Part of the agonizing coverage of the fatal floods in central Texas has been hearing about the parents and families who’ve lost young children.
One of the worst affected areas was Camp Mystic, where hundreds of people were rescued, but also where dozens perished.
Surviving camp counselor Holly Kate Hurley recently spoke to Fox News about the harrowing experience.
Highlights
- One of the surviving camp counselors from Camp Mystic in Texas recounted her harrowing experience
- She watched parents at the reunification center searching the crowd for their daughters
- There are close to 100 people who lost their lives, but that number is expected to rise as more missing are discovered
Holly Kate Hurley and the girls she was responsible for survived the flood, but others weren’t so lucky
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19-year old Holly Kate Hurley said in the interview that it was about one in the morning when she woke up with her campers.
She said in the morning, she and other counselors had been made aware that two of the cabins with 7-year-olds had been swept away.
At that point, Hurley said she and the other staff were trying to stay positive for the remaining campers, but it was extremely difficult.
Hurley said one of most difficult moments was reuniting with the children’s parents
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Hurley, herself a long time camper at Camp Mystic, said some of her best memories were made during the years she attended.
One of the most difficult things she had to deal with was reuniting the kids she was responsible for with their parents.
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Of course, the parents were overjoyed to realize their children were safe; many ran into their parents arms in tears.
But for other parents, Hurley said, whose children didn’t run through the door of the reunification center, it was a heartbreaking sight.
“Some parents were looking for their little girls, and they weren’t there”: Hurley recounts harrowing experience
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Hurley explained that she was on the final bus of survivors that were reunited with their loved ones.
“I think I was just in shock. God bless the Army and everyone who helped us evacuate,” she said.
“Seeing all the little girls run to their parents. And just like hug (sic) them, and cry. And also seeing some parents who were looking for their little girls, and they weren’t there,” Hurley said.
“We all arrived safely, but that’s just a sight I don’t think I’ll ever forget,” Hurley told Fox.
Some parents are getting tricked into thinking their child is alive
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Even during such a terrible tragedy, bad faith players have been upsetting search efforts and even trolling the victims' families.
CBS News reports that local officials say “scammers have contacted some families to take advantage of the uncertainty surrounding the situation.”
CBS reports that officials say scammers were “reaching out to families saying that they have their kids (sic) and to ‘pay me money.’ It’s heartbreaking, just heartbreaking.”
And according to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, at least one Camp Mystic parent has said they were being harassed online because it became public that their girl was missing.
"Look, there are a lot of people who are messed up," Cruz said.
Dick Eastland was known as a father figure at Camp Mystic
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The former manager and owner of Camp Mystic, Dick Eastland, was another to perish in the fatal floods.
He and his wife had been running the camp since 1974, but it had been in his family for more than 100 years.
Eastland was known as a father figure and for his selfless acts of heroism. Eastland perished while trying to save campers from the fated Bubble Inn.
“There should have been sirens”: The Texas Lt. Gov. wants a better flood security system
At the time of publication, the official number of people who passed was being reported as anywhere from “at least 96,” according to Reuters, to 104 by the New York Times.
But most agencies agree, at least 28 of the total number of people who lost their lives were children. There are 41 people unaccounted for, officials say.
Going forward, Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick promised to increase funding for a flash-flood warning system for the county, to be installed before next summer.
"There should have been sirens," Patrick said in a Fox News interview. "Had we had sirens here along this area ... it's possible that we would have saved some lives."
Netizens offered prayers and good thoughts to the families of those who lost loved ones
