A flash flood hit Camp Mystic in Kerr County, Texas, on July 4, killing at least five young girls and leaving 11 children missing. Officials call it *“one of the worst natural disasters the area has seen in decades.”*
The Guadalupe River rose over 26 feet in just 45 minutes, flooding the campground without warning. The youngest campers were in low-lying cabins only 225 feet from the river and were struck first.
Among the victims were eight-year-olds Renee Smajstrla, Sarah Marsh, and Eloise Peck, and nine-year-olds Janie Hunt and Lila Bonner. The camp’s longtime director, 70-year-old Richard “Dick” Eastland, died trying to save the children.
Rescue operations are ongoing as crews search for the missing in dangerous conditions.
