Texas dad who left chilling final voicemail for children received evacuation alert after being swept away

KERRVILLE, TEXAS: As deadly floodwaters surged through central Texas during the early hours of July 4, 61-year-old Jeff Ramsey left a final, heartbreaking voicemail for his children, telling them he didn’t think he and his wife, Tanya Ramsey, would survive.

Moments later, as the couple and their dog were being swept away by the raging Guadalupe River, an evacuation alert from the RV park where they were staying arrived far too late to save them.

Jeff Ramsey received an evacuation alert moments after being swept away by floodwaters

The message, sent by HTR RV Park at 4.49 am, warned residents to evacuate due to rising river levels. “We have just received an emergency notification from the fire department that we do need to evacuate the park due to the river flooding. Please gather your things and you may go to the church parking lot and wait for further notification,” it read. 

But Ramsey had already left his goodbye message by then, his son Jake revealed. “He got that text as they were floating away. Literally right as he left my sister that goodbye message,” Jake told The New York Post. “It’s your worst nightmare.” 

“Right, literally, the same time he left her that voicemail, as they were getting swept away, they received an evacuation text from their RV park saying ‘Gather your belongings and head out as soon as possible.’ It was ridiculous,” Jake added.

The delayed warning has added to growing scrutiny over how local officials handled the flood response in Kerr County, where at least 95 of the state’s 119 confirmed deaths occurred. More than 170 people remain missing. Many, like the Ramseys, appear to have had little or no time to respond to the emergency.

Jeff, an insurance agent from Lewisville, had been staying with his wife Tanya, 46, and their whippet dog, Chloe, in an Airstream trailer at the RV park when the river rose nearly 30 feet in under an hour.

National Weather Service flash flood warnings had reportedly been issued shortly after 1 am, yet Kerrville's mayor later admitted he wasn’t aware of the flooding until after 5.30 am, after lives had already been lost.

Jake described the entire system as “lousy” and outdated, saying, “The infrastructure for that seemed to have been outdated. It seemed like a lousy effort to evacuate. It should have been something where we saw a possibility we know the night before."

"There should have been more that was done. The only thing I am aware that was done was my dad was sent a text after it was already too late. He already said goodbye to me and my sister," he added. 

Jeff Ramsey's chilling last words to his children during the tragic flooding

Jake Ramsey recalled the heartbreaking moment his father tried to reach them one last time. 

“Once they realized there was nothing they could do, my stepmom was on the phone with her mom while my dad made a call to me and my sister. We were asleep. He left us a message saying he was not going to make it and that he loved us so much, telling us goodbye,” he shared. 

The voicemail left for Jake and his sister, Rachel, captured the final moments of their parents' lives. “Buddy, I love you so much. It doesn’t look like we are going to make it. Tell Rachey I love her,” Jeff said, while rushing water could be heard in the background, and Tanya screamed, “We’re dying,  we’re dying!”

“You never heard this guy panic, but we heard panic and fear in his voice,” Jake shared.

Jeff Ramsey's final call may have saved a life

Before Jeff Ramsey called his children to say goodbye, he made another crucial phone call to his wife Tanya Ramsey’s brother, who was camping nearby.

“Thank the Lord he called Tanya’s brother,” said Jake. “They would’ve probably slept through it and been swept away in the flood as well.”

“He rescued them because they would have slept in and they would have washed away. That cabin was destroyed, completely underwater. He saved their lives,” Jeff's son added. 

Tragically, Tanya’s body has since been identified. The search for Jeff is still ongoing.

Internet reacts to Jeff Ramsey receiving evacuation alert only after being swept away in deadly floods

The internet is reeling in heartbreak and frustration after news surfaced that a Texas father who left a haunting voicemail for his children before being killed in the recent catastrophic floods received an evacuation alert only after it was too late.

One user wrote, “This is so devastating. My heart and prayers to everyone affected.”

Another expressed hope for reform, stating, “Hopefully much is learned from this tragedy, such as moving camps out of known flood areas, improving early warning systems, etc.”

Many criticized local preparedness, including one who said, “Nice timing on the alert. Such a high-prone flood area and no warning sirens is despicable. It would’ve cost maybe $1 million to install. A neighboring city did it and had less flooding risk.”

Some tried to give context to the scale of the disaster, with an individual writing, “Honestly, an alert wouldn’t have helped even before it. The water rose 26 feet in 45 minutes. People get flood alerts all the time—nobody could ever imagine it would’ve done this. I really wish news outlets would quit trying to push this as if something could’ve been done to prevent this. It’s truly a natural disaster tragedy. Horrible.”

“Out of this tragedy, I hope in the future, people live a safe distance from this river, and the localities at risk establish effective early flood alert notification systems,” another comment read. 

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.