The death toll across Texas climbed to 51 by Saturday evening as officials continue the search for approximately 25 girls who went missing during the Independence Day Flood. The flooding occurred Friday morning in a popular children’s camp area near Kerrville, Texas, and killed at least 15 children, officials stated.
Breitbart Texas’s Randy Clark spoke with U.S. Representative Chip Roy (R-TX), whose 21st Congressional District covers most of the flood-stricken region, outside of the Kerrville Emergency Operations Center. Roy said that federal, state, and local resources are being utilized around the clock in the effort to find the approximately two dozen girls who went missing from Camp Mystic Friday morning.
“We remain hopeful,” Roy said about the search for the missing. “There’s been a few stories of kids that made it. A young woman survived on a mattress, floating on the water for a while. Some other rescue stories out of trees.” He told Clark that, as time goes on, it gets tougher.
“We’re just praying for the families, particularly those still missing,” Roy added. “Today’s gonna be a tough day, but we remain hopeful and optimistic that there’s some miracles left.”
Roy said haze and fog during Friday night and Saturday morning impeded air operations in the search effort. “They’ve got crews out there looking for everything they can find.”
Clark asked Roy about the level of resources being committed to the search and rescue operations.
“We have a massive number of resources,” the Texas congressman responded. “It’s any resources; air assets from the state, air assets from the feds. The federal government has kind of said, ‘whatever you need.’”
Roy said there are also outside resources being utilized. “I know the Cajun Navy sent some folks up. There’s some others being deployed, but you’ve got to manage that safely.”
Roy told Clark he expects the search and rescue effort to last for several days. “The focus is, understandably, the kids, but there’s lots of people, locals, adults, other people that were here visiting RV parks, and others. We’ve got to account for everybody and there are people missing.”
Other than the missing Mystic Camp girls, officials have not yet disclosed an official list of missing people from the flood.
Roy explained that a gas station attendant told him his friend, who is a Marine Corps veteran, went missing and he didn’t know where he was.
The New York Times now reports that at least 51 people are among the dead throughout the entire flood region. This includes at least 15 children.
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, and additional information will be provided as it becomes available.
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