Latest news with #JodiCarpenter
CBS News
2 days ago
- General
- CBS News
Kerr County man searches for flood victims after 9 bodies found on his land on the Guadalupe River
Mike Richards lost his cabin on the Guadalupe River to the flood in Kerr County, but he hasn't stopped searching his land for victims, fearing some remain missing as volunteers prepare to leave. "We hang out here and go fishing all the time," said Mike Richards, "My grandson Blue, he knows every inch of this river." Richards worked all his life to have a small cabin on the Guadalupe River, so he could fish with his grandkids. The flood waters on the Fourth of July completely leveled it. But these days, he's not worried about his cabin. "I have worked all my life for this, but it's just a material thing," he said, "I was a police man for quite a few years and I could always drive up to a scene and leave. But here, I got no place to go. It weighs heavy on your heart." Richards says since the flood, he's found the bodies of nine people on his property. "I've never felt my heart beating so heavy. Man, it just, it's terrible, but it feels like my heart weighs 40lbs," he said. He's had volunteers helping him comb over his land, but he's worried. Eventually, they'll have to return to their lives. "I think they may have to go back this week," said Richards, "I really feel in my heart, there's still people on my land." It's something other people who live in Kerr County have been worried about. "Eventually, everybody is going to leave and go back to their normal life and God, what does it look like for us who have to stay?" said Jodi Carpenter, who lives in Kerrville. But Richards is dedicated to leaving no stone unturned and finding every person on his little patch of the Guadalupe. "I just want to lay my head down on my pillow and say I don't think anymore of them are on my land. I owe that as a father, as a grandfather, as a neighbor," he said.
CBS News
4 days ago
- General
- CBS News
Long road to recovery begins as Hill Country volunteers continue flood search and healing efforts
After 12 days, the initial adrenaline to jump into action is starting to wear off for some volunteers. Crews are starting to settle into what will become a long and complex process of bringing everyone home. Jodi Carpenter and her daughter Abigail love the Guadalupe River. The park where Abigail Carpenter grew up playing is now covered in crosses to remember those swept away by the floodwaters. "I'm talking to God and my, you know, my head going, 'what does this look like for the long haul?' God, you know, how do we plug into healing for the long haul? Because it's going to be different moving forward," said Jodi Carpenter. Twelve miles downstream, search efforts continue. "The last several days have been, they've been difficult," said Daniel Murray. "This whole situation is emotionally heavy. But the reason we're out here is because we know the community needs support." Murray is part of a volunteer crew that's been clearing piles of debris. His crew marks each pile with an orange "X" to let other teams know it's clear. "What happened here is, it's hard to wrap your head around until you're on the ground looking at it," said Murray. Murray's group is one of many working out of the Center Point Volunteer Fire Department's command post. "Concerned citizens are posting just right outside of our fire department. And they are coordinating and going on search groups as well," said Razor Dobbs with Center Point FD. For crews like Daniels' and the emergency responders, this is the start of the long, hard work to account for every person lost. "The goal is to bring everybody home. And there is no plan B," said Dobbs. For Jodi Carpenter, her daughter, and everyone else in the Hill Country, they're starting the long, hard work of healing. "We're going to have to figure out how to get in the water again. Not right now, but. Like we're going to have to get back there," said Jodi Carpenter.
