An image of a girl clinging to a tree above the turbulent waters of the ongoing Texas flood has made it to social media.
The picture comes after a heavy downpour in the Lone Star State, which resulted in the Guadalupe River bursting its banks and washing out a summer camp in Kerr County, leaving over 20 individuals unaccounted for.
Highlights
- A young girl was photographed clinging to a tree above raging floodwaters after the Guadalupe River burst its banks, sweeping through a Texas summer camp.
- At least 20 children, aged 7 to 17, remain unaccounted for.
- Camp Mystic, a venue attended by Texas's political elite for over 100 years, saw water levels surge over 20 feet in under 90 minutes—unmatched since the 1980s.
Parents of the attendees, who were aged between 7 and 17, have since confirmed that many are still missing, while two have been found deceased.
A girl was seen clinging to a tree with her feet mere inches from the swirling river below
Image credits: Eric Vryn / Getty
The image shows a figure sitting on the jagged remnants of a snapped branch between two precarious-looking trees, while the turbulence rushes past them.
The individual, reported to be a “little girl,” was seen wearing what appeared to be a black swimsuit as she balanced on a broken branch while holding onto the bark, her feet mere inches from the water below.
Image credits: campmystichunttx
The News 4 Antonio outlet, which posted the image, captioned it: “Flooding [...] in Center Point. Girl who was in a tree traveled 12 miles down river.”
The outlet noted in a separate article that the girl, unlike 20 others whose whereabouts are unknown, has since been rescued.
Most of the missing are between 7 and 17 years old
Image credits: KSATtv
Among the missing is 8-year-old Hadley Hanna, who, like many of the 700 attendees, was from out of town. When her parents heard the news, they indicated to ABC affiliate WFAA that they were leaving their home city of Dallas for San Antonio.
Nine-year-old Lainey Landry is also unaccounted for. In an interview with CNN News, her parents said they have not heard anything about her—like the loved ones of Kellyanne Lytal, Virginia Hollis, and Greta Toranzo, who are all desperate for news about their girls.
The New York Post has spotlighted Eloise Peck, who in a photo poses with her friend Lila Bonner. Both are from Dallas and were known to have been sharing a cabin with several of their peers when the deluge hit.
Two girls have been found, and the news is not good
It has come to light that two girls, Renee Smajstrla and Janie Hunt, have since been found.
Image credits: Fox 4
A social media post announcing the development reads: “Renee has been found and while not the outcome we prayed for, the social media outreach likely assisted the first responders in helping to identify her so quickly.
“We are thankful she was with her friends and having the time of her life, as evidenced by this picture from yesterday. She will forever be living her best life at Camp Mystic,” the Facebook post noted of the late camper.
Image credits: Fox 4
The outlet Corpus Christi Crónica announced Hunts’ recovery on the same platform when it wrote, “Janie Hunt and Renee Smajstrla have been found deceased,” and called on the community “to come together for the victims and their families.”
Texas’s governor has since weighed in, saying it is in a “search-and-rescue posture”
Image credits: Fox 4
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick of the state of Texas has since commented on the disaster and telegraphed that the official knowledge of the situation on the ground was sketchy.
Image credits: Eric Vryn / Getty
His senior, Greg Abbott, also weighed in, saying: “We remain in a search-and-rescue posture right now.
“There will be nonstop, seeking to find everybody who is unaccounted for,” he claimed.
Image credits: News4SA
The city of Dallas’s Mayor Eric Johnson also released a statement, saying:
“We are sending a Dallas Fire-Rescue squad to assist. I am in awe of all the first responders working under dangerous conditions to reunite families and loved ones, and I am praying for everyone’s safety.”
It is the first time in 40 years that the river level has reached this height
Image credits: Texas National Guard
Camp Mystic, a Christian-oriented venue that has hosted Texas’s political elite and their offspring for over a century, is located in San Antonio’s suburb of Hunt.
According to the conservative New York Post, it was attended by Texas Governors, “Dan Moody, Price Daniel, and John Connally, who was shot as he sat next to President John F. Kennedy when he was assassinated in Dallas in 1963.”
Located on the banks of the Guadalupe River, it experienced water levels that rose more than 20 feet in less than 90 minutes on the 4th of July holiday—a high the channel has not experienced for nearly 40 years.
Social media thinks the casualties could have been avoided
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