Texas sisters, 13 and 11, sent ‘I love you’ messages to parents before drowning in devastating flood
KERR COUNTY, TEXAS: What began as a quiet family retreat in the Texas Hill Country turned into a nightmare when two young sisters, Blair and Brooke Harber, were swept away by catastrophic flash flooding.
The girls were later found dead, their hands locked together, a final sign of their bond in life and death.
Blair, 13, and Brooke, 11, had been staying with their grandparents at a rented cabin in the Casa Bonita community near Hunt, Texas, when the floods struck early Friday, July 4. Just before they drowned, the sisters sent their final messages to their parents, received at 3:30 am.
Their grandparents, Mike Harber, 76, and Charlene Harber, 74, remain missing.
Sisters’ final texts to parents capture heartbreak of Texas flood tragedy
As floodwaters rose in the early hours of the morning, the sisters texted their parents, RJ Harber and Annie Harber: “I love you.” The messages were received just before the girls were swept away by the flood.
A similar message was also sent to their maternal grandfather in Michigan, a heartbreaking final act of love and connection.
Later that morning, after being unable to reach their daughters’ cabin due to the raging current, RJ and Annie checked their phones and found the texts. The discovery came after a desperate rescue attempt, during which RJ tried to kayak through the floodwaters but was forced to turn back.
The parents had been staying in a nearby cabin when they awoke to the sound of rushing water. Their cabin had begun to flood, forcing them to escape by smashing a window and crawling out into rising waters. Realizing their daughters were in danger, they attempted to reach the girls' cabin, but the current made it impossible.
Sisters found holding hands with rosaries as search continues for missing grandparents
The bodies of the sisters were discovered on the afternoon of Saturday, July 5, approximately 12 hours after the flash floods in Kerrville, 15 miles from the cabin.
“When they were found, their hands were locked together,” a family member wrote in a crowdfunding post, adding that the girls had their rosaries with them.
A GoFundMe campaign launched in the family’s name raised over $275,485 by the afternoon of Tuesday, July 8.
Blair was in eighth grade and described by her father as “a gifted student” with “a generous kind heart.” Brooke, in sixth grade, was “a light in any room,” he added. “People gravitated to her and she made them laugh and enjoy the moment.”
The Harber girls were described as deeply faithful, and their rosaries were a testament to that, even in their final moments.
Mike Harber and Charlene Harber, who had been staying with the girls in a larger cabin loaned to them by neighbors, have not been found. They were in the cabin when it was swept away by the floodwaters.
RJ’s sister, Jennifer, wrote in a family update that the Harbers believed the larger space would be more comfortable for their granddaughters during the vacation. That decision ended in tragedy.
