, 60, remains missing. Frustrated by the lack of information from local officials, McCutcheon and her neighbors compiled their own list of the missing, which they posted on Facebook. Most were found dead; seven were found safe. Three remained missing Sunday, including Traugott. On Friday, McCutcheon was at a funeral home planning the burial services for her mother and brother when officials called to say that a body had been found under a washed-out bridge. On Sunday, McCutcheon was awaiting the results of DNA tests to see whether it was her brother Gary. 'If this person isn't Gary, I don't know what we're going to do,' she said. Some living near the Guadalupe said they feared the true number of the dead and missing would never be known. Lorena Guillen, who owns Blue Oak RV Park in Kerrville, said she had heard there were Honduran and Mexican undocumented immigrants who were afraid to report the missing for fear of being apprehended by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 'There's a whole underground community here,' Guillen said. Advertisement Kevin LaFond, southern region commander for United Cajun Navy volunteers, said it wasn't clear why the number of missing dropped so quickly in Kerr County, adding that his team was still working to search more inaccessible areas devastated by the floods. 'It's hard to have any confidence in a number until those areas are reached,' LaFond said. 'The numbers have fluctuated since the beginning, and probably are going to fluctuate at the end.'
New York Times
10 hours ago
- New York Times
How Did the Number of People Missing After Texas Floods Drop So Drastically?
In the swirl of anguish and uncertainty that followed the devastating floods in Central Texas, one of the most confounding elements of the aftermath was why there were so many people still missing weeks after the disaster. Where were they? Who were they? What happened to them? Last week, state and local officials said there were 97 people missing in Kerr County, which sustained the worst of the July 4 floods in the Hill Country. But then, on Saturday, they released a revised figure: three. The death toll there remained unchanged; the county had 107 of the 135 deaths recorded statewide. The drop was substantial, yet it was not entirely unexpected, according to officials and those familiar with the rhythms of deadly natural disasters. The fluctuation was a reflection of the chaos unleashed by a disaster of this magnitude and of the methodical work — sometimes painstaking to the point of frustration — required to bring clarity to the confusion. Whether in flash floods, wildfires or tornadoes, making sense of the list of the missing is a crucial part of the official response. 'This process takes time,' Officer Jonathan Lamb of the police department in Kerrville, the county seat of Kerr County, said in a statement on Sunday, shedding some light on such an abrupt and drastic change. 'It is essential to ensure that every lead is thoroughly followed and each person is properly accounted for.' Last week, when 97 were thought to be missing in Kerr County, Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas cautioned residents not to assume that being counted as missing necessarily meant that the person had died in the flood. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Yahoo
Number missing in Texas floods drops from 97 to 3, officials say
The number of people thought to be missing in the devastating floods in Kerr County, Texas, over the Fourth of July holiday weekend has been revised down from at least 97 to three, officials announced July 19. The city of Kerrville, Texas, said the Kerr County Flood Disaster Joint Information Center confirmed that "through extensive follow-up work among state and local agencies, many individuals who were initially reported as missing have been verified as safe and removed from the list." 'We are profoundly grateful to the more than 1,000 local, state, and federal authorities who have worked tirelessly in the wake of the devastating flood that struck our community,' Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said. On July 15, Gov. Greg Abbott said 97 people were still listed as missing in the greater Kerrville area, down from 160-plus about a week ago. 'This remarkable progress reflects countless hours of coordinated search and rescue operations, careful investigative work, and an unwavering commitment to bringing clarity and hope to families during an unimaginably difficult time,' Rice said. Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly thanked law enforcement and others who helped verify the number missing. 'Your dedication, professionalism, and compassion have brought comfort and answers to so many." Kelly had said earlier that a large percentage of those unaccounted for were probably visiting the area. He said many tourists had come for the Independence Day weekend fireworks and concert. Historic flooding overwhelmed the banks of the Guadalupe River in the predawn hours of July 4. Recovery operations are continuing to search for those still missing. As of July 17, Abbott said, the death toll stood at 135 statewide, with 116 from Kerr County perishing in the floods. Contributing: John Bacon This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Number missing in Texas floods July 4 drops to 3 as officials cut list Solve the daily Crossword
