A series of harrowing videos show girls from Camp Mystic crying as they sing campfire songs during flood evacuations in Texas over the weekend. Many didn’t make it out
The girls at Camp Mystic were seen singing campfire songs as they evacuated(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Harrowing footage shows dozens of young girls from Camp Mystic crying as they sang campfire songs while they attempted to escape the deadly flooding that struck Texas over the weekend.
A nurse who worked at the Christian summer camp where 10 young girls and a counselor went missing and were later found dead shared footage of the escape.
Devon Paige was working at the 100-year-old Texas camp, which has served as a summer getaway for future first ladies and the daughters of many presidents, according to Politico, when the Guadalupe River began to surge in a historic flash flooding event over the July 4 weekend.
In the videos, which were posted to TikTok, Paige detailed the escape of the camp’s hundreds of campers via buses and the back of law enforcement vehicles. Their belongings and the cabins were swept away by the floods as they left.
“This is the footage from my evacuation and everything I saw,” one video was captioned. “I wish you could see ‘before’ shots to show how truly devastating it is.”
Another clip shows a large group of girls sitting still in the back of a bus as they’re driven to a reunification point to meet up with their parents. All of them sang worship songs throughout the ride “to try and calm everyone,” Paige wrote.
Lila Bonner and Eloise Peck were among the young girls who died in the floods
Yet another clip showed Paige and several other adults as they reacted to cars overturned by the flood and trees that had been ripped from the ground. They can be seen in the back of a law enforcement vehicle. Several shouted, “Oh my god!”
In a comment underneath that post, the nurse wrote, “Half the camp is on a hill.” She then detailed how many staff members and campers traveled to the top of that hill to seek safety, writing, “We had no idea the magnitude.”
At least 27 people from the camp — including young campers and some counselors — were confirmed dead as of Monday. Among them were Lila Bonne and Eloise Peck.
Lila’s family said they were “heartbroken” after what happened, releasing a statement to PEOPLE on Saturday after they confirmed to the publication that their daughter had died.
“In the midst of our unimaginable grief, we ask for privacy and are unable to confirm any details at this time. We ache with all who loved her and are praying endlessly for others to be spared from this tragic loss.”
Another confirmed death was Janie Hunt, a 9-year-old relative of Kansas City Chiefs CEO and chairman Clark Hunt, according to the Kansas City Star and The New York Times. Hunt’s wife, Tavia, shared a post to her Instagram Stories, which read, “Our hearts are broken by the devastation from the floods in Wimberly and the tragic loss of many lives — including a precious little Hunt cousin, along with several friend’s little girls.”
The director and owner of Camp Mystic, Richard “Dick” Eastland, also perished in the floods(Image: Facebook)
The BBC confirmed that campers Sarah Marsh, who was in third grade, and Renee Smajstrla, 8, also died in the flooding.
Renee’s uncle, Shawn Salta, wrote on social media, “Renee has been found and while not the outcome we prayed for, the social media outreach likely assisted the first responders in helping to identify her so quickly.”
He added: “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.” He included a picture of Renee seemingly having a blast at the camp the day before the floods hit.
The camp’s owner, Richard “Dick” Eastland, was also confirmed to be among the dead, according to Texas Public Radio and The New York Times. A family friend, Paige W. Sumner, wrote in a tribute to the father of four in the Kerrville Daily Times, “[H]is last act of kindness and sacrifice was working to save the lives of campers.”
Eastland and his wife, Tweety, had been with the camp since 1974 and were third-generation managers of it. The camp has been in their family since 1939, Camp Mystic’s website says.
Over the weekend, the Guadalupe River reached its second-highest height ever, according to ABC News. The area received at least 10 inches of rain, KSAT reported — an amount CNN wrote was a “1-in-100-year event.” There were more than 6 inches that fell in some regions in the span of just three hours, which CNN said was “more than an entire summer’s worth of rain.”
Clint Morris, a spokesperson with the Kerr County Sheriff’s Office, told KSAT that the flooding “may be a once-in-a-lifetime flood” and said it was “an extremely active scene, countywide.”
