Latest news with #ReneeSmajstrla
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Everything we know about Texas flooding victims: Girl ‘living her best life' at camp and man who saved his family
Devastating floods that swept Central Texas over the weekend have killed at least 51 people, including 15 children. Unexpected torrential downpours struck the region on Friday evening, causing the Guadalupe River to rapidly rise and flood the surrounding area. The flooding destroyed homes, swept away vehicles and devastated Camp Mystic, an all-girls summer camp situated on the banks of the river. There are still 27 children missing from the camp as of Saturday afternoon. The identities of the victims are still being determined and released to the public. Here's what we know about the victims so far. Eight-year-old Renee Smajstrla was at Camp Mystic, the all-girls summer camp near the Guadalupe River, her uncle confirmed in a Facebook post. Smajstrla was one of the 27 campers unaccounted for after the devastating floods, Shawn Salta said in the post. 'Renee has been found and while not the outcome we prayed for, the social media outreach likely assisted the first responders in helping to identify her so quickly,' Salta wrote. 'We are thankful she was with her friends and having the time of her life, as evidenced by this picture from yesterday. She will forever be living her best life at Camp Mystic.' Sarah Marsh, an eight-year-old girl from Mountain Brook, Alabama, was killed in the devastating floods while at Camp Mystic. Debbie Ford Marsh, the grandmother of Sarah, confirmed the young girl's death in a now-private Facebook post. 'We will always feel blessed to have had this beautiful spunky ray of light in our lives,' Marsh wrote. 'She will live on in our hearts forever!' Janie Hunt, a nine-year-old Camp Mystic camper, died in the catastrophic flooding, her mother told CNN. Nine-year-old Lila Bonner of Dallas died in the floods while attending Camp Mystic. 'In the midst of our unimaginable grief, we ask for privacy and are unable to confirm any details at this time. We ache with all who loved her,' the Bonner family said in a statement to NBC5. Jane Ragsdale, the director of Heart O' the Hills camp in Kerr County, is among the victims killed in the floods, a close friend confirmed on Facebook. 'Jane was more than the beloved Director of Heart O' the Hills. She was a legend in the camp community shaping generations of campers, staff, and leaders through her unwavering belief in the power of camp to change lives,' Dani Shaw wrote on Facebook. 'She modeled the highest standards of care, character, and connection.' Julian Ryan, 27, died in the floods while saving his family from the rushing water, according to a GoFundMe launched to support his family. 'Julian, his fiancé, kids, and mother were awakened when water came rushing into their home,' the GoFundMe reads. 'Julian jumped into action to protect and save his family and get them to safety.' 'Julian gave his life for his family, passing as a true hero,' the GoFundMe continues. 'While his family is eternally grateful for his sacrifice, they are shattered by their loss.' Katheryn Eads died in the floods, while her husband Brian survived, her family told The Washington Post. She previously worked at Olive Branch Counseling and Training. 'Katheryn was a hope and a light to all who knew her,' the company's owner told the Post. 'A daughter, a wife, a mother, grandmother, friend and colleague. She was a stellar counselor and professor and she simply just made everything better. Katheryn was changing lives.' Two sisters — 13-year-old Blair and 11-year-old Brooke — were killed by the floods in Kerr County, their father told CNN on Saturday night. Harber described Blair as 'a gifted student' who had 'a generous, kind heart.' Harber said that Brooke was 'like a light in any room, people gravitated to her and she made them laugh and enjoy the moment.' The sisters were not attending Camp Mystic, their father added.
RNZ News
2 hours ago
- General
- RNZ News
The faces of the Texas flooding tragedy
Family of Camp Mystic camper Renee Smajstrla tells CNN that she has passed away. Photo: Shawn Salta via CNN Newsource Julian Ryan's final words to his mother as floodwaters quickly engulfed their trailer home were simply, "I love you." He had made a split-second decision to thrust his arm through a window to help his fiancée, two young kids and mom escape the catastrophic flood tearing through Kerr County, Texas, swallowing everything in its path. That last-ditch effort, an act of bravery, ultimately cost him his life. The glass had cut an artery in his arm. Ryan's mother held him as he bled and took his last breath, his sister, Connie Salas, told CNN. "He went out a hero," Salas said. In the pitch-black, storm-lashed hours before dawn Friday, surging floodwaters unexpectedly ravaged the region, including a campsite filled with sleeping children. Four months' worth of rain fell in just hours and the nearby Guadalupe River rose over 20 feet, sweeping homes, cars, campers and cabins downstream. When the sunrise came and the storm softened, the full weight of the disaster came into view. Hundreds were missing, including over two dozen girls at a summer camp, and as minutes stretched into hours, hope gave way to grief. At least 80 people, including 21 children, were killed in the catastrophic Texas floods and the death toll continues to rise, according to local officials. Ryan's body wasn't recovered until waters receded, according to CNN affiliate KHOU. Now Ryan's family and their heartbroken Texas community are reckoning with the depth of the tragedy - and searching for answers. Here's what we know about the victims. It had been an exhausting shift for Ryan. The 27-year-old dishwasher had finished working at a local restaurant before returning to his Ingram, Texas, home, The New York Times reported. He was finally asleep when surging floodwaters crashed through their trailer home. In a matter of seconds, their front door gave way, slammed open by the power of the river. Ryan and his fiancée, with water rising to their chests, placed their 13-month-old and 6-year-old on the mattresses, which were floating, to keep them above the rising flood. But the water kept rising. The bedroom door, sealed tight by the pressure on the other side, wouldn't budge. In those terrifying moments, Ryan shattered a window in a final attempt to get his family out. The glass tore into his arm, leaving him critically injured, his fiancée Christinia Wilson said. She added the glass almost cut his arm clean off. After multiple calls to 911 went unanswered, Ryan looked at them, she said, and told them, "'I'm sorry, I'm not going to make it. I love y'all.'" His sister, who lived just steps away from him and also lost her home, told CNN there was no warning and no time to act. A flash flood emergency warning was issued for Kerr County at 4:03 a.m. about an hour before the raging Guadalupe River burst from its banks. The late-night warnings limited who could see them - and how quickly they could move to higher ground. "We had no time to physically save ourselves," Salas said. "Our last words were, 'I'm scared,'" she said. "And he says, 'Me too.'" The family is overwhelmed with grief and struggling to cope, Salas says, especially their mother, who was there for Ryan's final moments and saw him take his last breath. "While they were literally panicking and about to drown, my mother was still holding up her son and he looked at her and said, 'I love you,'" Salas said. "So my mom has that heartbreak of looking at her son and telling him goodbye, holding him while he takes his last breath." Salas says the family feels like they're trapped in a nightmare they can't wake up from; a reality where Ryan will never walk through the door again "and be that funny person he is." At Camp Mystic, the massive flooding seemed to have ripped the wall off at least one building and left a cabin covered in dirt and mud, with girls' mattresses strewn across the floor, photos of the devastation show. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the camp was "horrendously ravaged." He was shocked, he said, that the rushing water reached the top of the cabins. The families of at least four campers have confirmed their deaths to CNN, while others are still waiting for news on their children. Twenty-seven kids are still missing from Camp Mystic, a Christian all-girls camp near the Guadalupe River that hosts about 750 kids. Renee Smajstrla, the 8-year-old Camp Mystic camper who went missing during the torrential flooding in Kerr County, Texas, has died, her family confirmed to CNN. "It's truly devastating," Shawn Salta, Smajstrla's uncle, told CNN. Salta said his niece was recovered on Friday. Family of Camp Mystic camper Renee Smajstrla tells CNN that she has passed away. Photo: Shawn Salta via CNN Newsource The mother of missing Camp Mystic camper Janie Hunt, 9, told CNN in a message Saturday morning her daughter had "passed away." After the catastrophic flooding hit Kerr County in Texas Friday, Anne Hunt told CNN "we are just praying" for her return. The families of Sarah Marsh and Lila Bonner, two girls who had gone missing from Camp Mystic Friday morning, confirmed to CNN both died. In a post on Facebook, Alabama Sen. Katie Britt said she was "heartbroken" over the loss of Sarah Marsh. "We are keeping her family in our thoughts and prayers during this unimaginable time," Britt said. "In the midst of our unimaginable grief, we ask for privacy and are unable to confirm any details at this time," the Bonner family said in a statement. "We ache with all who loved her and are praying endlessly for others to be spared from this tragic loss." Blair and Brooke Harber, 13- and 11-year-old sisters, went missing during the flooding along with their grandparents. The Harbers' father confirmed to CNN Saturday his daughters had died. "(Blair) was a gifted student and had a generous kind heart," RJ Harber said. "(Brooke) was like a light in any room, people gravitated to her and she made them laugh and enjoy the moment." His parents, Charlene and Mike Harber, are still missing, but he believes the couple is also deceased. Blair and Brooke Harber's father has confirmed to CNN that the sisters have died. Blair, left, and Brooke, right, went missing during the catastrophic flooding in Kerr County, Texas. Photo: Courtesy RJ Harber via CNN Newsource Jane Ragsdale was the "heart and soul" of Heart O' the Hills, according to the camp's website. The co-owner and camp director, Ragsdale died during the floods. She had "influenced countless lives and was the definition of strong and powerful," the camp said. The girls camp, set alongside the Guadalupe River, was not in session at the time of the flooding, and "most of those who were on camp at the time have been accounted for and are on high ground," according to an announcement from the camp. A video last month shows Ragsdale playing the guitar and singing with campers. She sings the song "Let There Always Be A Song". "When you sing you say, life is good today," "So keep singing till we meet again." Reece Zunker was not just a soccer coach. The head coach of the Tivy High School's boys soccer team was "a mentor, teacher and a role model," the team said on Facebook. They added they were mourning "the loss of our leader and inspiration." Zunker died in this holiday weekend's flooding tragedy, his niece told CNN. Mackenzey Zunker said her father identified her uncle's body Saturday evening. Paula Zunker, Reece's wife, also died, according to the soccer team's statement and a post by Recce Zunker's cousin, Haley Furlough. The couple's two children remain unaccounted for, Furlough wrote. Dr. Katheryn Eads, another victim of the Texas floods, "lived a fulfilling life, cut far too short," her daughter Victoria Eads told CNN in a family statement. "She was an incredible wife, daughter, mother, grandmother, and person who spent her life helping kids," the statement continued. Eads assisted children in the foster care system in her early career and continued on as a psychologist and a college professor, her daughter told CNN. "Trying to figure out our lives without her is a possibility we never planned to face and we will always miss her." - CNN
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Packed cabin swept away in Texas floods
Credit: social media A cabin packed with people was swept away by deadly floodwaters after torrential rain hit central Texas on Friday. At least 59 people are confirmed to have died in Kerr County and neighbouring areas after nearly a foot of rain fell on Friday, causing the Guadalupe River to overflow. Among the missing are 27 girls from Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp in Hunt, Texas. State officials said the death toll was expected to rise. The once idyllic retreat with green-roofed cabins with names such as 'Wiggle Inn' has been devastated by flood with the huts uprooted and destroyed alongside discarded vehicles. Footage shows a large cabin floating down the Guadalupe River in Hill County. Faint, yellow lights flickered from within as panicked voices echoed in the night. 'Oh my God, there's so many people in it,' a bystander is heard saying as the cabin disappeared into the current. On Sunday, emergency teams searched for those still missing. Credit: Reuters Larry Leitha, the county sheriff, confirmed 38 adults and 21 children were among the dead in Kerry County, while 10 more died in other Texas counties. Renee Smajstrla, eight, Sarah Marsh, eight, Janie Hunt, nine, and Lila Bonner, nine, all at Camp Mystic died during the flood. Shawn Salta, Renee's uncle, said: 'Renee has been found and while not the outcome we prayed for, the social media outreach likely assisted the first responders in helping to identify her so quickly. Debbie Ford Marsh, Sarah's grandmother, wrote in a Facebook post on Saturday: 'Our sweet Sarah is gone! '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! We love you so much sweet Sarah!' Dick Eastland, the owner and director of Camp Mystic, reportedly died while trying to rescue campers. Paige Sumner, who knew Mr Eastland, in a tribute for the Kerrville Daily Times: '[Eastland] was family to so many campers. 'It doesn't surprise me at all that his last act of kindness and sacrifice was working to save the lives of campers.' Lt Governor Dan Patrick said 700 girls were in residence at the camp when the flood hit. By Sunday morning, 27 remained missing. Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, was quizzed about why the National Weather Service's (NWS) alerts about heavy rainfall and flooding were delayed, blaming its 'ancient' alerts system. 'The weather is extremely difficult to predict,' she said alongside Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas. 'But also … the National Weather Service, over the years at times, has done well and at times, we have all wanted more time and more warning and more notification. 'We needed to renew this ancient system that has been left in place with the federal government for many, many years and that is the reforms that are ongoing there,' Ms Noem added. Residents in central Texas were warned of a 'moderate' storm at about 1.18pm on Thursday, with the NWS initial flood watch predicting 5-7 inches of rain. This was the first in a series of bulletins that grew increasingly serious in the early hours of Friday morning before a 'threat to life' was issued at 4.03am. The Trump administration has faced criticism for staffing cuts to the NWS, which saw nearly 600 employees laid off earlier this year, doubling the vacancy rate since January, The New York Times reported. But Greg Waller, an NWS hydrologist in Fort Worth, told the Texas Tribune that the team had 'adequate staffing, adequate technology' on the night of the storm. Mr Trump on Sunday signed a major disaster declaration for Kerr Country 'to ensure that our brave first responders immediately have the resources they need'. The US president said on social media: 'These families are enduring an unimaginable tragedy, with many lives lost, and many still missing.' 'Our incredible US Coast Guard, together with State First Responders, have saved more than 850 lives,' he said, ending the message with: 'GOD BLESS THE FAMILIES, AND GOD BLESS TEXAS!'
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
A girls' summer camp cut short by deadly disaster
Camp Mystic, a Christian girls' camp perched on the banks of the Guadalupe River in Texas, was a place of laughter, prayer, and adventure just days ago. Among the girls at the camp was eight-year-old Renee Smajstrla, smiling ear-to-ear in a picture taken on one of those days - "having the time of her life" with her friends. But the next day, the camp she, and so many other young girls loved, turned into the site of one of the deadliest flood disasters in recent Texas history. Smajstrla was among those killed. "She will forever be living her best life at Camp Mystic," her uncle Shawn Salta wrote on Facebook. Photos show the eerie aftermath: The bunk beds are still there - mud-caked and toppled over, silent witnesses of a summer camp cut short. Destroyed personal belongings are scattered across soaked interiors where children once gathered for Bible study and campfire songs. At least 59 people - among them camp's longtime director, Richard "Dick" Eastland, and several young campers - have been confirmed dead. Eleven of its campers and one camp counsellor remain missing. Many of the girls who remain missing were sleeping in low-lying cabins less than 500 feet from the riverbank, US media reports. Camp Mystic has been operated by the same family for generations, offering girls a chance to grow "spiritually" in a "wholesome" Christian atmosphere, according to its website. Families from all across Texas and the US send their daughters each summer to swim, canoe, ride horses, and form lifelong friendships. But the beauty of the Guadalupe River, which draws so many to the area, also proved deadly. The floodwaters arrived with little warning, ripping through the picturesque riverfront area that is home to nearly 20 youth camps. Though Camp Mystic suffered the greatest losses, officials say the scale of the disaster is far-reaching. Nearby, the all-girls camp Heart O' the Hills also faced flooding. Its co-owner and director, Jane Ragsdale, was among the dead. Fortunately, the camp was out of session at the time. A statement from the camp said, "Most of those who were on camp at the time have been accounted for and are on high ground… We are mourning the loss of a woman who influenced countless lives and was the definition of strong and powerful." Questions are now mounting over why so many camps were situated so close to the river, and why more was not done to evacuate the children in time. Congressman Chip Roy, who represents the area, acknowledged the devastation while urging caution against premature blame. "The response is going to be, 'We've gotta move all these camps - why would you have camps down here by the water?'" Roy said. "Well, you have camps by the water because it's by the water. You have camps near the river because it's a beautiful and wonderful place to be." As recovery efforts continue, families wait anxiously for news of the missing. Search and rescue teams - some navigating by boat, others combing through debris - are working around the clock. Kerr County Sheriff Larry L Leitha said on Sunday that the search for survivors continues but noted that the numbers will continue to change and increase as time goes on. "Until we can get them reunited families, we are not going to stop," City Manager Dalton Rice said. Governor Greg Abbott has declared a state of emergency, and officials warn the final toll may rise in the days to come. Texas flood victims: Girl 'having time of her life' and 'heart and soul' of camp A boy saved by barbed wire, a 'destroyed' camp and missed warning signs in Texas floods Search for missing continues as Texas floods kill 51, including 15 children
BBC News
12 hours ago
- General
- BBC News
Camp Mystic: A girls' summer camp cut short by deadly disaster
Camp Mystic, a Christian girls' camp perched on the banks of the Guadalupe River in Texas, was a place of laughter, prayer, and adventure just days the girls at the camp was eight-year-old Renee Smajstrla, smiling ear-to-ear in a picture taken on one of those days - "having the time of her life" with her friends. But the next day, the camp she, and so many other young girls loved, turned into the site of one of the deadliest flood disasters in recent Texas history. Smajstrla was among those killed."She will forever be living her best life at Camp Mystic," her uncle Shawn Salta wrote on show the eerie aftermath: The bunk beds are still there - mud-caked and toppled over, silent witnesses of a summer camp cut short. Destroyed personal belongings are scattered across soaked interiors where children once gathered for Bible study and campfire songs. At least 59 people - among them camp's longtime director, Richard "Dick" Eastland, and several young campers - have been confirmed dead. Eleven of its campers and one camp counsellor remain missing. Many of the girls who remain missing were sleeping in low-lying cabins less than 500 feet from the riverbank, US media reports. Camp Mystic has been operated by the same family for generations, offering girls a chance to grow "spiritually" in a "wholesome" Christian atmosphere, according to its website. Families from all across Texas and the US send their daughters each summer to swim, canoe, ride horses, and form lifelong the beauty of the Guadalupe River, which draws so many to the area, also proved floodwaters arrived with little warning, ripping through the picturesque riverfront area that is home to nearly 20 youth camps. Though Camp Mystic suffered the greatest losses, officials say the scale of the disaster is the all-girls camp Heart O' the Hills also faced flooding. Its co-owner and director, Jane Ragsdale, was among the dead. Fortunately, the camp was out of session at the time. A statement from the camp said, "Most of those who were on camp at the time have been accounted for and are on high ground… We are mourning the loss of a woman who influenced countless lives and was the definition of strong and powerful." Questions are now mounting over why so many camps were situated so close to the river, and why more was not done to evacuate the children in Chip Roy, who represents the area, acknowledged the devastation while urging caution against premature blame."The response is going to be, 'We've gotta move all these camps - why would you have camps down here by the water?'" Roy said. "Well, you have camps by the water because it's by the water. You have camps near the river because it's a beautiful and wonderful place to be."As recovery efforts continue, families wait anxiously for news of the missing. Search and rescue teams - some navigating by boat, others combing through debris - are working around the County Sheriff Larry L Leitha said on Sunday that the search for survivors continues but noted that the numbers will continue to change and increase as time goes on."Until we can get them reunited families, we are not going to stop," City Manager Dalton Rice Greg Abbott has declared a state of emergency, and officials warn the final toll may rise in the days to come.
