Texas flash flood: 27 camp girls still missing as death toll hits 50 after 'catastrophic' river surge

Rescuers in Texas, US, continued a desperate search on Saturday (Jul 5) for 27 missing girls from a summer camp along the Guadalupe River after flash floods ravaged south-central Texas. The unexpected flooding has resulted in at least 50 deaths, including 15 children, with some residents describing it as one of the most "catastrophic" floods in the state's recent history. As per reports, 850 people, including eight injured, have been evacuated due to the calamity. At a press conference, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha confirmed the grim toll and said, "We have recovered 43 deceased individuals in Kerr County. Among these who are deceased, we have 28 adults and 15 children." Multiple victims were also found in other counties, bringing the death toll to 50.

A father's grim search for his daughter

Torrential rains Friday (Jul 4) triggered a sudden rise in the Guadalupe River — swelling 26 feet (7.92 m) in just 45 minutes — and swept away cabins, cars, and entire homes. Among the worst-hit sites was Camp Mystic, a riverside Christian summer camp housing around 750 girls for the Fourth of July weekend.

According to Sheriff Leitha, 27 campers remain unaccounted for. US media reports suggest that at least four of the missing girls were dead, citing family members.

At the camp, the scenes of destruction are widespread: teddy bears and mattresses buried in mud, cabins torn apart, shattered windows, and personal belongings dangling from tree branches.

Talking to AFP, Michael, the father of one of the missing girls, said he drove from Austin in search of his 8-year-old daughter and said he was clinging to hope: "I was in Austin and drove down yesterday morning, once we heard about it," he said, adding that he was hoping for a "miracle."

The Heart O’ The Hills camp, just a mile downstream from Mystic, also suffered a tragedy. Its director, Jane Ragsdale, has been confirmed among the dead Saturday.

"It has been years since we had a flood, but nothing like this," said Soila Reyna, a Kerrville resident who works at a local church. "Nothing like as catastrophic as this, where it involved children, people and just the loss of people's houses... It's just crazy."