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The mother of one missing Camp Mystic camper said in a message on Saturday morning that her daughter had died. Her death comes in the midst of devastating flooding in Kerr County, Texas, where more than 20 campers are still missing.
The camper, nine-year-old Janie Hunt, is one of the first of the missing campers to be located and identified publicly. Flooding in the central Texas county claimed the lives of 27 people, including nine children, and injured eight, prompting a slew of flash flood warnings for parts of the state on Saturday morning.
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said Friday that more than 20 children were still unaccounted for at the all-girls private Christian summer camp, which hosts about 750 kids total. More than 850 Kerr County residents have been evacuated.
New flash flood warnings were issued for many parts of central Texas, where weather agencies say bursts of torrential rainfall are likely to occur over the weekend.
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Mother Anne Hunt told CNN on Friday that she and her family were praying for news about her daughter, and that they had not heard anything about her whereabouts.
Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring Jr. expressed gratitude to city crews, county personnel and state agencies at a press conference on Saturday. “People need to know, today will be a hard day,” he said, his voice wavering. “It will be a hard day.”
Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said authorities “will not stop until every single person is found.” Search and rescue teams are using special equipment and helicopters to navigate difficult floodwater and terrain, searching for heat sources within the debris, he said at the press conference.
Search teams have also recovered some people from trees and other high-ground locations, according to Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice.
Leitha warned residents to use extreme caution when navigating roads, as asphalt and other materials can wash up as water seeps under roadways.
Hunt, a town near Kerrville, received about 6.5 inches of rain in just three hours early on Friday. The rainfall rate is what some say is a one-in-100-years rainfall event for the area.
