Parents who left their daughters at the cherished Christian Camp Mystic in central Texas were sent a heartrending message merely three days afterward, as one distraught parent disclosed.
The camp, which has been a summer tradition for almost a century, was directly in the floodplain of the rising Guadalupe River when torrential rains hit the area during the early hours of July 4.
So far in the days following the tragedy, 108 bodies have been pulled from the soggy wasteland, and dozens of people are still missing.
Some of the most tragic disappearances among the lost are young campers who were staying at the beloved institution in Hunt, outside San Antonio.
Longtime camp owners Dick and Tweety Eastland welcomed about 750 girls just the same as the 98 years prior in the days leading up to the tragedy.
Christy Colby Heno, a former chaperone who attended the camp for 12 years, vividly recalled the excitement in the air as she dropped off her own daughters on June 30.
She said that she caught to catch up with the Eastlands as she ate turkey wraps, fruit salad, and tater tots alongside all of the buzzing girls.
“It was just like every other camp drop-off,” she told the Wall Street Journal.
But just days later, Heno was horrified to receive an eerie note from the camp after the storms passed through.
“If your daughter is not accounted for you have been notified,” read part of the letter.
“If you have not been personally contacted then your daughter is accounted for.
“Please continue to pray.”
CAMP DEVASTATION
Heartwrenching pictures show the sheer devastation brought on by the rushing floods.
Cabins that were once filled to the brim with giggling campers have not been left in shambles, with bunk beds asked on the ground and belongings abandoned by girls.
Nearly every surface at the camp is covered in layers of dirt and grime after the Guadalupe River swelled a whopping 30 feet and rushed water through cabins.
The Bubble Inn cabin sat just 500 feet from the river, and every young girl and counselor inside has been found dead or is missing.
Donald Trump’s statement on Texas floods
“The Trump Administration is working with State and Local Officials on the ground in Texas in response to the tragic flooding that took place yesterday.
“Our Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, will be there shortly.
“Melania and I are praying for all of the families impacted by this horrible tragedy.
“Our Brave First Responders are on site doing what they do best. GOD BLESS THE FAMILIES, AND GOD BLESS TEXAS!”
The night of the storms, camp director Dick died trying to rush in and save the little girls.
Two of the victims staying in the cabin, 13 and 11-year-old sisters Blair and Brooke Harber, were found 15 miles downstream “with their hands locked together.”
“We are beyond devastated and so heartbroken,” their aunt Jennifer Harber said.
