A haunting image has shown Camp Mystic campers only moments before the children were swept away in the Texas floods.
The disaster flood has swept through Kerr County. As of July 6, 82 people have sadly lost their lives with many more missing.
The flood has impacted many areas, including the site of Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp for girls.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott shared the heartbreaking news that 750 girls were at the camp at the time of the floods.
On July 7, Camp Mystic confirmed that 27 people, including girls and camp staff, were sadly killed.
They released a statement on their website which read: “Our hearts are broken alongside our families that are enduring this unimaginable tragedy,”.
Stella Thompson, 13, arrived at camp last week in what would be her sixth year.
She has shared NBC that they were awoken to the sounds of water outside the cabin.
Thompson’s cabin was on the Cypress Lake side of camp and she and her bunkmates noticed the power had cut out in the night and that their camp leaders warned them to stay inside.
They then heard helicopters overhead and started to panic. “I think it’s the uncertainty that really shook up our cabin,” she shared with media.
They were then told other campers had been evacuated: “Eventually when we got that news we were all kind of hysterical and the whole cabin was praying a lot and terrified — but not for ourselves.”
Emergency responders arrived hours later and she was luckily rescued. Thompson described the scenes as they were leaving the camp: “You’d see kayaks in trees and it was kind of horrific because we had no idea.”
She added: “It didn’t look like Camp Mystic anymore.”
Her mother, Casey Thompson shared: “We are just so happy that she is safe and we have her. We are just grateful to be some of the fortunate ones,”, “So there’s a sense of relief and an equal sense of just awareness of that’s not everybody’s story and that’s just two kinds of competing emotions.”
A gut wrenching photo has been shared of the girls at camp just five days before the flood.
The children in the “Bubble Inn” were photographed smiling up at the camera in all white with no idea what was about to hit them.
Two of the camp counsellors have revealed that they were instructed to write the children’s names on their bodies before evacuating to safety.
Teenagers Silvana Garza and Maria Paula shared with Mexican News outlet NMas: “Us as counsellors, we started to write our names on our skin, anywhere that was visible.”
“We did the same for the girls, wrote their names anywhere that was easy to see.”
They shared that after nearby camps were hit with the floods and warned Camp Mystic of what was headed their way, they tried to put on a ‘happy face’ for the children:
“At the time, we started to prepare our girls because we thought we were also going to be evacuated,” Garza said.
“We told them to pack a bag, to pack their favourite stuffed animal. We didn’t know if we were going to be evacuated or not. We were just waiting.” she added.
Amongst those who sadly lost their lives was 9-year-old Janie Hunt, family member of Kansas City Chiefs CEO, Clark Hunt.
His wife, Tavia Hunt, shared on Instagram: “Our hearts are broken by the devastation from the floods in Wimberley and the tragic loss of so many lives — including a precious little Hunt cousin, along with several friend’s little girls. How do we trust a God who is supposed to be good, all knowing and all powerful, but who allows such terrible things to happen — even to children?
“That is a sacred and tender question — and one the Bible doesn’t shy away from. Scripture is filled with the cries of those whose hearts have been shattered, who still wrestle to trust the same God they believe allowed the pain.”
Other girls confirmed dead from the camp include Renee Smajstrla, 8, Sarah Marsha, 8, Eloise Peck, 8, and Lila Bonner, 9.
Bonner’s family shared with NBC News: “In the midst of our unimaginable grief, we ask for privacy and are unable to confirm any details at this time.
“We ache with all who loved her and are praying endlessly for others to be spared from this tragic loss.”
Heartbreaking news, RIP.