KERRVILLE, Texas — Several hundred people gathered for a worship ceremony at a high school stadium in Texas on Wednesday evening to remember the at least 121 people who died in the catastrophic flash floods over the July Fourth holiday, as well the many still missing.
“Our communities were struck with tragedy literally in the darkness,” Wyatt Wentrcek, a local youth minister, told the crowd in the bleachers of Tivy Antler Stadium in Kerrville. “Middle of the night.”
During a series of prayers for the victims and the more than 160 people still believed to be missing in hard-hit Kerr County, which includes Kerrville, people in the crowd clutched one another and brushed away tears.
Many attendees wore blue shirts with the school’s slogan, “Tivy Fight Never Die,” or green ribbons for Camp Mystic, the century-old all-girls Christian summer camp in Kerr County where at least 27 campers and counselors died. Officials said five campers and one counselor have still not been found.
Ricky Pruitt, with the Kerrville Church of Christ, told the crowd that they gathered intentionally at a place where they had celebrated victories and experienced losses on the field.
“Tonight is very different than all of those nights,” he said.
The event was held as search crews and volunteers continued to scour miles along the Guadalupe River for the people still missing.
In air boats, helicopters and on horseback, crews looked in trees and mounds below their feet, while search dogs sniffed for any sign of buried bodies. With almost no hope of finding anyone alive, searchers said they were focused on bringing the families of the missing people some closure.
Jonathan Lamb, a spokesperson for the Kerrville Police Department, said at a Thursday morning news conference that the number of dead found in Kerr County rose to 96, bringing the total deaths across Texas to 121. He said 161 people remain missing, and that of the dead, 60 were adults and 36 were children.
Five campers and one counselor from Camp Mystic remain among the missing, Lamb said.
The floods are now the deadliest from inland flooding in the U.S. since 1976, when Colorado’s Big Thompson Canyon flooded, killing 144 people, said Bob Henson, a meteorologist with Yale Climate Connections.
Questions about the number missing
Officials have been seeking more information about those who were in the Hill Country, a popular tourist destination, during the holiday weekend but did not register at a camp or a hotel and may have been in the area without many people knowing, Gov. Greg Abbott has said.
He had a firm message for anyone contacting police about a missing person.
“If you make a prank call or provide false information, that’s a crime. ... So you better be correct,” the governor said.
But that missing person tally might not be as precise as it seems.
Confusion and uncertainty can take hold after a shocking disaster and, despite best efforts by local authorities, it can be difficult to pin down how many people reported missing are actually unaccounted for. Some people on a list after California’s Camp Fire wildfire in 2018 were later found to be OK the whole time. The death count in the 2023 Maui fire was 102, far below the 1,100 people initially feared missing.
In Texas, several hundred people were reported missing to officials in Kerr County after the Fourth of July floods, said Freeman Martin, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety. Investigators whittled that number down to 161 by Tuesday after learning that some were counted twice and others were found alive.
“There’s nothing to celebrate about how well we’ve done this far, but there’s a lot of work to be done,” Martin said.
Public officials in the area have come under repeated criticism amid questions about the timeline of what happened and why widespread warnings were not sounded and more preparations were not made.
Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha has said those questions will be answered, but the focus now is on recovering victims.
Special legislative session
The governor called on state lawmakers to approve new flood warning systems and strengthen emergency communications in flood prone areas throughout the state when the Legislature meets in a special session that Abbott had already called to address other issues starting July 21. Abbott also called on lawmakers to provide financial relief for response and recovery efforts from the storms.
“We must ensure better preparation for such events in the future,” Abbott said in a statement.
Local leaders have talked for years about the need for a flood warning system, but concerns about costs and noise led to missed opportunities to put up sirens.
President Donald Trump has pledged to provide whatever relief Texas needs to recover, and is planning to visit the state Friday.
Polls taken before the floods show Americans largely believe the federal government should play a major role in preparing for and responding to natural disasters.
Catastrophic flooding is a growing worry. On Tuesday, a deluge in New Mexico triggered flash floods that killed three people.
Although it’s difficult to attribute a single weather event to climate change, experts say a warming atmosphere and oceans make these type of storms more likely.
After the ceremony in Kerrville on Wednesday, children and families mingled on the field, and some students formed prayer circles. Licensed counselors and therapists were also on hand to meet with people.
Andrew Brown, who was at the vigil to honor a Tivy High School soccer coach who died in the flooding, said he believes a warning system with a siren would be helpful.
“I’m sure there are things that could have been different, and I’m sure there will be going forward,” he said.
David Garza said he drove an hour and a half to the stadium to provide support for loved ones affected by the floods.
“I’m from here, and I was here in the ’78 flood and the ’87 flood,” Garza said. “I just wanted to be a part of this.”
By NADIA LATHAN, SEAN MURPHY, HALLIE GOLDEN and ED WHITE, The Associated Press
Associated Press writers John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, Jim Vertuno in Austin, Texas, and John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas, contributed to this report.