
Haunting final text message of missing Texas flood victim, 21, moments before the house she was staying in with friends was washed away at 4am
Triggering one of many frantic search efforts, Badon pleaded for help from a house along the river, according to Louis Deppe, leader of a group of volunteers trying to help the Badon family find their daughter.
Torrential rains starting the night before the Independence Day holiday caused the river to rise the height of a two-story building in less than hour, flooding parts of Kerr County, including several children's camps, tearing down trees and tossing cars as if they were toys.
The death toll as of Sunday afternoon was at least 78, with more casualties expected.
Badon and three friends, Ella Cahill, Reese Manchaca and Aiden Heartfield, had gone to a country house to spend the July 4 holiday together.
It rained all Thursday night into Friday morning, when disaster struck.
'Their house collapsed at about 4 in the morning and they were being washed away. On her cellphone, the last message (her family) got was "we're being washed away" and the phone went dead,' Deppe told AFP.
He said the team works in groups of two or three people as they look through the debris and detritus left behind by the deluge.
'One of the bodies was 8 to 10 feet in a tree, surrounded up by so much debris. Not one person could see it, so the more eyes, the better,' he added.
The river is returning to normal now but there is utter destruction everywhere on its banks, like a dead cow hanging from a tree, its head caught between two branches.
Nearby a pickup truck lies upside down and around it dozens of dead fish swept out of the water are beginning to rot and stink.
Helicopters fly overhead looking for survivors or bodies while rescue teams in boats ride up and down the river and emergency officials comb its banks.
Little by little, debris like uprooted trees and ruined cars is being taken away.
Tina Hambly, 55, the mother of Joyce Badon's best friend and roommate, walks around with a kayak oar poking at branches and other debris, hoping to find something or someone.
'We're doing a seven-mile stretch, and there's seven teams and we're doing a mile apiece, so just kind of dividing and conquering, trying to find any four of them or anyone,' Hambly told AFP.
'But, you know, we are friends and families and frankly, some strangers have shown up,' she added.
In the town of Hunt, one of the worst hit areas, a summer gathering for children called Camp Mystic initially reported dozens of those kids missing in the flooding. The figure now stands at 11 plus a counselor.
Toys, clothing, towels and other belongings lie strewn around camp cabins full of mud.
The volunteers looking for Badon have found some bodies - two early on Saturday morning and then another stuck in debris up in a tree. 'And they did let me know that she was one of the Camp Mystic girls that went missing,' said Justin Morales, 36, part of the search team.
'We're happy to give a family closure,' he said. 'That's why we're out here.'
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Daily Mail
24 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Chilling maps reveal where devastating flash flooding that killed over 100 people hit Texas
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Sky News
28 minutes ago
- Sky News
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The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Haunting pics of empty Camp Mystic bunkbeds after 27 girls & counselors killed in horror Texas floods & 11 still missing
HORRIFYING pictures show the aftermath of the Texas floods at Camp Mystic, where dozens of girls and counselors died after being swept away by the rising waters. At least 90 bodies have been recovered since deadly rains flooded the Guadalupe River outside San Antonio over the July 4 holiday weekend. 14 14 14 14 14 14 One of the worst-hit areas was Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp located dangerously close to the flooding shores, which was overwhelmed when the river rose 26 feet in 45 minutes. Ten girls and a counselor attending the camp are still missing. They make up a heart-wrenching portion of the 41 people who are unaccounted for across the state. What we know so far... Torrential rain sparked deadly flash flooding around the Guadalupe River At least 90 people lost their lives, mostly in Kerr County, and rescue teams continue to search for survivors Five million Texans are still under flood alerts Families of some Camp Mystic girls have confirmed their deaths A woman was rescued after being washed 20 miles downstream Two brothers told of their brave escape from a flooded cabin The victims include the niece of the Kansas City Chiefs' owners, a dad who died while saving his wife and kids, and a beloved high school coach Chilling photos of the flooding aftermath at the camp show piles of abandoned sleeping bags strewn across the cabins. Bunkbeds were left askew by the rushing waters, and everything inside the buildings was covered with layers of mud and sediment. Survivors of the tragedy have started to open up about the chaotic mission to escape the waters after being surprised by the flash floods early Friday morning. Glenn Juenke, a security guard at the camp, said that he had to throw girls on top of floating mattresses to save them from drowning. But despite witnessing the death and destruction, he said he was struck by the "courage and faith" shown by the young girls. "Each of those sweet girls [were] cold, wet, and frightened - but they were also incredibly brave," he told CNN. Camp Mystic director's tragic final act to save girls from Texas floods as wall of water tore through cabins killing 27 "They trusted me, and we leaned on each other through a long, harrowing night together inside their cabin." The camp's director was among those who lost their lives after desperately trying to save young girls in a heartbreaking final act. Dick Eastland and his wife, Tweety, were the third-generation of their family to manage the camp, having bought it in 1974. Eastland's grandson, George, revealed his grandpa had died when the water crashed through the walls of the cabins. '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,' he wrote on Instagram. 'That's the kind of man my grandfather was. He was a husband, father, grandfather, and a mentor to thousands of young women. 'Although he no longer walks this earth, his impact will never fade in the lives he touched.' Eastland, who had previously fought brain cancer, was found dead near his car, as reported by the San Antonio Express News. Tweety, meanwhile, was found safe at the family home. Paige Sumner, a family friend, has led the tributes to the camp director. She said the girls at the camp looked up to Eastland as if he was a 'father figure,' in an op-ed to the Kerrville Daily Times. 'Dick and Tweety were also role models in their loving relationship,' she penned. 'When we looked at them, they were still that much in love.' 14 14 14 14 14 14 Callie McAlary, a 16-year-old camper, described the terrifying moment she realized that this wasn't a normal thunderstorm. "One minute you see lightning strike next to your cabin, and next to you, you hear water's coming up," she told Fox News. Callie said that she watched in horror as girls rushed across the campgrounds to try to get into cabins that weren't being filled with water. "It was really bad thunder," she said. "We heard one of the campers run in and say, 'Hey, our cabin is flooding.' "I knew some girls slept on trunks that night, some girls had to share beds, some girls slept on floors because they couldn't go back to their cabin because it was so flooded in three cabins." As the water rose in the middle of the night, Callie said she decided to put a name tag on her body in case her cabin was "next." "In my head I was saying, 'If something does happen, and I do get swept away, at least I'll have my name on my body.'" Callie's family is from Texas, but they now live in Virginia. Her parents said that they wanted to send her to Camp Mystic so she could stay in touch with her roots. Tara Bradburn, Callie's mother, said that she was overwhelmed by how much the staff did to try and protect the girls. "What the men and the staff and the Eastland family did to try and help everyone that they could - they are heroes," she told Fox News. "And those young girls and those young counselors that our young girls were under for the summer were remarkable and were brave and were strong and saved so many children." As of Monday afternoon, five million were still under flood warnings in Texas with fears 10 inches of rain could fall in some parts of the state. Governor Greg Abbott said officiala aren't expecting anything "to the magnitude of what was seen in Kerrville" but said there's still a threat of more flash flooding events. Slow-moving showers are creeping across the region with warnings expected to stay active into Monday evening. As the fourth day of searches comes to a close, brave crews refuse to give up hope that survivors are waiting to be saved. "We will never presume they're dead," Jake Stovall, the founder of Gulf Search and Rescue, told CNN and vowed to keep working the scene for up to 15 days. Legislators across the US are directing rescue crews to help search for more survivors. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis confirmed he's sending water rescue crews and was "happy to step up." "Texas has helped us when we've had different issues throughout the years," he said at a news conference. Meanwhile, Nebraska is sending a 45-member search and rescue team with two canine teams and boats. President Donald Trump is also expected to visit the flood site on Friday. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump would be investigating the "once in a generation national disaster" and urged everyone to "remain vigilant." While central Texas recovers from the devastating floods, tropical storm Chantal also dumping rain on North Carolina and moving up through the northeast. Residents in central parts of the southern state were left stranded and waiting for rescue crews to save them from their flooded homes after the storm hit on Monday. At least 10 inches of rain poured onto parts of North Carolina, leaving some drivers trapped on the roads and highways shut down, according to the New York Times. 14