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The Latest on Sunday: Deaths rise to 59 in historic Kerr County flash floods, as other deaths reported elsewhere
HUNT — From the edge of a winding two-lane highway, where banks of live oak had bent at the whim of the Guadalupe River, Koy Coffer took in what was left of a summer camp dream.
Bed sheets tangled in broken branches. A muddy tie-dye T-shirt. A pink pillow lodged in a cracked cabin window.
Before the floods came, Camp Mystic’s sprawling 700-acre campground was dotted with green-roofed, cobblestone cabins and rows of cypress, live oak and pecan trees. For nearly a century, it’s drawn hundreds of girls to Hill Country each year.
D-FW Weather Wise
They came for its promise of friendship and fun. Days were spent trying their hands at archery, hiking, swimming and ceramics.
They’d almost always leave with more.
Related:Death toll climbs to 43 after ‘catastrophic’ floods sweep through Guadalupe River
“Camp, at its best, teaches you how to help people, how to be a friend, how to have faith in yourself,” Coffer, 66, told The Dallas Morning News Saturday, overlooking the wreckage. “You learn there are lessons in everything. Even this.”
A man walks by a building at Camp Mystic on Saturday, July 5, 2025, in Hunt. A flash flood swept through the area early Friday morning.(Chitose Suzuki / Staff Photographer)
Early Friday morning, swift and heavy rains pushed the Guadalupe River at Hunt to its second-highest height on record. By 9 p.m., local officials reported 24 fatalities — more than double that of a historic flood that tore through the same area in 1987.
By Saturday evening, the death toll had reached 43 people: 15 children and 28 adults. More than 800 people have been rescued, and an untold amount has yet to be found — including 27 of the more than 700 girls at Camp Mystic.
Coffer didn’t attend Camp Mystic herself, but she’s spent the past 23 years living and working in Kerrville, where she said everyone knows someone whose life was changed by it.
So much of the joy in Kerr County, she explained, has long centered around its summers and its children.
Related:Remembering the victims of the Kerr County floods
About two miles up the road from Camp Mystic, at Heart O’ the Hills, another cherished summer camp, Coffer said Jane Ragsdale, its beloved director, died while trying to save her counselors.
In a tribute posted on Facebook, a former camper shared a text she got from Ragsdale the night of May 29: “It’s definitely our time of year, what we love and live for.”
As first responders continued to search near Camp Mystic for survivors, Coffer pointed to an area she called the “sleeping quarters,” where she’s sure little girls once giggled and told stories; felt homesick, then brave.
But on Saturday, the cabins were silent, surrounded only by debris: An overturned red canoe, blue and pink chests covered in sparkly stickers, lone sneakers and an empty duffle bag.
Related:How to help victims, first responders in Texas Hill Country floods
Nearby, a building Coffer said served as a dance hall and cafeteria had completely lost its face. Inside, a Texas flag hung on.
“Things are just things, but those kids?” Coffer said. “We’ve got to find those kids.”
State and federal officials have repeatedly promised they won’t rest until every person is accounted for.
“We’re not going to stop today or tomorrow — we will stop when the job is completed,” Gov. Greg Abbott said Saturday during a news conference. “This is a 24/7 operation, day and night, because we know that we are looking for Texans and Americans, and we put them as our top priority.”
By nightfall, they feared the rain would come again.
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The Latest on Sunday: Deaths rise to 59 in historic Kerr County flash floods, as other deaths reported elsewhere
HUNT — From the edge of a winding two-lane highway, where banks of live oak had bent at the whim of the Guadalupe River, Koy Coffer took in what was left of a summer camp dream.
Bed sheets tangled in broken branches. A muddy tie-dye T-shirt. A pink pillow lodged in a cracked cabin window.
Before the floods came, Camp Mystic’s sprawling 700-acre campground was dotted with green-roofed, cobblestone cabins and rows of cypress, live oak and pecan trees. For nearly a century, it’s drawn hundreds of girls to Hill Country each year.
D-FW Weather Wise
They came for its promise of friendship and fun. Days were spent trying their hands at archery, hiking, swimming and ceramics.
They’d almost always leave with more.
Related:Death toll climbs to 43 after ‘catastrophic’ floods sweep through Guadalupe River
“Camp, at its best, teaches you how to help people, how to be a friend, how to have faith in yourself,” Coffer, 66, told The Dallas Morning News Saturday, overlooking the wreckage. “You learn there are lessons in everything. Even this.”
A man walks by a building at Camp Mystic on Saturday, July 5, 2025, in Hunt. A flash flood swept through the area early Friday morning.(Chitose Suzuki / Staff Photographer)
Early Friday morning, swift and heavy rains pushed the Guadalupe River at Hunt to its second-highest height on record. By 9 p.m., local officials reported 24 fatalities — more than double that of a historic flood that tore through the same area in 1987.
By Saturday evening, the death toll had reached 43 people: 15 children and 28 adults. More than 800 people have been rescued, and an untold amount has yet to be found — including 27 of the more than 700 girls at Camp Mystic.
Coffer didn’t attend Camp Mystic herself, but she’s spent the past 23 years living and working in Kerrville, where she said everyone knows someone whose life was changed by it.
So much of the joy in Kerr County, she explained, has long centered around its summers and its children.
Related:Remembering the victims of the Kerr County floods
About two miles up the road from Camp Mystic, at Heart O’ the Hills, another cherished summer camp, Coffer said Jane Ragsdale, its beloved director, died while trying to save her counselors.
In a tribute posted on Facebook, a former camper shared a text she got from Ragsdale the night of May 29: “It’s definitely our time of year, what we love and live for.”
As first responders continued to search near Camp Mystic for survivors, Coffer pointed to an area she called the “sleeping quarters,” where she’s sure little girls once giggled and told stories; felt homesick, then brave.
But on Saturday, the cabins were silent, surrounded only by debris: An overturned red canoe, blue and pink chests covered in sparkly stickers, lone sneakers and an empty duffle bag.
Related:How to help victims, first responders in Texas Hill Country floods
Nearby, a building Coffer said served as a dance hall and cafeteria had completely lost its face. Inside, a Texas flag hung on.
“Things are just things, but those kids?” Coffer said. “We’ve got to find those kids.”
State and federal officials have repeatedly promised they won’t rest until every person is accounted for.
“We’re not going to stop today or tomorrow — we will stop when the job is completed,” Gov. Greg Abbott said Saturday during a news conference. “This is a 24/7 operation, day and night, because we know that we are looking for Texans and Americans, and we put them as our top priority.”
By nightfall, they feared the rain would come again.
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