At least four young girls from Camp Mystic and the camp’s director were confirmed dead in the aftermath of catastrophic flooding in Texas, as the official death toll rose to 32, according to local authorities and media reports.
Renee Smajstrla, 8; Sarah Marsh, 8; Janie Hunt, 9; and Lila Bonner were among up to 27 campers swept away by sudden flash floods along the Guadalupe River.
By Saturday, officials had recovered 27 bodies, including 14 children and 13 adults, Kerr County Sheriff Larry L. Leitha announced at a press conference. In total, 18 adults are among the deceased.
Officials have not publicly confirmed whether the children recovered are among the missing Camp Mystic campers, but grieving family members have shared heartbreaking updates on social media.
“Thank you to all our friends and family for the prayers and outreach. Renee has been found, and while it was not the outcome we prayed for, the social media outreach likely helped first responders identify her quickly,” her uncle wrote on Facebook, alongside a photo of the smiling young girl.
“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. Please continue to pray for the other families in Kerrville,” Renee’s uncle wrote.
Sarah Marsh, of Mountain Brook, Alabama, was also confirmed dead, her mother told The Post.
“Our sweet Sarah is gone!” her grandmother, Debbie Ford Marsh, wrote in a heartbreaking post on Saturday.
“Our sweet Sarah is gone!” her grandmother, Debbie Ford Marsh, wrote in a heartbreaking Facebook post on Saturday. “She will live on in our hearts forever! We love you so much, sweet Sarah!”
“We will always feel blessed to have had this beautiful, spunky ray of light in our lives. She will live on in our hearts forever. We love you so much, sweet Sarah,” her grandmother added.
Lila Bonner’s family also confirmed her death, describing the heartbreak in a statement shared with NBC News:
“We are experiencing unimaginable grief,” the statement read. “We ache with all who loved her and are praying endlessly.”
Janie Hunt was also confirmed dead, according to Corpus Christi Crónica, marking another devastating loss among the young Camp Mystic campers.
Lila Bonner’s family confirmed her death in a statement, describing their heartbreak as “unimaginable grief,” according to NBC News via KSAT12. “We ache with all who loved her and are praying endlessly,” the family said.
Lila Bonner’s family confirmed her death in a statement, expressing “unimaginable grief,” according to NBC News.
Janie Hunt’s mother told CNN on Friday that she had received no information about her daughter’s whereabouts following the flood. “We are just praying,” she said at the time.
Meanwhile, Kerr County officials alluded to the death of a camp “director” during press briefings but declined to release their identity or provide details surrounding their death.
“There are so many great people in this community who are responding and moving quickly — lives lost saving others, including camp directors,” said Dalton Rice, Kerrville’s city manager. “I’m going to let other people name names and stuff. That’s not my job here.”
Texas officials have declined to confirm the identities of the dead or missing, citing privacy concerns for grieving families. However, family members of Camp Mystic’s director, Dick Eastland, confirmed he died heroically while trying to save the young campers.
According to Channel2Now, Eastland rushed to one of the camp’s 23 cabins when floodwaters swept it away early Friday morning.
Another director, Jane Ragsdale, of the nearby Heart O The Hills Camp — located just one mile north of Camp Mystic — also perished in the flood. Although the camp was closed at the time, Ragsdale was on the property when the sudden surge struck.
“We are mourning the loss of a woman who influenced countless lives and was the definition of strength and power,” the camp wrote on its Facebook page.
Jane Ragsdale had been a co-owner of Heart O The Hills Camp since 1976 and was deeply connected to the camp community, having been a camper and counselor herself earlier in life.
Other camp staff have been accounted for and safely reached higher ground, the camp confirmed.
While it remains unclear if any additional campers have been found deceased, local reports indicate that several girls were rescued and taken to family reunification centers.
One missing camper, Annie Flack, was reported safe at home on Saturday, her mother told The Post.
“There are lots of families missing—children and friends missing. Our daughter is safe. Our son is safe. The operation to get the girls out of camp was well-organized, and we’re still hoping and praying for good news for friends who are waiting,” said Ashley Flack, whose son was at the nearby La Junta camp.
“We certainly feel that our children are fine and are processing everything,” she added.
Little Annie Flack has friends who remain missing. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families trying to locate their children, and that’s really where we feel the focus should be,” Flack said.
At least 858 people were rescued during search missions, eight of whom sustained injuries.
As many as 27 girls at Camp Mystic, a Christian sleep-away camp, were swept away by dangerous flash floods early Friday morning—including some who were inside cabins that were washed away.
Most campers were evacuated early Thursday, with the remaining children rescued by Texas Game Wardens on Friday.
Camp Mystic, a 99-year-old institution serving over 750 girls ages 7 to 17, operates two sites along the Guadalupe River.
“The camp was completely destroyed,” said 13-year-old Elinor Lester, one of the evacuated campers, to The Associated Press. “A helicopter landed and started taking people away. It was really scary.”
Harrowing photographs from the camp reveal the devastating impact of the floodwaters, which rose to the middle of the cabin windows where the girls slept.
Entire walls were torn from the buildings, trees uprooted, and the girls’ belongings scattered among the shrubbery.
Among the debris, a soaked and mud-covered moose plushie lay abandoned on the cabin’s outdoor steps—a heartbreaking reminder of the chaos.
“The camp was completely destroyed,” said 13-year-old evacuee Elinor Lester to The Associated Press, pictured here beside a building missing one of its walls.
Campers at other nearby sites were all accounted for but remained stranded on the ground, city manager Dalton Rice said, noting that most rescue efforts focused on the campgrounds.
“We have a lot of camps, and they are all accounted for, but they are isolated due to road damage. We know where they are, and we’re providing food, water, and resources. Now it’s just a matter of safely moving them across low water crossings or to other shelters,” Rice explained.
The Guadalupe River—on which Camp Mystic sits in the San Antonio suburb of Hunt—rose 26 feet in just 45 minutes, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said, marking a level of flooding not seen in the area since 1987.
A flood alert was issued at 4 a.m. when most residents were still asleep.
Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly somberly warned that ongoing rescue efforts could soon shift to recovery operations, but stressed that every missing person is considered alive until confirmed otherwise.
The exact number of missing individuals remains unknown. Officials have identified 27 missing campers from Camp Mystic but say the total number of missing tourists and campers is impossible to estimate.
“This is going to be a long and toilsome task for us. What I would reiterate, as I’ve heard others say, is that as long as we stay together, we’ll get this done,” Kelly said during a press conference Saturday evening.
On Saturday, Governor Greg Abbott expanded the disaster declaration to include six additional counties—Bexar, Burnet, Caldwell, Guadalupe, Travis, and Williamson—bringing the total to 21.
Texas has deployed over 1,000 state responders, along with more than 800 vehicles and equipment assets. Over 15 state agencies are actively responding to the flooding threat.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem requested four fixed-wing Coast Guard aircraft to assist in search efforts.
The Texas National Guard has been activated, conducting helicopter searches, while the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is also providing support.
Search operations continued Saturday morning amid ongoing rainfall across Hill County, with officials warning that flash flooding threats could persist from San Antonio to Waco over the next 24 to 48 hours.
On Saturday, former President Donald Trump said his administration was coordinating with Texas officials. Secretary Noem was expected to join search efforts on the ground.
“Melania and I are praying for all the families impacted by this horrible tragedy. Our brave first responders are on site doing what they do best. GOD BLESS THE FAMILIES, AND GOD BLESS TEXAS!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The Guadalupe River previously flooded Kerr County in 1987, when floodwaters overtook a church bus, tragically killing 10 teenagers.
Notably, the campgrounds did not have a warning system in place, Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly confirmed.
