The numbers are changing "literally by the minute" in the search and rescue efforts along the Guadalupe River in the Texas Hill Country section of the Lone Star State, but "we are still missing 27, mostly young girls, under the age of 12," from Camp Mystic, a Christian camp near the river's banks that was hit particularly hard, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick told Newsmax Saturday.
"We have about 18 camps along the Guadalupe River," Patrick said in an interview on Newsmax's "Saturday Report." "Almost all of them were busy during the summer, and all of those reported and were accountable for all the people that were in their camps."
Patrick said that the state will do "whatever it takes to recover every missing child."
Camp Mystic, which was established in 1926, "took the hit hard, and it took the hard hit in the area where the younger girls were staying," said Patrick.
The Christian camp, he added, is "part of our history."
"Grandmothers of grandchildren stayed in that camp and the mothers of the children, and you can go down generation after generation," he said "This is the biggest flood or the second largest flood ever to hit this area in modern history. The last big one was in 1987. So this is not only impacting all of the people who were there and the parents, but of the ladies in Texas who stated this camp at some point in their life."
The lieutenant governor said he is praying that the worst part of the storm that hit the area is over, "but we're still going to get some more rain today."
"The ground is so saturated that, you know, even a few inches of rain will still have an impact," he said. "But for the most part, it's behind us."
There have been other flash floods in Texas, with the rain system lingering.
"We've we've told everyone from Waco to San Antonio and Austin to be on alert, and everyone out in Central Texas, where Kerrville is," said Patrick.
The Guadalupe River, he added, rose 26 feet in 45 minutes, going from a dry bed with a lot of rocks that turned its flow into a "flume."
"That water just came powering down through, taking everything in its way," Patrick said. "Our focus is on these children and for their parents to have closure. Hopefully, there's still a miracle. Maybe there's a child somewhere in a tree that we haven't seen or found yet, but we are in rescue and recovery mode."
He noted that there were several people in tents and small trailers, as well as rental properties for the weekend for Kerrville's annual July 4 celebration and concert.
"We don't know about all those people because it's hard. You know, we had a number over the holidays to kind of account for everybody," Patrick said. "We don't know how many visitors were there. So there will be an increased loss of life, sadly."
The lieutenant governor said there were about 750 children at Camp Mystic this weekend, with the section with the youngest children being hit hardest."
"The 750, they were landlocked or water-locked for a while," he said. "It was very tough to get to them, but we started moving them by helicopter and bus last night. I don't know if they're all out now, but many are out of those 750 and reunited with their parents."
He added that if anyone wants to help the flood victims, they can do so through a donation link on the city of Kerrville's website.
"We're focused on life right now, but there's going to be a lot of property damage as well, and people rebuilding," said Patrick. "The second thing is look, times like this, you have to stand on the rock of your faith."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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