TX04Aggie said:

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Did kerrville leaders in the presser mention anything about city of kerville along river, as in downtown area taking losses? I missed the presser.

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There are already announcements about people in the KOA perishing including one man trying to save people and going into harms way.

TX04Aggie said:

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Did Kerrville leaders in the presser mention anything about city of kerville along river, as in downtown area taking losses? I missed the presser.

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Only that property assessments (in general) would be done later, after all rescue operations were done. Nothing specific about any group of people.

Can we start a petition to get this guy set up as the hero in the next SOTU address? Simply incredible story here and I know we'll be hearing more in the coming days.

allgoaton said:

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This photo is from a NY times article that has an ariel seemingly taken today post flooding. You can clearly see the "Twins" (the building with two clear parts hence its name) and then next to that is Bubble Inn.

It is completely wild looking at that photo how high the water must have been.

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Wow.

Sorry for the long post.

7.4.25 So much can change in a day.

By the grace of God, we are all safe.

We have been spending 4th of July at Waltonia Lodges since I was 7. Now, we continue that tradition with our two sons. A week full of floating, fishing, kayaking, paddle boarding, bbqing, etc.

By far our favorite place in the world which led us to buy a property on 1340 just past Camp Stewart.

The rain started and it didn't stop. At 3am, the flood warnings started, and our friends staying at our house called to say there was water coming in the house.

I went outside and saw the unthinkable . Me and a few others started moving cars to higher ground and waking people up. The water was rising so quick.

My wife woke up the boys and grabbed what she could see (no power). Men, women, and children, about 50 people in all, hiked up a large hill behind the cabins and stayed in a shed until the storm finally subsided around 4 PM.

Since we were stuck between river crossings, we weren't able to leave till about 10pm when we were finally able to make our way out.

Everything there is pretty much destroyed, and my heart is broken for our amazing town.

Things are replaceable. Our family and friends are not. God was watching over all of us.

We pray for those that lost their lives, and our hearts are with our neighbors of Hunt, Ingram, and Kerrville.

wangus12 said:

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Pretty sure I saw somewhere that at least 1 set of parents was in Europe

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We heard this as well.

culdeus said:

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allgoaton said:

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This photo is from a NY times article that has an ariel seemingly taken today post flooding. You can clearly see the "Twins" (the building with two clear parts hence its name) and then next to that is Bubble Inn.

It is completely wild looking at that photo how high the water must have been.

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Our understanding is the lowest cabins were evac early in the evening. The ones pictured here are super low and took no losses from in the cabin as far as we know.

From understanding now how high the water got on the north side it is not clear how these structures were not totally submerged.

There is a water line at the base of the roof of hunt store and at the third level of hoh. Each of these should be well above these structures AGM. It is still not at all clear how mystic lost so so many and LJ had 0 given they did evac some kids. Horrific and a nightmare. One the kids will need to endure internally and process somehow.

Also worry long term for that entire camp economy. Hoh is basically gone and LJ didn't fare much better. Mystic might see lawsuits that shutter it. Maybe. None of these things will bring back kids, and while a great privilege to bring this experience it is one that is valuable and should continue.

May Jane Ragsdale rest in peace and I sincerely hope everyone of you get to hug your kids like I will soon.

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From what info was gathered in this thread, the kids missing are from the two cabins in that photo right next to the label "cabin in the flats". Badace52's girl survived in one of the cabins just under the tree cover around 6 o'clock in this image.

It is unclear exactly what happened that the girls were lost -- originally there was some rumor that twins or bubble "washed away" but clearly that is not true since they look in tact in those pictures.

The other idea was that kids were en-route to evacuation to the second floor of the larger buildings (or perhaps otherwise panicked and fled on foot?) and were swept away.

Praise God that you and your sons are safe and were able to evacuate.

TNAg99 said:

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There was mention during the afternoon presser about 4 kids still waiting to be reunited with family. Anyone have an update on this? Seems those with kids missing would already be there, unless traveling and haven't made it there yet.

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Hazel's best friend from camp has parents who live in Spain and at least one other group of parents was vacationing in Europe but that group has been reunited with their family and Hazel's best friend is with her Aunt. Unsure if her parents made it in yet.

Thank you for sharing. Peace be with you.

I hope the camps can make a comeback. I think they're 100% needed in child development these days. Anything that helps them make human connections are what kids need these days

It's buried in the threads via somewhat reliable poster close to the camp personnel, but it was mentioned earlier that the camp director was in process of moving several girls from that cabin via his truck to the dining hall…and it was swept away during his attempt to save them. They never made it.

WatchOle said:

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dermdoc said:

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So "staff" where is the contact button? Why do you not pm me?

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Derm, the moderator accidentally removed a couple of posts between you and trouble about a bourbon tasting. They realized the mistake and restored at 4:40. Your family is in our prayers today. We are very sorry for the mistake.

Thanks all for the timely, informative updates.

-Brandon

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You're a top notch guy Brandon. As always. Prayers to all involved. Times like this are tough for everyone and people react in different ways. God bless all.

allgoaton said:

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culdeus said:

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allgoaton said:

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This photo is from a NY times article that has an ariel seemingly taken today post flooding. You can clearly see the "Twins" (the building with two clear parts hence its name) and then next to that is Bubble Inn.

It is completely wild looking at that photo how high the water must have been.

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Our understanding is the lowest cabins were evac early in the evening. The ones pictured here are super low and took no losses from in the cabin as far as we know.

From understanding now how high the water got on the north side it is not clear how these structures were not totally submerged.

There is a water line at the base of the roof of hunt store and at the third level of hoh. Each of these should be well above these structures AGM. It is still not at all clear how mystic lost so so many and LJ had 0 given they did evac some kids. Horrific and a nightmare. One the kids will need to endure internally and process somehow.

Also worry long term for that entire camp economy. Hoh is basically gone and LJ didn't fare much better. Mystic might see lawsuits that shutter it. Maybe. None of these things will bring back kids, and while a great privilege to bring this experience it is one that is valuable and should continue.

May Jane Ragsdale rest in peace and I sincerely hope everyone of you get to hug your kids like I will soon.

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From what info was gathered in this thread, the kids missing are from the two cabins in that photo right next to the label "cabin in the flats". Badace52's girl survived in one of the cabins just under the tree cover around 6 o'clock in this image.

It is unclear exactly what happened that the girls were lost -- originally there was some rumor that twins or bubble "washed away" but clearly that is not true since they look in tact in those pictures.

The other idea was that kids were en-route to evacuation to the second floor of the larger buildings (or perhaps otherwise panicked and fled on foot?) and were swept away.

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From what I have read here and elsewhere, it sounds like the cabins where the girls are unaccounted for had flat ceilings with an attic above them, while the other cabins had vaulted ceilings with exposed rafters. Some of the ones where the campers were able to stay and survive have told tales up floating up on mattresses and hanging onto the rafters, while it sounds like the presence of the lower ceilings in the others may have forced them to try to escape the cabin, out into the flood waters through windows or otherwise.

Most recent updates I've gotten:

We are hearing there are some children that have been found and family's are going to a church to identify the body's. Possibly the same children that were mentioned in the press conference.

Apparently someone saw Blakely while everything was happening, and she was helping get other kids onto their mattresses. That's just who she is.

How far does the search and rescue operation extend down river?

The moderator also told me to quit derailing the thread. And then deleted that part. Total disrespect. Sorry
And I love you guys. You are better than this

Kyle Field Shade Chaser said:

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It's buried in the threads via somewhat reliable poster close to the camp personnel, but it was mentioned earlier that the camp director was in process of moving several girls from that cabin via his truck to the dining hall…and it was swept away during his attempt to save them. They never made it.

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This aligns with what we've heard from our friends who have missing girls.

Teslag said:

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How far does the search and rescue operation extend down river?

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During the Wimberley flood of 2015, the search extended to Martindale, a distance of about 20 miles following the flow of the river

My nephew, also.

I agree.

Kyle Field Shade Chaser said:

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It's buried in the threads via somewhat reliable poster close to the camp personnel, but it was mentioned earlier that the camp director was in process of moving several girls from that cabin via his truck to the dining hall…and it was swept away during his attempt to save them. They never made it.

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This is a photo that would confirm this story -- a truck sideways on a tree outside the cabins. It is not graphic but just posting a link for those who may not wish to see so hopefully this works:

https://dims.apnews.com/dims4/default/4359069/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3476x2318+0+0/resize/1440x960!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.apnews.com%2F30%2F1c%2F1cb012c27d942a703516f38f2c95%2F5ed8b621c00447bbaae7d87c22a82a9b

lexofer said:

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Electricity in Hunt at least on the North Fork got restored today. Initially they were told it could be days or weeks b/c the substation flooded. Apparently there wasn't as much damage as expected.

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Can confirm. River Bend Ranch has power restored

From what I understand, the girls in bubble were being evacuated when " the dam burst" I dont know what dam this would be so I'm actually assuming its when the wall of flash flooding water hit. The wall of water supposedly washed all the bubble girls away who were most likely out of the cabin at the time with the counselers. That info is mostly hearsay.

I have heard from my daughter that the twins girls were getting out of their cabin as they ran out of room due to flat ceilings and high water and were trying to make it to trees to hang on or shallower water. Some made it and some didn't.

Two were found in a tree much further down the river. A picture of them in a helicopter has been circulating on social media platforms. They were found by a good samaritan who then called their mother early in the AM yesterday.

I personally know the mother of one of those two girls. She is a friend from med school and called us early in the AM and let us know the info from the judge about all the girls being safe was inaccurate and that's when I started driving to the Ingram Elementary.

I can't even imagine how low your cell phone battery has been, just hanging on for dear life and blowing up with calls and texts.
I'm sure your nerves are shot.
How is your baby girl handling everything?

Quote:

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We have been spending 4th of July at Waltonia Lodges since I was 7. Now, we continue that tradition with our two sons. A week full of floating, fishing, kayaking, paddle boarding, bbqing, etc.

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I am very sorry about your loss. Grateful you are with us.

About 20 years ago, I moved from a home across the river from you (behind River Oaks Lodge, about 4 houses back). I know some people that live back there. Do you know how those homes fared ?

ABATTBQ87 said:

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Teslag said:

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How far does the search and rescue operation extend down river?

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During the Wimberley flood of 2015, the search extended to Martindale, a distance of about 20 miles following the flow of the river

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How far is it from kerrville to the nearest impoundment?

swimmerbabe11 said:

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I can't even imagine how low your cell phone battery has been, just hanging on for dear life and blowing up with calls and texts.
I'm sure your nerves are shot.
How is your baby girl handling everything?

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She's intermittently breaking down just like her mom and I. I have had everyone I know blowing me up today. Yesterday was a nightmare and today has been the most emotional day of my life recounting the horrors and catharsis/elation of reuniting with my daughter. I am so blessed to have had so much love and support today that I'm happy to be this emotionally exhausted. We are still hurting for the families of the missing and praying for their safe return.

Not specifically. We could see that the river definitely made it to the other side of the highway but couldn't tell you how they fared. The homes behind River Oaks should be Ok from our vantage point. I can confirm with you when we go back up next weekend.

The diving board platforms at River Oaks were completely destroyed as well as the best rope swing ever.

Not sure if that rope swing was part of River Oaks, but we had some great times on that thing.

Badace52 said:

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swimmerbabe11 said:

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I can't even imagine how low your cell phone battery has been, just hanging on for dear life and blowing up with calls and texts.
I'm sure your nerves are shot.
How is your baby girl handling everything?

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She's intermittently breaking down just like her mom and I. I have had everyone I know blowing me up today. Yesterday was a nightmare and today has been the most emotional day of my life recounting the horrors and catharsis/elation of reuniting with my daughter. I am so blessed to have had so much love and support today that I'm happy to be this emotionally exhausted. We are still hurting for the families of the missing and praying for their safe return.

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Write everything down while it is fresh.

Prayers for the mental health and strength of your daughter and all around her.

Badace52 said:

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swimmerbabe11 said:

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I can't even imagine how low your cell phone battery has been, just hanging on for dear life and blowing up with calls and texts.
I'm sure your nerves are shot.
How is your baby girl handling everything?

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She's intermittently breaking down just like her mom and I. I have had everyone I know blowing me up today. Yesterday was a nightmare and today has been the most emotional day of my life recounting the horrors and catharsis/elation of reuniting with my daughter. I am so blessed to have had so much love and support today that I'm happy to be this emotionally exhausted. We are still hurting for the families of the missing and praying for their safe return.

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Praying for you guys.

I'm sure. im not sure ive ever seen as much emotion in one picture as the one you posted of your wife and daughter reunited. Praying for all of you as you recover from this trauma.

and honestly, it sounds like a little thing, but I hope this doesn't ruin her love of the outdoors either.

I remember that flood and wondered the same.

AgLiving06 said:

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Most recent updates I've gotten:

We are hearing there are some children that have been found and family's are going to a church to identify the body's. Possibly the same children that were mentioned in the press conference.

Apparently someone saw Blakely while everything was happening, and she was helping get other kids onto their mattresses. That's just who she is.

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What an unimaginable task these families are faced with. Wishing them peace, somehow.