(AP/KXAN) – Beloved Director of Texas Summer Camp for Girls. Elementary school students in Alabama are far from home. A woman dying after an intensive search. These are dozens of casualties lost in Texas’ devastating floods.
Floods in central Texas were born from rapidly moving waters on the Guadalupe River on Friday, killing more than 60 people, including 15 children. Officials say a search and rescue effort is still ongoing as dozens of people have gone missing from a summer camp for girls.
People respond when inspecting areas outside Camp Mystic’s sleeping quarters along the banks of the Guadalupe River after flash floods flowed on Sunday, July 6, 2025 in Hunt, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) Crews work on Saturday, July 5, 2025 in Ingram, Texas, to remove debris from the cadeloop bridge along the Guadalupe River. (AP Photo/Rodolfo Gonzalez) On Saturday, July 5, 2025, he ruled the banks of the Guadalupe River after flash floods rammed through the area in Hunt, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) After heavy rain, people were comforted outside the Butt-Holdsworth Memorial Library in Kerville. 6, 2025, Hunt, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) The camper hangs out on Saturday, July 5, 2025, as the girls from Camp Waldemar near North Fork on the Guadalupe River are now hugging as Camp Waldemar girls, who are reconnected with their families after heavy rains in central Texas. 5, 2025, Carville, Texas. (AP Photo/Rodolfo Gonzalez) Sheriff’s deputy stopped as he rocked the banks of the Guadalupe River near Camp Mystic after flash floods swept through the area in Hunt, Texas on Saturday, July 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) On Saturday, July 5, 2025, they are looking at fragments on the banks of the Guadalupe River after flash floods cleaned the area in Hunt, Texas. (AP Photo/Gulio Cortez)
Jane Rugsdale
Jane Rugsdale, 68, dedicated her life to Heart Oath Hills Camp, a summer camp for girls in Texas Hill Country. She was a camper, counselor and later co-owner in the 1970s. By the 1980s, she became the director of Hunt’s camp.
“She was a heart,” Camp said in a statement. “She was our guidance, our example, and our safe place. She had the unusual gift of making everyone feel seen, loved and important.”
The camp was between sessions so the children were not staying there when the flood rose. The camp facilities were placed directly on the direct roads of the flood, leaving the site difficult to access. Camping has been around since the 1950s.
Camp officials said Ragsdale will be remembered for her strength and wisdom.
“We are heartbroken, but more than anything, we are grateful,” Camp said. “I’m grateful to know her, to learn from her, and to carry her light forward.”
During the 2015 oral history of the Carr County Historical Commission, Rugsdale, who went with his first name, Cincy but middle name Jane, spoke about how her father was the camp director and how much he enjoyed her experience.
“I’ve loved every minute of camp since the first time I added one foot,” she recalled.
A video of Ragsdale strumming his guitar and singing to a camper during a recent session was posted to the monument on the camp’s Facebook page. “Life is good today.
Sarah Marsh
Sarah Marsh, an 8-year-old Alabama native, attended Camp Mystic in Texas, a longtime Christian Girls camp in a hunt in which several others were killed in the flood. As of Sunday afternoon, 11 children were still missing.
Marsh was a student at Cherokee Bend Elementary School, a suburb of Birmingham.
“This is an unimaginable loss for her family, her school, and our community as a whole,” Mountain Brook Mayor Stewart Welch said in a Facebook post. “Sarah’s death is a sadness that we all share, and our hearts are with those who know and love her.”
He said a community of about 20,000 people would gather behind the Marsh family when they grieve.
Her parents refused a request for an interview on Sunday “to mourn this unbearable loss,” the girl’s grandmother, Debbie Ford Marsh, told The Associated Press in an email.
“We feel blessed to have always had this beautiful, brave ray in our lives. She will live forever in our hearts!” Marsh wrote on Facebook. “We love you so much, sweet Sarah!”
She declined to comment further.
Alabama Sen. Katie Britt also pointed out the girl’s tragic death.
“We continue to pray for the victims’ loved ones, survivors, those still missing, and for the brave first responders as a search and rescue effort in Texas,” she said in a post on social media platform X.
Tanya Berwick
What Tanya Berwick’s family heard from her was a desperate call about floodwaters when she headed to work at Walmart early on Friday in the San Angelo area. When Berwick didn’t show up for work, her employer filed a report of the missing person and sent colleagues to find her.
This undated photo released by Rhea Burwick shows her mother Tanya Burwick in San Angelo, Texas in April 2025. (Rhae Brunswick via AP)
Police investigating the 62-year-old’s loss disappearance discovered that a vacant SUV in Berwick had been completely submerged later that day. Her body was blocked from the car the next morning.
“She had a laugh that lighted up the room and made others laugh,” she added that her mom was a beloved parent, grandparent and coworker to many.
She and her brother Zach said the day was particularly difficult as they worked at the fireworks stand that was with their family on July 4th. As Tanya Berwick’s lost of words spread, people from Blackwell, a small community of about 250, appeared on stands where orange trailers ran out.
“People came to help us,” Lindsay Berwick said.
Police in San Angelo said 12,000 homes, barns and other buildings affected by flooding in a community of around 100,000 people have been affected.
“We ask that we continue to keep Berwick’s family in thought and prayer as we navigate this tragedy,” the San Angelo Police Department said in a Facebook post.
Blair and Brook Harbor
Brook Harbor, a student at St. Rita’s Catholic School in Dallas, was staying along the Guadalupe River when the cabin was cleaned, according to the school.
Pastor Joshua J. Whitfield, a Senrita Catholic community that shares the school and campus, said the girl’s parents, Annie and RJ Harbor, were staying in different cabins and it was safe. However, their grandparents were not explained. Annie Harbor is a longtime teacher at school.
Blair is now in eighth grade and Brook is now in sixth grade.
“We honor Blair and Brook’s lives, the light they shared, and the joy they brought to everyone who knows them,” Whitfield wrote in a letter to parishioners on Saturday. “And we will surround Annie, RJ and their extended family with the strength and support of the St. Rita community.”
The church held a special prayer service and provided counseling on Saturday afternoons.
“In this time of deep sorrow, keep the Harbor family in prayer,” Whitfield wrote. “May our faith, our love, and our St. Rita community be a source of strength and comfort for the next few days.”
Lila Bonner
The family of camper van Lila Bonner confirmed to Nexstar’s Kxan on Saturday that she was among those killed in the flood. In a statement, her family said, “We love her and it hurts with everyone who prays endlessly to help others escape this tragic loss.”
Linny Mctown
Austinite Michael McCown posted on Instagram that her daughter Linnie has not survived the flood at Mystic Camp.
“It is with the heaviest heart that we have to share that our sweet little Linny is with the Lord of Heaven,” McConn told Instagram. “She filled our hearts with so much joy that we couldn’t begin to explain.”
Kelly Wiley and Sally Hernandez of Kxan contributed to this report.
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