Texas floods: Faces of missing girls as hunt continues for children swept from summer camp

By Tim Hanlon

Texas floods: Faces of missing girls as hunt continues for children swept from summer camp

Up to 25 children remain missing from a girls camp after a devastating storm hit Texas with nearly a foot of rain falling and here are the faces of some of those still not found. A desperate search mission is underway to try and find people unaccounted for in Texas Hill Country with 24 people now confirmed dead . The total number of missing is not known but authorities said between 23 and 25 of them were girls who had been attending Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp along the Guadalupe River. So far only nine-year-old Renee Smajstrla is confirmed to have died by her family with the youngster having been at Camp Mystic, in Hunt, which is around 80 miles northwest of San Antonio. Many relatives have been posting the names of their missing children online as they appeal to the public for information. Janie Hunt is one of the girls missing with her mother telling CNN: 鈥淲e are just praying.鈥 The mum of 9-year-old camper Lainey Landry said her missing daughter was 鈥渂rave and sweet,鈥 as she hoped to find good news. Eloise Peck, of Dallas, was in the same cabin as several friends who have also been reported missing, her parents told Fox 4 . Molly DeWitt is missing according to the the Facebook page of a family friend, Hadley Hanna, eight-years-old from Dallas, is among those unaccounted for said her mum Carrie Crossman Hann who received a call from the camp. Lainey Landry, nine from Houston, Kellyanne Lytal, Eloise Peck, Lila Bonner, Blakely McCrory and Greta Toranzo are other girls who have been reported as missing by local media. Renee’s heartbroken uncle Shawn shared an emotional tribute to his nine-year-old niece on Facebook and thanked emergency services for their work. He said: “Thank you to all our friends and family for all the prayers and outreach. “Renee has been found and while not the outcome we prayed for, the social media outreach likely assisted the first responders in helping to identify her so quickly. We are thankful she was with her friends and having the time of her life, as evidenced by this picture from yesterday. “She will forever be living her best life at Camp Mystic. Please continue to pray for the other families in Kerrville. We are now trying to make our way home from Italy to be with Michelle鈥檚 family.” The destructive force of the fast-rising waters just before dawn Friday washed out homes and swept away vehicles. There were hundreds of rescues around Kerr County, including at least 167 by helicopter, authorities said. 鈥淭he camp was completely destroyed,鈥 said Elinor Lester, 13, one of hundreds of campers at Camp Mystic. 鈥淎 helicopter landed and started taking people away. It was really scary.鈥

Read More…