The first photos from flood-ravaged Camp Mystic, the Christian Texas summer camp from which 27 young girls are missing, tell a heartbreaking story.
The images capture both the destruction of the floodwaters—toppled trees and shredded buildings—but also the human traces left behind by the campers.
In one photo, a mud-covered plushie sits outside of a cabin, while another reveals an inside look at the campers’ quarters: bunkbeds askew, bedspreads muddied, belongings strewn across the floor.
Camp Mystic sits near the Guadalupe River in Central Texas. It was ravaged when thunderstorms sent the river surging and unleashed powerful floodwaters.
Across the entire affected region, the death count currently stands at 32, but it is expected to rise. Three Mystic campers are confirmed to be among the dead: Renee Smajstrla, 8; Sarah Marsh, 8; and Janie Hunt, 9.
The camp, which is nearly 100 years old, was hosting around 750 campers, all girls between the ages of seven and 17, when the flooding struck overnight and forced an evacuation to higher ground.
But 27 of the girls are still unaccounted for.
“We will do anything humanly possible to find your daughter,” Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick told parents Friday, according to The Texas Tribune.
The Tribune reported that 14 helicopters, 12 drones, and approximately 500 people on the ground are aiding the search.
Some parents have been reunited with their daughters who were attending Camp Mystic, like Jenny MacLennan, whose 10-year-old’s cabin was on high enough ground to avoid the worst of the flooding, according to The New York Times.
She told the Times that for the parents who have yet to be reunited with their children, the wait is “completely devastating.”
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