swimmerbabe11 said:

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https://www.schertzfuneralhome.com/obituaries/john-julia-jack-james-burgess

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Thanks. My wife is actually at church right now and would have known this. Should have waited until she got home. Thanks again.

So very sorry for your loss. My heart literally hurts for you and everyone else who has lost.

I wanted to connect to ask to please keep my username handy should you need someone -- unfortunately, we are in the same child loss club. And while circumstances were different, there is a lot of support, guidance, and listening that I am willing, able, and honored to provide, should you or your wife need it. It is one of the only ways I can honor my son meaningfully, to help others going through similar things. I've done it multiple times and consider myself "equipped" to do just that.

Right now you're running on adrenaline and fight.... but typically, my experiences are that there will be a point in the future where you'll have this epiphany that is like "am I living a simulation? Is this really my life? Is this all a bad dream?" and sometimes it's helpful to just talk through it with someone who has managed through it. Again, truly honored to help.

Please DO NOT hesitate to reach out directly or have Derm reach out via pm. Happy to send my direct info (I'm vetted -- ask trouble) -- Derm and I kinda know each other from Aggie baseball (he prob doesn't realize it ).

Continued prayers for your family and all others affected. Mary Grace has touched lots of hearts here.

Anti-taxxer said:

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One of the Hollis' friends (AustinCountyAg) posted last night that she was recovered.

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Thanks - I spoke with a member of the family on Sunday and it was really weighing heavy that she had not been found.

I do not expect you to remember but we met years ago when your crazy uncle was ummm "holding court" at the Collins' Suite at the LaQuinta.

Whatever my crazy friend K is using as her handle these days, I do vouch for her. She knows your pain specifically with the loss being near a holiday.

We continue to hold you close and pray for the repose of Mary Grace's soul. May you all be wrapped in comfort and love.

Well given how many accounts we are seeing now I think it might be ok to add another one to the list. This is the account I gathered after retrieving Hazels things from multiple sources, (but mostly Glenn,) of the events of that night. I wrote it down so I didn't have to keep recounting it to everyone at work which was a little too much after a while. Please remember this is my understanding of several first-hand accounts and not a first hand account in and of itself:

Since my last time posting I have been up to Mystic to retrieve some belongings and have a more complete story of what really happened. Dick, his son, and Glenn were evacuating the lower cabins by truck and had made one or two trips when the water really started rising. Many of the girls along the hillside decided to get to higher ground up the hill or at the rec. When Dick, Glenn, and his son got back the only cabins with girls still in them were the ones closed inside the looping drive (Bubble Inn, Twins 1&2, Giggle Box and Wiggle Inn) Dick sent his son to twins 1&2, Glenn to Wiggle and Giggle and he drove off in the rapidly rising flood waters to get to the girls at Bubble whom my daughter claims she saw waiting outside the cabin. Glenn said he told him not to go because the water was getting too high but he said he had to and he had to save those girls. That was the last Glenn Saw of Dick alive. He was found in his suburban below the Mystic Dam with a few of the Bubble girls in the suburban.

His son ended up having to push the girls out of Twins 1 & 2. At least some went out on mattresses seems like some went to trees nearby and were still in there after the water receded. His son was found in a tree downstream with several girls alive. At least a few of the girls never made it out of Twins and we found inside the cabins deceased. I saw for myself the water line in twins and there was probably an inch of clearance between the water line and the flat ceiling there. Twins 2 was my daughter's cabin last year and that shook me to my core seeing what those girls were faced with.

Glenn got the girls out of Giggle box and told them to sit on a bench area they view bugs and lizards and such in called Cricket corner. He told them to wait there at first, and then to stand on the benches, and then just to go straight up the hill within a matter of less than ten seconds as he saw the water rising that rapidly. All of Giggle Box survived. Glenn then waded over to Wiggle Inn and at first he thought they might escape to the Rec Hall where a lot of the girls rode out the flood on the second deck (which isn't really a full floor just a peripheral viewing platform). He immediately changed his mind upon looking upstream toward the rec and had to push several of the girls standing outside the cabin on window sills back through the windows under the water because they couldn't step off the sides without risking getting swept away. He then had them ride on air mattresses in the cabin and broke two windows to push out all their trunks so they wouldn't knock into the children and himself.

About that time Glenn's truck which was parked further up the hill with the emergency flashers on started floating by the cabin and then got stuck on a telephone pole and flipped up sideways with the lights shining right into Wiggle Inn enough where he could see the kids heads in the flashes of the hazards. He said that's how he kept track of them all. One of the counselors was posted up on a window sill outside trying to see if she could see any kids in the water or communicate with anyone outside the whole time. My daughter had told me she was stuck there but she wasn't. She did end up on the roof and had to be helped down. The water went up in the cabin until the kids heads hit the ceiling and then suddenly the water reversed flow in the cabin and tried to suck one of the girls out the broken window but Glenn pulled her back in. (this was likely Hazel as she told me previously that she had to push herself off the window and Glenn pulled her back in when it tried to suck her out). The water drained out pretty quickly after that

One of the other workers reportedly heard a crack like a "sonic boom" right before the water all rushed out of there really fast. They seemed to think a temporary dam made of fallen timber may have backed up more water into the camp that then reversed flow when it broke open.

After the water drained out the girls all gathered on the tennis courts and they did a head count and realized all of Bubble was missing and a lot of the Twins as well as Dick and his son. Glenn then swam across the creek separating senior hill from the flats and ran up there and told them to bring everyone; coast guard, helicopter rescue, cajun navy, navy seals... there are girls missing and girls in the water. He said helicopters arrived with 15 minutes and the long and harrowing search began.

I can't even begin to imagine what these kids (and adults) must be feeling as they process the events that happened that morning.

I've said it before, but hug that little one.

This is just heartbreaking to read, and can't imagine how frightened those girls and staff were. I am thankful your sweet daughter made it out.

Dick and Glenn are heroes.

Badace52 said:

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One of the other workers reportedly heard a crack like a "sonic boom" right before the water all rushed out of there really fast. They seemed to think a temporary dam made of fallen timber may have backed up more water into the camp that then reversed flow when it broke open.

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still impossible for us all to comprehend!! thanks for sharing as we are all thinking of everyone affected.

We watched some geologists/weather folks and one of them talked about this exactly for Mystic. He was mentioning the creek that runs thru the camp and that it was very likely the flow from it created a backup where it ran into the river. If that finally quit or slowed down funneling water into the river it may have led to receeding quickly.

Your little girl is so brave. I can't imagine going through that. Thanking God that she's safe and praying still for those who were lost. Thank you for sharing.

Somehow, that's even worse than I had imagined it would be.

Thank you for sharing the story. I just…don't have words. Just prayers.

Just absolutely gut wrenching to read that. Heart breaking to think of what those girls all experienced along with the counselors, adults trying to save them and hundreds of other people camping along the river. Words fall so unfathomably short of the feelings on my heart.

Full on tears, again, just reading the updates overnight. I cannot even imagine. May God bless you all.

Once again, God bless Glenn.

Praying for you and your family.

How is Hazel doing? Unimaginable living through that and reliving it I'm sure.

God bless Glenn, Dick, and the Eastland boys. Heroes, all of them. Praying for your sweet Hazel and her healing as well as yours and your wife's. Unimaginable.

Clarke, you and your family as well as all the Mystic families have not left my thoughts and prayers since July 4th. We continue to lift you guys up to the Lord. God bless you.

God bless Glenn, Dick, and the Eastland men. Selfless men

Honestly she has been incredibly good. I finally asked her if she felt any different since the flood and she just said "Everything just feels bigger" which made sense to me. I also asked if she felt traumatized and worded it "does it feel like something hurt you that day and is still hurting you?" She said maybe a little but not too bad.

I'm watching her close. My wife has probably had the worst go of it so far since she knows Cile's mom pretty well and she was a camper and counselor at Mystic and has always called Mystic her happy place and credited it with turning her into the person she is today.

All of us have our moments of weakness though. It is getting better by the day I think. Tincture of time. I have been really praying for closure for Cile's family.

Praying for you all.

clarkebkr07 said:

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I am dermdoc's nephew, over the last couple of nights I have been able to read the threads with overwhelming support, love, and prayers you sent to my family. It has been humbling, encouraging, and truthfully given us strength. Thank you

I wanted to reply to this because there has been some gofundmes that were started with good intentions, but have no clear direction in the way of distributing funds raised. As you can imagine, I went from launching my boat early 4th of July morning to spend time my family at the lake to 10 days later having to figure out a way to establish a memorial fund for my 8 year old daughter. We don't have a clear vision. However, be rest assured that anything raised will go towards education, and/or memorializing Mary Grace in some form or fashion. We anticipate a formal announcement for this on 7/26 (the day she was to be picked up from camp), but we understand the desire for people to contribute now.

Please pray for Cile's family, and continue to pray for all of us. This will be a very long road.

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Our family continues to pray for your family, especially Mary Grace. As I am confident she is now a member of the Church Triumphant, Mary Grace, Pray for Us.

Badace52 said:

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Honestly she has been incredibly good. I finally asked her if she felt any different since the flood and she just said "Everything just feels bigger" which made sense to me. I also asked if she felt traumatized and worded it "does it feel like something hurt you that day and is still hurting you?" She said maybe a little but not too bad.

I'm watching her close. My wife has probably had the worst go of it so far since she knows Cile's mom pretty well and she was a camper and counselor at Mystic and has always called Mystic her happy place and credited it with turning her into the person she is today.

All of us have our moments of weakness though. It is getting better by the day I think. Tincture of time. I have been really praying for closure for Cile's family.

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Sounds like my wife. Counselor and camper. Close to the Eastlands. Views her Mystic years as the most formative in her life. She's heartbroken and borderline depressed over this. Add to this, two lifelong friends lost little girls - one a granddaughter, the other a great niece. She's really struggling with this.

It's all so tragic. God bless these men who saved these young girls and who gave their life trying to save lives. It's hard to wrap one's head around this. Praying for everyone affected.

Heartbreaking, literally seconds/minutes from safety.

Good to hear your little one is handling it as well as she is considering all she saw/heard/experienced.

Thank you for your updates through all of this.

trouble said:

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I do not expect you to remember but we met years ago when your crazy uncle was ummm "holding court" at the Collins' Suite at the LaQuinta.

Whatever my crazy friend K is using as her handle these days, I do vouch for her. She knows your pain specifically with the loss being near a holiday.

We continue to hold you close and pray for the repose of Mary Grace's soul. May you all be wrapped in comfort and love.

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I'm crazy? Who knew?

Me. That's why we're friends.

Continued prayers for your family and the families of all at Camp Mystic, as well as all of the others in the Hill Country. Our hearts are heavy, but our faith is strong.

allgoaton said:

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SlygirlAg said:

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It was me! I started to put one together but yours is 100 times better.
Beautiful job! Bless you!

One more suggestion: if TexAg staff don't stickie it to the top of this post, create another post ( which you can reference here) so it doesn't get lost in the hundreds of pages of this post.

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i decided to do just that at your recommendation just to keep it findable for anyone who wants to find it.

https://texags.com/forums/34/topics/3549396/replies/70529305

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It is now stickied for one month at the top of the Outdoors Board, along with this thread.
Thank you staff!

Awesome, seems there are a few connections up this way.

Prayers of peace and comfort to you and your family. I was born and raised in Beaumont and attended St. Anne's.

We will always have Mary Grace in our hearts.

There was confidence in the identification of the remains recovered last night, but they did not get the DNA confirmation back until just in the last few hours. She's going home tomorrow.

Walked down to the shore of Canyon Lake on Friday night to place this ribbon for Mary Grace.

Praying for you. I know her memory will be honored however you choose to utilize those funds.

A long and detailed account of one of the survivors from Camp Mystic. She provides many details of the actions of her counselor, Dick Eastland, Glenn, and Scott Ruskan.

Through the Eyes of a Survivor

Excerpt from the beginning of the article: