CNN correspondent Pamela Brown had a personal tie to the Texas camp that was devastated by flash flooding, which she revealed while reporting live from the affected area.
Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian summer camp, confirmed Monday that 27 girls and staff members had been killed in last week's catastrophic flash flooding along the Guadalupe River in central Texas. “Our hearts are broken alongside our families that are enduring this unimaginable tragedy,” the camp said in a statement on its website.
At least 82 people have been confirmed dead since Friday, and dozens remain missing as the search for survivors enters a fourth day. Forecasters warned of a further ten inches of rain today.
Brown has been on the ground covering the flooding for CNN, speaking to viewers from the very camp she attended decades ago. “It’s surreal coming back here 30 years later,” Brown said. “I was a 10-year-old little camper here full of so much hope and joy. It’s a magical place and I remember the excitement and anticipation of coming to Camp Mystic.”
“For me, coming back, I’m overwhelmed with emotion,” she continued. “And I’m overwhelmed with memories. I can’t get over looking at those cabins right next to the Guadalupe River. That river was the source of so much joy and fun for us.”
Brown recalled spending hours in the river playing games and looking for dinosaur fossils. “That is what we loved. And to think that that same river is the source of this devastation, it’s just hard to wrap my head around.”
“So much innocence has now been lost.”
Brown shared more thoughts and memories from her time at the camp on her Instagram Story. She found her “I [heart] Camp Mystic” charm bracelet and shared how campers are put into one of two tribes “that promote team spirit, belonging & good sportsmanship.”
“I remember vividly being so excited about my tribe & picking out these charms with my Mom to reflect what was important to me as a 10 year old camper,” she wrote in her Story. “My heart is breaking.”
Brown shared letters she wrote home to her family during her summer at the camp, calling it “a tradition that withstood the test of time.”
The CNN anchor also shared a video on her Instagram profile about having to evacuate due to a flood warning while attempting a live shot for the network. Still, she was able to quickly show the cabins where the girls were sleeping as flash flooding overtook the area over Fourth of July weekend.
“Just got to Camp Mystic, 30 years since I left as a camper. Unbelievable to be covering this tragedy but hoping we can shine a light on those who have been lost here and the ones who are still missing,” she wrote in the caption.
She again recalled some of her favorite memories and admitted, “It’s too much to bear.”
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