Camp Mystic flooding in in Central Texas alongside the Guadalupe River in Kerr County leaves 23 girls unaccounted for amid desperate search for their whereabouts amid fears for the worse.
Nearly two dozen girls at a Christian summer camp are missing — and potentially dead — after their cabins were either flooded or washed away by ‘catastrophic’ and fatal flooding in Texas that has left at least 13 people dead, officials announced Friday.
Around 20 children are unaccounted for at Camp Mystic alongside the Guadalupe River in Hunt, a suburb of San Antonio in Kerr County, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said at a news conference.
‘That does not mean they’ve been lost. They could be in a tree. They could be out of communication. We’re praying for all those missing to be found alive,’ Patrick said.
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🚨 BREAKING: 23 girls are now MISSING from Christian summer Camp Mystic in Hunt, TX after the area was INUNDATED with flooding, per Lt. Gov. Patrick
The deathtoll is now 13 and rising, with more rain on the way.
PLEASE pray for the missing girls and their families 🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/xO0E4qGHOy
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) July 4, 2025
Sudden downpours led to surging of the Guadalupe River, which rose more than 22 feet in just 30 minutes. The floodwaters tore through cabins and facilities early Friday morning, July 4, leading to a mass casualty response, NBC News reported.
So far, at least 13 people are dead in Kerr County, and several are missing. Officials warned those numbers were likely to change in the coming hours.
‘There’s still several people unaccounted for right now, at this point, but we’re working really hard. And we’re going to continue. This is probably going to be a couple of day process,’ Kerr County Sheriff Larry L. Leitha warned.
Camp Mystic is a private Christian summer camp for girls in Hunt between the ages of 7 and 17. The camp is nestled in Texas’ Hill Country, along the banks of the Guadalupe River. It’s surrounded by cypress, live oak and pecan trees, per the camp’s website.
Camp Mystic said in an email to parents that if they have not been contacted directly, their child is accounted for. Safety officials said there were roughly 750 campers, AP News reported.
The all-girls sleep-away camp was evacuated overnight as the area was hit with up to 10 inches of rain, but some of the campers were left behind.
At least 13 people are dead and more than 20 people were unaccounted for after heavy rain lashed Texas, leading to “catastrophic” flooding, authorities said Friday.
Children are among the dead, and about 23 campers from a summer camp in the area, Camp Mystic, were unaccounted… pic.twitter.com/4wrT0Zsm3d
— ABC News (@ABC) July 4, 2025
Some cabins were reportedly flooded and others washed away, with the surrounding roads suffering a washout.
Some of the children have been located and are stranded, but about 23 of the 750 Mystic campers were still unaccounted for, Patrick estimated.
Up to 500 rescue workers and 18 helicopters are scouring the area for survivors, Patrick said. The state also deployed 40 helicopters, 12 drones and nine dive and rescue teams earlier Friday.
An undisclosed number of bodies, both adult and child, were discovered Friday, including some inside cars and others that washed out from the river.
State officials declined to reveal the preliminary death toll, claiming that the numbers would continue to change as missing people were recovered.
An undisclosed number of bodies, both adult and child, were discovered Friday, including some inside cars and others that washed out from the river.
State officials declined to reveal the preliminary death toll, claiming that the numbers would continue to change as missing people were recovered.
The Texas National Guard was activated Thursday night, and is orchestrating helicopter searches throughout Hunt and Kerrville.
The US Coast Guard and the Federal Emergency Management Agency are also assisting.
