07/06/2025
Prayers to everyone who’s been affected by this terrible tragedy.
TRAGEDY IN TEXAS HILL COUNTRY: 23 MISSING CHILDREN FROM CAMP MYSTIC!
UPDATE: July 6, 2025, 7:45 am EST: it has been reported that second grade student ELOISE PECK did not survive the flood waters of the Guadalupe River. We send our condolences to her family.
UPDATE: 6:55 pm EST: RICHARD (DICK) EASTLAND, co-owner of Camp Mystic has been found deceased. Witnesses say he lost his life trying to save the children from the flash flood. We send out heartfelt condolences to his family.
UPDATE: 4:20 pm EST: 8-year-old camper SARAH MARSH has been located, sadly deceased. Sarah and her family are in our prayers.
UPDATE: 2:50 pm EST: a third camper, 9-year-old LILA BONNER, has been located, sadly, deceased. We send prayers.
UPDATE: 10:49 am EST: we’ve learned that missing 9-year-old camper JANIE HUNT has been found deceased. Her family is in our prayers.
UPDATE: July 5, 2025 at 10:30 am EST: it’s with great sadness that we advise that 8-year-old camper RENEE SMAJSTRLA has been found deceased. Our prayers go out to her family.
A summer meant for laughter, late-night songs, and riverside memories has turned into a nightmare for dozens of families across the U.S.
In the early hours of Friday morning, the Guadalupe River swallowed parts of Kerrville, Texas, in a catastrophic flood that left at least 24 people dead and more than 20 girls still missing—many of them campers from Camp Mystic, a beloved Christian summer retreat that has stood on the riverbanks for generations.
“The camp was completely destroyed,” said 13-year-old Elinor Lester, one of the survivors. Rescuers arrived by helicopter, tying ropes for terrified children to cling to as they crossed bridges nearly overtaken by rushing water.
Families woke up to heartbreak. Some learned their daughters were missing through social media before any official calls came. Desperate pleas now fill the Kerr County Sheriff’s page—parents posting photos, praying someone has seen their child.
The storm dropped nearly a foot of rain overnight—an unpredicted deluge that turned a calm, clear river into what one survivor described as a “pitch black wall of death.” Entire homes were washed away. Residents clung to trees. And through it all, the question remains:
How could this happen without warning?
Officials say there was no emergency alert system in place for Kerr County. Weather models underestimated the rainfall. Now, families are left grieving, waiting, and demanding answers.
Helicopters and drones continue to search the flood zone. So far, 237 people have been rescued—some from rooftops, others from treetops. But for the families of the missing girls, hope and heartbreak are tangled together.
No one sends their child to summer camp expecting a call like this. We owe these girls a relentless search until every one is found.
These children, their families and every person impacted by this tragic event is i
