Latest news with #LindseyMcCrory
The Sun
6 days ago
- General
- The Sun
Tragic ‘dear mom' note sent by Camp Mystic victim, 8, revealed following Texas floods – after family's double tragedy
A MOM who lost her daughter in the floods that swept through Texas' Camp Mystic has shared details of a letter she wrote before her death. Notes that children had written to their parents while at the summer camp had started arriving - days after the July 4 floods. 6 6 Blakely McCrory, eight, was among 27 campers and staffers that perished in the Texas floods. She died days after arriving at Camp Mystic, and months after she lost her dad. Devastated mom, Lindsey McCrory, shared details of the note Blakely had written to her family, per People. Blakely had filled in the blanks to sentences on a piece of paper. The letter started with the phrase: "Dear mom." In the note, Blakely revealed she was feeling 'good' and described Camp Mystic as amazing. She told her mom that she would be playing tennis as well as horseback riding. She revealed that she was in the 'tonk' group. Blakely rated the sleep and food at the camp as the best. Children were given the option to score food and how they slept from best to worst. Lindsey revealed that she took comfort in receiving the letter as it conveyed her daughter was enjoying herself at Camp Mystic. College football coach's 8-year-old daughter confirmed dead in horrifying Texas floods – 'asking for all prayers' She described Blakely as 'very resilient.' 'She was a live wire, just had a fun, spirited attitude, the type of child that doesn't stay down for long,' Lindsey told People. Lindsey told the Today program that she received two letters from Blakely. In the second note, Blakely begged her mom not to sell her Barbie house. 6 6 Lindsey recalled how her daughter appeared to change in her mind. That's because Blakely had initially allowed her mom to sell the dolls house. Blakely departed for Camp Mystic on June 29, but her family was rocked by tragedy months previously. Lindsey's husband and Blakely's dad, Blake, died in March after a battle with stage two cancer. And, Lindsey's brother also died. Camp Mystic had been a constant on the banks of the Guadalupe River in Texas for almost 100 years. And, 750 children were at the Christian campsite when the floods hit over the Independence Day weekend. The Guadalupe River rose around 26 feet in 45 minutes as it burst its banks. Around a foot of rain hit Kerr County in central Texas when caused the river to overflow. Janie Hunt, nine, was also killed in the floods. It was her first year at Camp Mystic. Her family identified her via a necklace that had been given to her by her grandma, Margaret. Stacy Stevens' daughter Mary, eight, was identified as one of the victims, as per the New York Post. FAMILIES GRIEF Tragic details emerged after it was reported that sisters Blair and Brooke Harber, 13 and 11, didn't survive the floods. The sisters were holding hands when their bodies were found. And, Ellen Getten, nine, had recently celebrated her birthday at Walt Disney World in Florida before heading to Camp Mystic. She was staying in the camp's Bubble Inn and her family said some of her happiest memories were the dancing parties put on by counselors, per an online obit. 'Ellen woke up happy, went to sleep happy, and made everyone around her happy,' her family said. 'Though her nine years on earth was brief, she will always be remembered for her love of others and her sweet smile. 'Ellen would want everyone to give more hugs.' Dick Eastland, the owner of Camp Mystic, was killed and he was credited for his heroism in trying to evacuate campers. He and his wife Tweety had been associated with the camp for more than 50 years. He received an order to evacuate campers at 1:14am but only started moving the girls to higher ground 45 minutes later, as reported by The New York Post. 'They had no information that indicated the magnitude of what was coming,' Jeff Carr, the Eastland's family spokesperson, said. Eastland's body was found in his Tahoe car that had been swept away. Officials confirmed that at least 134 people died from the flooding, with 100 still missing. But, another summer camp, Camp CAMP, which is located 30 miles downriver has since reopened. 6 6
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Fresh agony for family of Camp Mystic girl swept away in floods as her letters arrive home AFTER her death
Devastated mother Lindsey McCrory has shared the letter her daughter Blakely wrote at Camp Mystic days before the eight-year-old was swept away in the Texas floods. McCrory, 50, said she was making funeral arrangements for Blakely when she received the heartbreaking note her daughter sent from the doomed Christian camp. The third-grader said she was feeling 'good' and the camp in Hunts, Kerr County, was 'amazing', adding that she was enjoying playing tennis and horseback riding. 'I'm a Tonk,' Blakely also wrote to her mom, referring to one of the two groups the children were sorted into when they first arrived at the summer camp. 'She had asked me about the activities I had done when I was a kid, and she ended up taking all the same activities,' McCrory told NBC's Today show about the letters. McCrory said her family received the notes from their beloved daughter just as they were making funeral arrangements to lay her to rest. In a second letter, Blakely also asked her parents not to donate her most prized toys to charity as they moved home while she was at camp. 'Dear Mommy,' her letter read. 'Please don't give my Barbie Dream house.' 'I didn't cry,' McCrory told Today of the second note. 'It made me smile. I could hear her little voice as she wrote it. 'I'd asked her which toys I could throw out and at first her Barbie Dream house was on the list. But then, I guess she had a change of heart!' McCrory, whose husband suddenly died in March at age 59, said her daughter had been excited to go on the camp and was not worried about feeling homesick. 'She even made this comment like, 'Mom I get a whole month off from you!' McCrory told Today. 'Blakely was ready to go have fun with her friends and be independent.' But tragedy struck in the early hours of July 4 when the Guadalupe River rose more than 26 feet in just 45 minutes, pounding local communities with flash flooding. At Camp Mystic, where hundreds of children were sleeping at the epicenter of the flood zone, 21 campers and six counselors died. McCrory was on a boat in Croatia with her sister and two nieces at the time. When they docked, her phone was buzzing nonstop with frantic calls from the camp. Officials informed her that Blakely was missing. 'I dropped my phone on the table and started shaking,' McCrory said. 'My whole heart just sank.' On June 7, McCrory received the devastating news that her daughter had been found dead. She was found wearing her green-and-white beaded Camp Mystic necklace. The heartbroken mother said she sought solace in the thought that Blakely was 'in heaven with her daddy' and that she passed away quickly. 'I did have scenarios in my head, you know, what if she's severely injured and suffering?' she said 'It brought me peace knowing that she went quickly.' At least 132 people have been confirmed dead in the Texas floods. It came after the Trump administration made major cuts to federal funding, impacting agencies like FEMA which lead the response to natural disasters. President Donald Trump traveled to the site of the horror floods on Friday. He shared a tender moment with First Lady Melania Trump as he prepared to fly to Kerr County, putting his arm around her in a somber moment. 'It's a terrible thing,' Trump said. 'We're going to be there with some of the great families and others, the governor, everybody.' Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott will join the Trumps on the trip. Trump approved a major disaster declaration for Texas earlier this week. The president, unlike in other disasters, has not cast blame on anyone for the tragedy, calling it a horrible accident. 'I would just say this is a hundred-year catastrophe, and it's just so horrible to watch,' the president said on Sunday.
