Camp Mystic, the girls summer camp on the banks of the Guadalupe River in Texas, has confirmed that 27 children and counsellors died in the flash floods that have wreaked devastation on the area since Friday.
“Our hearts are broken alongside our families that are enduring this unimaginable tragedy. We are praying for them constantly,” a statement on the camp website read.
The search continued for missing people, it said, adding: “We ask for your continued prayers, respect and privacy for each of our families affected.”
The tragic news surfaced as Texas authorities confirmed at least 82 people had died amid the flash flooding, a figure that is expected to rise as more rain threatens to deluge the region.
Camp Mystic is a nondenominational Christian institution that has hosted the children of some of Texas’s political elite over its 99-year history. Former first lady Laura Bush was a camp counselor there, and past camp attendees included the daughters of former US president Lyndon B Johnson and the former Texas governor John Connally.
“Our hearts our broken by the devastation from the floods in Wimberley and the tragic loss of so many lives – including a precious little Hunt cousin, along with several friends’ little girls,” said Tavia Hunt, wife of the Kansas City Chiefs owner, Clark Hunt, in an Instagram post.
A Camp Mystic counselor, Chloe Childress, also died in the flooding, a representative of her high school confirmed on Sunday. Childress was remembered as compassionate and known for helping others feel, “feel safe, valued, and brave”, a statement to a local ABC affiliate said.
The number of missing people from other nearby camps has not been released, as officials said life-threatening flooding remained a threat as crews continued an urgent search for people still missing.
The Guadalupe River rose 26ft (8 meters) in 45 minutes in Friday’s pre-dawn hours, after a downpour north of San Antonio. The sheriff of Kerr county, Larry Leitha, has said at least 68 people were found dead in an area known as the Hill Country. There are several summer camps there. At least 10 other deaths were reported in the counties of Travis, Burnet, Kendall, Tom Green and Williamson, local officials have said.
The Texas governor, Greg Abbott, warned that additional rounds of heavy rains lasting into Tuesday could produce more perilous flooding, especially in places where the ground is already saturated.
Kerr residents were clearing mud from their destroyed properties and saving what belongings they could. Some said the heroism of the neighbors was all that saved them, as authorities faced questions about whether enough warnings about the downpour were issued, how many actually received them and whether enough was done to prepare for the rain.
Reagan Brown told the Associated Press that his parents, in their 80s, managed to escape uphill as water inundated their home in the town of Hunt. When Brown’s parents learned that their 92-year-old neighbor was trapped in her attic, they went back and rescued her.
“Then they were able to reach their toolshed up higher ground, and neighbors throughout the early morning began to show up at their toolshed, and they all rode it out together,” Brown said.
A video posted on X showed girls from Camp Mystic being evacuated and singing the hymns Pass It On and Amazing Grace as they crossed a bridge over the Guadalupe River, which was still flowing fiercely.
Local officials have already faced questions about what kind of flood warning systems and evacuation plans were in place in the county. Judge Rob Kelly, the county’s top elected official, told reporters that “nobody saw this coming”.
The county had considered a tornado warning-style siren in the past, but Kelly said the public had “reeled at the cost”.
“There’s going to be a lot of finger-pointing, a lot of second-guessing and Monday morning quarterbacking,” said the Republican US representative Chip Roy, whose district includes Kerr county, according to the Associated Press. “There’s a lot of people saying ‘why’ and ‘how’, and I understand that.”
The US Department of Homeland Security responded to criticism of warning systems on Sunday on social media by saying mainstream media were “lying” and that the National Weather Service issued timely warnings.
Donald Trump on Sunday signed a major disaster declaration for Kerr county, which is meant to unlock federal resources meant to help local officials. He said he would probably visit on Friday, a week after the deadly flash flood, saying to go earlier might impede search and recovery efforts.
Associated Press contributed reporting
