KERRVILLE, Texas — News reports indicate that the number of people who are confirmed to have died in the Independence Day weekend flooding reached nearly 70. The search for 11 missing girls and a counselor from Camp Mystic and others continues.
During a press update on Sunday morning, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha told reporters that at least 59 people are confirmed to have died in the devastating flood that struck the Texas Hill Country over the Independence Day weekend. Leitha said the dead include 38 adults and 21 children, the Texas Tribune reported. The article reports that 59 deaths were located in Kerr County and ten others were in the surrounding flood-area counties.
A Texas DPS Aircrew Prepares for Another Search and Rescue Mission on Sunday Morning (Randy Clark/Breitbart Texas)
Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice told reporters about the number of rescue personnel carrying out the search and rescue operations along the riverbanks in the region.
“We will be relentless in going after and assuring that we locate every single person who’s been a victim of this flooding event,” Texas Governor Greg Abbott said earlier on Sunday. The governor called for a day of prayer on Sunday.
Searchers continue to look for 11 girls who are reported missing from Camp Mystic in Hunt, Texas. The New York Post reports that the youngest of the girls in the camp were sleeping in cabins just a few feet from the Guadalupe River. Five of those children are reported to be deceased.
Reports related to the total number of missing people from the weekend’s floods do not appear to be available at this time. Officials in Kerr County, Texas, say more people could still be unaccounted for. The number of visitors to the area over the holiday weekend make it difficult to get an exact count.
RV Destroyed in Texas Flood near Hunt, Texas. (Randy Clark/Breitbart Texas)
Reports from the U.S. Geological Survey show the waters of the Guadalupe rose from about one foot to more than 36 feet between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. Friday morning. The wall of water sharply increased at 5:15 a.m. when it spiked from 1.82 feet to 36 feet an hour and a half later.
One local told the Texas Tribune there are about 20 camps along the river in the area of the flooding. It is not known if this includes RV parks in the popular camping region.
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Before his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @RandyClarkBBTX.
Bob Price is the Breitbart Texas-Border team’s associate editor and senior news contributor. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday morning talk show. He is a U.S. Air Force veteran and serves as president of Blue Wonder Gun Care Products.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a developing story. Additional information will be added or updated as it becomes available.
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