Brothers recall harrowing escape from rising floodwaters at Texas camp: 'We had to swim out of our cabin'
WATCH- Brothers Piers and Ruffin recall escaping floodwaters this morning at Camp La Junta
— KSAT 12 (@ksatnews) July 5, 2025
Kerr County Sheriff’s Office confirmed there are missing people all across the area@BrngerKsat reports
More than 20 campers from Camp Mystic are still missing-https://t.co/BDPHfeoflL pic.twitter.com/W6iVpLkqBV
KERR COUNTY, TEXAS: Two young brothers have described the terrifying moment they escaped floodwaters that tore through their Texas summer camp in the early hours of Friday, July 4.
Piers and Ruffin Boyett, 11 and 14, were asleep at Camp La Junta in Hunt when the Guadalupe River rose by 26 feet in just 45 minutes, forcing them to swim out of their rapidly submerging cabin.
At least 51 people, including 15 children, have died in the flash floods, while dozens more remain missing.
Nearby Camp Mystic, a private Christian girls' retreat, has confirmed four young campers dead, with 27 girls still unaccounted for as of Saturday.
Brothers recall terrifying escape as camp cabin flooded in deadly Texas storm
The flood struck just after 4 am Friday, catching many campers while they were sleeping. "We had bunk beds in our cabins and [the water] was going up to the top bunk and we had one choice — and we had to swim out of our cabin,” Piers Boyett told ABC affiliate KSAT.
His older brother, Ruffin, said he was the first to wake up. “Oh my God, we’re floating,” he remembered thinking, describing how another camper ran to wake their sleeping counselor. “The cabins were flooding and the walls, they broke down,” Ruffin added.
The boys swam to safety and waited for 17 hours in higher-ground cabins until they were evacuated by bus. “No one died, we’re thankful for that,” Ruffin said.
Guadalupe River floods leave trail of tragedy at Texas girls’ camp
Just miles away at Camp Mystic, four nine-year-old girls, Janie Hunt, Renee Smajstrla, Sarah Marsh, and Lila Bonner, were confirmed dead. The camp, which housed around 750 children, was devastated by the flooding.
Texas Lt Gov Dan Patrick announced Friday that at least 20 other children remain missing from Camp Mystic. As of Sunday, that number has risen to 27 girls unaccounted for, according to local officials.
Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said on Saturday that the true number of missing people could be higher than currently reported. “We are kind of looking at this in two ways, called the known missing, which is the 27... We will not put a number on the other side because we just don't know,” he said during a press conference.
He added that "hundreds" of people had already been rescued from around the Guadalupe River, but the full extent of the disaster is still unfolding.
Texas flood zone search intensifies as survivors emerge and families await answers
Drone footage shows widespread damage to cabins, uprooted trees, and collapsed structures along the riverbanks.
More than 850 residents across Kerr County have been displaced, and the region remains under a state of emergency. Search-and-rescue crews continue to comb the flood zone, assisted by helicopters, boats, and drones.
As Texas mourns the lives lost, stories like those of the Boyett brothers offer rare glimpses of hope. But for dozens of families still searching for their loved ones, the anguish continues as the flood’s deadly toll mounts.
