KERRVILLE, Texas — A Texas father left heartbreaking farewell voicemails for his children moments before he and his wife were swept away by raging floodwaters, according to their son.
Jeff Ramsey, 61, an insurance salesman from Lewisville, remains missing after a deadly torrent struck his Airstream camper at the HTR RV Park in Kerrville. He had been staying there with his wife, Tanya, 46, and their whippet dog, Chloe.
Text messages showing a hotel discount offer and an evacuation notice due to flooding at the campsite.
Text messages alerting campers to evacuate the site due to flooding.
“Once they realized there was nothing more they could do, my stepmom called her mom while my dad called me and my sister. We were asleep. He left us a voicemail saying he didn’t think they were going to make it and told us he loved us very much, saying goodbye,” the couple’s son, Jake, told The Post.
“He called me once he realized there was no hope. It was a brief voicemail. He said, ‘Buddy, I love you so much. It doesn’t look like we’re going to make it. Tell Rachey I love her,’” Jeff recalled, noting how unlike his father it was to sound afraid.
“You never heard this guy panic, but we could hear the panic and fear in his voice,” he added.
The sound of rushing water can be heard in the voicemail he left for his sister minutes later, while his stepmom screams in the background, “We’re dying, we’re dying!”
In his final moments before the water swept him away, Jeff also called Tanya’s brother and mother—who were staying about 150 yards upstream—to warn them of the approaching danger, contacting them at 4:30 a.m.
Jeff used his final moments to warn his brother-in-law and mother-in-law about the approaching floods.
“He rescued them because they would have slept in and been swept away. That cabin was completely destroyed, submerged underwater. He saved their lives,” Jake said.
Jeff, who was involved with the Adaptive Training Foundation — a gym for amputees and people in wheelchairs — leaves behind his children, Jake, 24, and Rachel, 23.
“There are miracles happening at that gym all the time. People walking who hadn’t walked in years or since their accident. My dad always said that was his calling,” Jake recalled, remembering how his dad was often there with Chloe.
“Tanya was full of love, too. We were her kids. Of course, we had a mom, but we were her babies.”
The couple had been staying at the HTR RV Park in Kerrville, Texas, shortly before the floods struck.
Rescuers later recovered Tanya’s body, identifying her by her distinctive tattoos. A breast cancer survivor, Tanya worked as a manager at a wig shop in Dallas.
Miraculously, the family found their dog Chloe at a local animal shelter thanks to her microchip.
“That was the only good news we got all weekend. My sister and I were overjoyed because Chloe was such a huge part of my dad’s and stepmom’s hearts,” Jake said.
“We were so excited to find out she was coming home.”
Tragically, while Jake was going through his father’s computer, he discovered an alert text message from the RV park—sent too late to make a difference.
Jeff remains missing after the devastating floods caused widespread casualties in the area.
“Right at the same time he left that voicemail while they were being swept away, they got an evacuation text from their RV park saying, ‘Gather your belongings and leave as soon as possible.’ It was ridiculous,” the distraught son said.
“I saw he got that text just as they were floating away. Literally right when he left my sister that goodbye message,” he added.
“It’s your worst nightmare.”
When asked if he thought enough was done at the county and state level to warn those in the flood’s path, he described the evacuation efforts as “lousy.”
He said he met state Sen. Tan Parker at a memorial service on Monday, where the senator assured him that lawmakers plan to fix the alert system, calling the current situation “unacceptable.”
But the senator’s words offered little comfort to Jeff.
“There should have been more done. The only thing I know of is that my dad was sent a text after it was already too late. He had already said goodbye to me and my sister,” he said.
