Latest news with #JoyceBadon
CBC
4 days ago
- General
- CBC
Young sisters, beloved educators among Texas flooding victims
Authorities say more than 100 have been killed as search-and-rescue efforts ongoing Three newly minted second graders, including eight-year-old twin sisters from Dallas. A camp director who served as a surrogate father to the girls under his care. These are a few of the scores of victims lost in devastating flash floods in central Texas. The flooding in central Texas during a severe storm originated from the fast-moving waters on the Guadalupe River on Friday, killing more than 100 people. Authorities say search-and-rescue efforts are still underway, including for campers missing from a summer camp for girls. Mary Grace Baker Mary Grace Baker, who had recently celebrated her First Holy Communion, was among the victims at Camp Mystic from the flash foods, her school announced. "Mary Grace was a bright light in our close-knit school family, known for her kindness and friendship to all, her joyful spirit and her love for her faith and family," St. Anne Catholic School in Beaumont said on its Facebook page. "Her giggle was contagious, as was her spirit." Mary Grace, 8, had just completed second grade. The school's post described her as a "girls' girl who loved pink sparkles and bows in her signature angelic ringlet curls." The school asked its community to place pink ribbons in trees in honour of Mary Grace after she went missing following the floods. Joyce Badon Joyce Catherine Badon, a 21-year-old senior at the Savannah College of Art and Design, died in the flooding, the school said in an email to the college community. The architecture student was from Beaumont, Texas. "A beloved daughter, friend, and classmate, Joyce was passionate about using her artistry and talent to impact the world, and had recently helped redesign donation centers for Goodwill," the school said in an email. She was staying with three friends at a river home in Hunt, Texas. All had been reported missing. "At 4 a.m. this morning, a flash flood came through and washed their cars away," her mother, Kellye Badon, posted on Facebook on the Fourth of July. "It happened so quickly with so much water, they could not get in the attic." She said one of the friends called a parent as it was happening, then got washed away with two others. Kellye Badon said her daughter was the last person heard from on that call before the phone went dead. James and Cindy Rushing James and Cindy Rushing were camping along the Guadalupe River at the HTR TX Hill Country Campground on the Fourth of July when the flooding struck. "The amount of grief my family is feeling is immeasurable," their son, James Evan Rushing, wrote in a social media post. "My parents have been found, and they are unfortunately gone. My heart is broken into pieces." Embed | Other Open Full Embed in New Tab Loading external pages may require significantly more data usage than loading CBC Lite story pages. After the flooding, their daughter, Tamra Blasius, visited their campsite and found nothing left. "Everything gone — their camper, their truck, their belongings — completely washed away. There was no sign that anyone had ever been there. It was absolutely gut-wrenching," she wrote in a social media post on Saturday. On Monday, she wrote that her "worst fears were confirmed — my parents were found and identified, but tragically, they did not survive." Hanna and Rebecca Lawrence Hanna and Rebecca Lawrence were eight-year-old sisters from Dallas who were among the victims killed by the flooding at Camp Mystic. The girls had just finished second grade, their parents said. Image | Texas Flooding Victims Caption: This undated photo shows eight-year-old twin sisters Hanna, left, and Rebecca Lawrence, right, of Dallas. (John Lawrence/The Associated Press) Open Image in New Tab "Hanna and Rebecca brought so much joy to us, to their big sister Harper and to so many others," John and Lacy Lawrence said in a statement. "We will find ways to keep that joy, and to continue to spread it for them. But we are devastated that the bond we shared with them, and that they shared with each other, is now frozen in time." David Lawrence, the girls' grandfather and former publisher of the Miami Herald, said that "it has been an unimaginable time for all of us." Did climate change worsen Texas floods? Yes, study suggests "They and that joy can never be forgotten," he said in a statement. University Park Elementary School, which Hanna and Rebecca attended, said on its website that "numerous" students were in the Texas Hill Country during the flooding and had to evacuate. The school did not immediately respond to a message left Monday morning. "We are deeply saddened to report the loss of multiple students, and our thoughts and prayers are with all of the families deeply affected by this unimaginable tragedy," the school said on its website. Reece and Paula Zunker Reece Zunker was described as "a passionate educator and a beloved soccer coach" by Tivy High School in Kerrville, Texas. "His unwavering dedication to our students, athletes, and the Tivy community touched countless lives and will never be forgotten," the school posted online on Sunday. Paula Zunker was a former teacher at the school. "The care and impact she shared with her students continue to be felt, even years later," the post said. The couple's young children, Lyle and Holland, were still missing, the school said. The family had been staying at a river house in Hunt. Dick Eastland Among the dead is Dick Eastland, the Camp Mystic director. Paige Sumner, a former camper, described him in a column in the local paper, the Kerrville Daily Times, as "the father figure to all of us while we were away from home." Sumner spent one summer working in the camp office, balancing accounts for the commissary, where campers bought snacks and other essentials like stamps. She wrote that her desk was outside Eastland's office. "He still put campers first in every situation," wrote Sumner, who is now the head of philanthropy at a community centre in Kerrville. "If an issue of any kind that needed attention came over the walkie-talkie, even a camper with a minor injury or the dreaded snake in the river, he would bolt out of the office and jump in a golf cart to get there as fast as he could." Eastland's grandson, George Eastland, wrote in an Instagram post that his grandfather showed him what a strong Christian man looks like. "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. In her column, Sumner noted that the camp had plans for rain. "Usually," she explained, "it means they deliver a special breakfast of sweet rolls to each cabin or singing songs in the Rec Hall. This level of flooding was unprecedented." In a brief telephone call as she grappled with the flood's aftermath at her own office, Sumner was reluctant to add more than she wrote in the column, saying the camp wanted privacy for the families. "We are still holding out hope," she said. "They are broken; they are in shock." Chloe Childress Chloe Childress was among the counsellors at Camp Mystic who died in the devastating floods. Childress, 19, "lived a beautiful life that saturated those around her with contagious joy, unending grace, and abiding faith," her family said in a statement. "Returning as a counsellor to the place she loved so dearly, Chloe was looking forward to dedicating her summer days to loving and mentoring young girls at Camp Mystic." Childress had just graduated from the Kinkaid School in Houston, which praised her as deeply invested in her community. "Chloe had a remarkable way of making people feel seen. She was wise beyond her years, with a steady compassion that settled a room," Jonathan Eads, the head of the school, said in a letter to the school's community on Sunday. "Whether it was sharing her own challenges to ease someone's burden or quietly cheering a teammate or classmate through a tough day, Chloe made space for others to feel safe, valued, and brave." Janie Hunt, a relative of the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs owner Clark Hunt, was just nine years old. Her mother, Anne Hunt, confirmed her death to CNN, while her grandmother, Margaret Hunt, confirmed it to the Kansas City Star. The Chiefs franchise declined to comment. But Clark Hunt's wife, Tavia Hunt, posted on Instagram and urged people to rely on their faith. "If your heart is broken, I assure you God is near," Tavia Hunt, wrote in the post. "He is gentle with your wounds. And He is still worthy — even when your soul is struggling to believe it. Tanya Burwick The last time Tanya Burwick's family heard from her was a frantic phone call about the floodwaters as she headed to work at a Walmart early Friday in the San Angelo area. When Burwick didn't show up for work, her employer filed a missing persons report and sent a colleague to look for her. Police investigating the 62-year-old's disappearance found Burwick's unoccupied SUV fully submerged later that day. Her body was found the next morning blocks from the vehicle. "She lit up the room and had a laugh that made other people laugh," said Lindsey Burwick, who added that her mom was a beloved parent, grandparent and colleague to many. She and her brother Zac said the day was especially difficult because it happened on the Fourth of July as they were working at a fireworks stand that's been in the family for generations. As word of Tanya Burwick's disappearance spread, people from Blackwell, a small community of about 250 people, showed up to the stand that's run out of a trailer painted orange. "People came to our aid," Lindsey Burwick said. Police in San Angelo said more than 12,000 houses, barns and other buildings have been affected by the floods in the community of roughly 100,000 people. "We ask that the public continue to keep the Burwick family in their thoughts and prayers as they navigate this heartbreaking tragedy," the San Angelo Police Department said in a Facebook post. Jane Ragsdale Jane Ragsdale, 68, devoted her life to the Heart O' the Hills Camp, a summer camp for girls in Texas Hill Country. She was a camper and counsellor there herself in the 1970s before becoming a co-owner. By the 1980s, she was director of the camp in Hunt, Texas. "She was the heart of The Heart," the camp said in a statement. "She was our guiding light, our example, and our safe place. She had the rare gift of making every person feel seen, loved, and important." Since the camp was between sessions, no children were staying there when the floodwaters rose. The camp's facilities, directly in the path of the flood, were extensively damaged and access to the site remained difficult, according to camp officials. The camp has been in existence since the 1950s. Camp officials said Ragsdale would be remembered for her strength and wisdom. "We are heartbroken. But above all, we are grateful," the camp said. "Grateful to have known her, to have learned from her, and to carry her light forward." In a 2015 oral history for the Kerr County Historical Commission, Ragsdale, whose first name was Cynthie but who went by her middle name, Jane, talked about how her father was also a camp director and how much she enjoyed her experiences. "I loved every minute of camp from the first time I stepped foot in one," she said. Videos of Ragsdale strumming a guitar and singing to campers during a recent session were posted in a memorial on the camp's Facebook page: "Life is good today. So keep singing 'til we meet, again." Sarah Marsh Eight-year-old Sarah Marsh from Alabama had been attending Camp Mystic in Texas, a longtime Christian girls' camp in Hunt where several others were killed in the floods. As of Sunday, afternoon, 11 children were still missing. Sarah was a student at Cherokee Bend Elementary in suburban Birmingham. "This is an unimaginable loss for her family, her school, and our entire community," Mountain Brook Mayor Stewart Welch said in a Facebook post. "Sarah's passing is a sorrow shared by all of us, and our hearts are with those who knew and loved her." He said the community — where about 20,000 people reside — would rally behind the Marsh family as they grieved. Sarah's parents declined an interview request on Sunday "as they mourn this unbearable loss," the girl's grandmother, Debbie Ford Marsh, told The Associated Press in an email. "We will always feel blessed to have had this beautiful spunky ray of light in our lives. She will live on in our hearts forever!" Marsh wrote on Facebook. "We love you so much, sweet Sarah!" Image | APTOPIX Extreme Weather Texas Caption: A Camp Mystic sign is shown near the entrance to the summer camp along the banks of the Guadalupe River after a flash flood swept through the area, in Hunt, Texas, on Saturday. (Julio Cortez/The Associated Press) Open Image in New Tab She declined further comment. U.S. Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama also noted the girl's tragic death. "We continue to pray for the victims' loved ones, the survivors, those who are still missing, and our brave first responders as search and rescue efforts continue in Texas," she said in a post on social media platform X. Blair and Brooke Harber Sisters Blair and Brooke Harber, both students at St. Rita Catholic School in Dallas, had been staying along the Guadalupe River when their cabin was swept away, according to the school. Pastor Joshua J. Whitfield of St. Rita Catholic Community, which shares a campus with the school, said the girls' parents, Annie and RJ Harber, were staying in a different cabin and were safe. However, their grandparents were unaccounted for. Annie Harber has been a longtime teacher at the school. Blair, who was enrolled in advanced classes, was involved in numerous school activities from volleyball and basketball to speech and drama. Brooke was a rising Grade 6 student and athlete in volleyball and lacrosse, among other sports. She also participated in speech and drama, according to the church. Both were remembered for their kind hearts and warm personalities. "We will honor Blair and Brooke's lives, the light they shared, and the joy they brought to everyone who knew them," Whitfield wrote in a Saturday letter to parishioners. "And we will surround Annie, RJ, and their extended family with the strength and support of our St. Rita community." The church held a special prayer service Saturday afternoon and offered counselling. "Please keep the Harber family in your prayers during this time of profound grief," Whitfield wrote. "May our faith, our love, and our St. Rita community be a source of strength and comfort in the days ahead."
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
Parents Confirm Daughter's Body Has Been Found After Texas Floods as Heartbreaking Final Text to Family Is Revealed
A 21-year-old woman who went missing amid the Texas flood disaster sent one last text message to her family before she disappeared Joyce Catherine Badon, who was staying with college friends when the flood struck in Hunt, Texas, said "we're being washed away" before her phone "went dead" according to the leader of a search team "We pray that all four of them are still alive," said Joyce's father Ty Badon to CNNThe body of a 21-year-old woman who sent one final text message to her family before she was washed away in a Texas flood has been found. Joyce Catherine Badon, 21, was trapped at a house along the Guadalupe River, which flooded amid torrential rain on Friday, July 4, according to Agence France-Presse. Dad Ty Badon previously told CNN that Joyce was staying with a group of college friends when the flood struck. On Monday, July 7, he confirmed to NBC News that she had been found dead. Joyce's mother Kellye Badon also shared a message about their "lovely" daughter on her Facebook page. "God showed us the way we should go this morning!" Kellye wrote. "We found our lovely daughter who blessed us for 21 years! We pray to be able to find her three friends soon. Thanks to EVERYONE for the prayers and support. God is good!" Her mom did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment. Louis Deppe, the leader of a group of volunteers who were searching for Joyce, told the AFP the house where she was staying 'collapsed' around 4 a.m. local time on Friday. Before she disappeared, the woman sent one final text message. 'On her cellphone, the last message [her family] got was 'we're being washed away' and the phone went dead," Deppe told the news agency. Also missing from her friend group are Ella Cahill, Aidan Heartfield and Reese Manchaca, according to the Beaumont Enterprise and 12 News Now. 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. Ty previously told CNN that the group was staying at a house owned by Aiden's dad, who was on the phone with his child as the disaster struck. "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," Ty explained. Tina Hambly, the 55-year-old mother of Joyce's best friend and roommate, helped with the search for the college friends using a kayak oar to poke at branches and other debris. "We're doing a seven-mile stretch, and there's seven teams and we're doing a mile apiece,' Hambly told the AFP, 'so just kind of dividing and conquering, trying to find any four of them or anyone.' She added, 'But, you know, we are friends and families and frankly, some strangers have shown up.' More than 90 people have died as a result of the flooding in Central Texas, according to NBC News. To learn how to help support the victims and recovery efforts from the Texas floods, click here. Read the original article on People
Daily Mirror
5 days ago
- Daily Mirror
Texas flood victim's chilling final text before river washed house away
Joyce Badon, 21, was spending the July 4 holiday with three friends at a house by the Guadalupe River when the horrific storm hit Texas and they were washed away A 21-year-old sent a final text message to her family before the house she was in was washed away. She has not yet been found following the horrific floods in Texas. Crews are trudging through debris and wading into swollen riverbanks again today in the search for victims of the catastrophic flooding over the July Fourth weekend which killed at least 89 people, including more than two dozen campers and counsellors from an all-girls Christian camp. With more rain on the way, the risk of more flooding is still high in saturated parts of central Texas. Authorities said the death toll was sure to rise as crews looked for the many people who were still missing. And among those who have not been found is Joyce Badon, 21, who pleaded for help from a house along the Guadalupe River which burst its banks. Louis Deppe is leading volunteers who are trying to help her family find her daughter, who had been staying with three friends Ella Cahill, Reese Manchaca and Aiden Heartfield. They went to spend the July 4 holiday together at a country house. '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,' Mr Deppe told AFP. Volunteers are working through debris. Mr Deppe told of one body being found around 10ft up a tree. Tina Hambly, 55, the mum of a friend of Joyce, is also involved in the search. "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,' said Ms Hambly. 'But, you know, we are friends and families and frankly, some strangers have shown up." Joyce's dad Ty Badon is also looking for the missing group. "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 on Saturday, 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." Tragically while searching Mr Badon said they found the body of a young boy. 'My son and I were walking and I thought it was a mannequin. It was a little boy, eight or 10 years old, and he was dead,' he said. 'We were just walking, doing the same thing we were doing when we stumbled across him. Hopefully we can find our children, my daughter and her friends alive.'
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Climate
- Daily Mail
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
As the raging Guadalupe River burst its banks and wreaked havoc in central Texas, a young woman named Joyce Badon sent a haunting text message that may have been her last. 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.'
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
Distraught Dad Says He Found the Body of a ‘Little Boy' While Calling Out His Missing Daughter's Name amid Texas Floods
Ty Badon, the father of missing 21-year-old Joyce Badon, said that he was searching an area of Hunt, Texas, when he found a young boy's body amid the flooding of Guadalupe River 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
