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Father Of Missing Girl Searches For Daughter And Friends; Trump Says White House Working With Texas Officials On Flood Response; At Least 27 Dead, More Than 20 Missing In Texas Flash Flooding; Kerrville Residents Share What's Left Of Their Neighborhood. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired July 05, 2025 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[15:00:35]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

And we continue to follow major breaking news out of Central Texas. At this hour a massive and frantic search and rescue effort continues for dozens of people missing after flood waters swept through an area north of San Antonio on Friday. Among the missing are 27 girls from Camp Mystic, one of the many summer camps along the Guadalupe River.

These are the first images that we're seeing of the devastation to that camp after the flash flood raced through the century-old Christian summer camp. And this morning, another round of heavy rainfall triggered more flash flood emergencies in the region. And the rain threat? It's not over yet. So far hundreds have been rescued, including this person who was clinging to a light pole. Officials say at least 27 people have died, including nine children.

Among the fatalities, 9-year-old Janie Hunt. Her mother confirming to CNN today that the young girl who was among the two dozen missing from Camp Mystic has died. Jane Ragsdale also died in the flood. She was the director at another girl's camp, Heart of the Hills, which was not in session at the time. Ragsdale is described as the heart and soul of that camp.

And soon state, local, and federal officials will hold a press conference to update us on the search and rescue efforts. As we await for that to get started, let's turn to our team of correspondents and meteorologists covering these fast-moving developments.

Let's begin with CNN's Ed Lavandera in hard hit Hunt, Texas.

Ed, bring us up to speed there.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka. Well, clearly, many people hoping to get more news and perhaps some good news in the numbers of people that are missing and that perhaps some of those people have somehow been managed to have been found alive in this debris field that stretches for miles and miles from upriver from where we are in the Camp Mystic area, where more than two dozen young camper girls have been missing since early Friday morning all the way down river as other homes and RV parks and places close to the river have been wiped out by these devastating floods.

It's been really difficult to get a sense of just overall how many people are missing, but so far the death toll stands at at least 27. That number many people expect to continue changing. But, you know, this is the scene that so many people are dealing with. You see, just beyond that tree, there is a group of men, and we've seen that over and over. People who are coming out here searching through the areas, trying to lend a hand.

For many people, family and friends that they've heard that either have a child missing or a loved one missing. We came across a man from Beaumont. His name is Ty Badon. His 21-year-old daughter was here with three other friends, spending the July 4th weekend at a friend's house. They were on the phone with his daughter, one of the other friend's parents. And at 4:00 a.m., she told the parents that two of her friends had been swept away in the floodwaters. And then the phone call went dead.

Ty Badon has been out here walking up and down the Guadalupe River searching for his daughter. We found him because we heard his voice in the area that we were standing in, and we kept hearing someone call out, Joyce Kathryn, Joyce Kathryn. And that's when we met him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TY BADON, SEARCHING FOR MISSING DAUGHTER AND FRIENDS: We prayed that all four of them were still alive.

LAVANDERA: All four are missing.

BADON: Yes, yes, they're all missing. And, you know, it's been 4:00 yesterday morning that we were told that, you know, they were on the phone with Aidan's dad, who -- they owned the house where they were. It's a very nice house. No longer there. And Aidan said, hey, you know, I've got to go. I've got to help Ella and Breece. So he gave the phone to Joyce Kathryn, and Joyce Kathryn said they just got washed away. And then a few seconds later, the phone went dead.

And that's, that's all we know. So we presume that she got washed away as well. And if you go back to where the house is, it's not a good sign. And that's why I was telling you, my son and I are walking and I thought it was a mannequin.

[15:05:03]

It was a little boy about 8 or 10 years old, and he was dead. So we just --

LAVANDERA: You saw that this morning?

BADON: Yes. So we, you know, we're just walking and doing the same thing we were doing. Look, you know, when we stumbled across him, but hopefully we can find our children, our daughter and her friends, alive so, anyway, I ask you, if you would pray and whoever watches this thing, pray.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAVANDERA: It's hard for Mr. Badon to hold back the emotion as he walked up and down the river. He did, he did say that the one story that has been with him as he's been out there this morning with his wife and son, searching for Joyce Kathryn is that he remembered reading a story about -- a World War II story about a school that had been bombed, and a father who spent hours combing through the rubble. All the kids had been believed inside the school had been killed.

But this father combed through the rubble for hours and hours over and over until he finally found his son alive. He says he read that story years ago, and it has stuck with him. He tells me he hopes that today he can be that father. And he described his daughter as beautiful, the best daughter a father could ask for. So you can imagine the anguish that him and his family are enduring at this moment.

WHITFIELD: We all hope for him that he can be that dad, too.

All right, Ed Lavandera, thank you so much.

Let's go now to Betsy Klein, who is traveling with the president in New Jersey, where he's spending the day.

So what is the Trump administration saying that it's able to do?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, we are starting to see the first signs of a federal response here. And it's really all hands on deck between local, state and federal governments here. We are seeing FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as well as the Army Corps of Engineers, and the U.S. Coast Guard assisting with search, rescue and recovery efforts.

We've also learned that U.S. Border Patrol agents are coming to this area to assist in any way they can with their areas of expertise there. But President Trump has described this as a tragedy. He said it is shocking. And the U.S. promises to take care of Texas and work with Governor Greg Abbott.

We are going to hear in a short while from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who has arrived or is arriving shortly on site in Central Texas, along with Governor Abbott, Senator John Cornyn of Texas, as well as Congressman Chip Roy, among other local officials who are going to provide an update on what we are learning about the fatalities and the search and rescue efforts.

So far we know that 27 people are dead, including nine children, at least 27 campers are missing from Camp Mystic. Of course, it's really hard to know at this stage how many people indeed are missing. But we also heard from Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin about the state of search and rescue and recovery efforts. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRICIA MCLAUGHLIN, SPOKESPERSON, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY: Tragic situation. As you mentioned, Secretary Kristi Noem is on her way right now to Central Texas to make sure that the federal government is giving the state and local officials there every piece of resources that they need to make sure we help these Americans in crisis. We're praying for them.

We're working around the clock. Our U.S. Coast Guard officers, they were doing search and rescue efforts all of yesterday and throughout the night as well. We're sending our Border Patrol agents there as extra backup, but we continue to pray, and we won't stop until we get Americans out of crisis.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KLEIN: Now, Secretary Noem also says that the U.S. Coast Guard has saved or assisted in saving 223 lives so far. We expect that number to continue to grow, and all of this comes as President Trump has been critical of FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He says he plans to phase out that agency at the end of the coming hurricane season.

He wants to shift responsibility back to state and local governments, and separately, the so-called big beautiful bill that the president signed into law just yesterday does make cuts or even closes some weather research laboratories that are vital to forecasting and improving forecasts. We need better data to better forecast these kinds of weather events. The tools they use to collect that data so far are experiencing cuts.

But the White House, of course, continuing to closely monitor this tragic, tragic flooding. The president said in a post to social media, quote, "The Trump administration is working with state and local officials on the ground in Texas in response to the tragic flooding that took place yesterday." He goes on to say, "Melania and I are praying for all the families impacted by this horrible tragedy."

[15:10:04]

JD Vance, the vice president, also calls it an incomprehensible tragedy. I think that is the right phrase to be using -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Yes, indeed. All right, Betsy Klein, thank you so much.

And while the search for survivors continues, CNN meteorologist Chris Warren breaks down how much rain has already inundated the area and what the remaining threats are.

CHRIS WARREN, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Fredricka, this is the amount of rain that came mainly in hours. But from Thursday through Friday, more than a summer's worth of rain for these areas falling here, and that would be in the orange to the red area. And it's not just that a couple areas had that sum up to around a foot of rain, the fact that so many counties had that amount of water draining into one drainage basin, into the Guadalupe River, creating catastrophic scene and results that we saw.

As far as the rain goes and the threat for more. we are expecting more showers, more thunderstorms. We've been tracking active flash flood warnings throughout the day and the threat is not over. Still seeing more showers with the rain picking up again tomorrow morning and lasting here and there. So more scattered about, showers and thunderstorms throughout the day on Sunday before things considerably dry out late on Sunday and into Monday -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Chris Warren, thanks so much.

We continue to watch the live pictures out of Texas, where at any moment now, state and local officials are set to give an update on the flooding there. Plus.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JERRY ADAMS, FLOOD SURVIVOR: This whole thing was just water and trash and everything going down the road. And I stopped and I just, you know, I had to pinch myself to make sure I was still awake, I guess. But I just couldn't believe the destruction.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Locals in Kerrville are sharing harrowing stories of survival. More on what they told CNN, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:16:36]

WHITFIELD: All right, now to more coverage of the deadly floods in Central Texas. A major search and rescue mission is underway right now. Crews are racing to locate dozens of people who have been missing since the floodwaters from torrential rain inundated communities north of San Antonio.

At least 27 people, including nine children, have died. And still unclear at this hour, the fate of 27 girls who were attending Camp Mystic, one of many summer camps located along the flooded Guadalupe River.

These are some of the first images now that we're seeing of the devastation of that camp, Mystic Camp, after floodwaters swept through. You can see from the debris field there and the stains on the walls how high the water may have gotten there.

Let's discuss the ongoing search for survivors now with Jason Pack. He's a first responder and a former FBI supervisory special agent.

Jason, great to see you. I mean, this is becoming kind of a needle in a haystack kind of search now because we're hearing the descriptions of how -- just how vast the kinds of trees that were pushed and buildings that were decimated. So what kind of resources do you think are being brought in now? We're talking about nearly two days of searching after this flash flooding.

JASON PACK, FORMER FBI SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT: Good afternoon, Fredricka. The resources are going to be unlimited. And whatever the state of Texas needs will be available. You heard earlier from the leadership there, they have multiple resources there. You have federal, state and local resources. Those folks have been searching for quite some time. And so you're going to not be able to send them home, because when you're in the middle of an emergency, nobody wants to go home, but they're going to be tired and they're going to need backfill.

So I think the Texas Department of Emergency Management is planning with that. Planning for those contingencies, along with the local emergency management offices in each of these communities. You don't really hear much about emergency management in your communities until things like this happen. And they're really an important part of the emergency services community.

WHITFIELD: I mean, these rescues have been remarkable. Those that we're hearing about from kids being rescued out of trees. There have been nighttime searches. We saw images of someone who was clinging to a light pole, actually, there's the image right there. And then now the use of airboats as well.

You know, talk to me about the kinds of coordination now that will take place between state, local, federal. We even know that there are volunteer groups. We spoke with, volunteer group earlier about how they are trying to assist. How do you coordinate all of these assets?

PACK: Well, they'll set up a joint operations center in many of these disasters. They start in the local level and you have a forward command post, and you'll see those likely. Those are some of the things you probably see in your B-roll. But separate from that, there is a center called a joint operations center, where members from all these departments will get together and they'll take in information from the community about who's missing and what resources they need.

They'll task that out locally. And if they don't have those resources locally, that's where they'll go up to the state of Texas Office of Emergency Management and get those resources to come in. And then separately, the federal resources, we've heard about the Corps of Engineers. They always deal with the water.

[15:20:02]

When I worked at FEMA, we worked closely with them. You've got the Coast Guard, the Border Patrol, all of those folks have air assets and ground search capabilities.

And Fredricka, as any first responder will tell you, when there's a child involved, you don't want one child, but now we're working on more than 20 something here, so nobody is going to give up. And they're going to do everything they can to get out there and find what happened and find those missing kids. Just horrific.

WHITFIELD: And -- yes, it is horrific. And obviously, even because of, you know, roads are impassable, you know, it's difficult to get to a variety of locations here. And now you've got the weather that is also very volatile. It's overcast, but our meteorologist is, you know, forecasting there's still more rain on the way. Explain to me the kind of modifications that have to be made on the dime. You know, pivoting from one approach to try and conduct search and rescues to then having to make some changes.

PACK: Well, as part of every operational briefing, there is a weather forecast that comes out in the morning. So first responders kind of get an update about what the weather is going to be like those days. And you're right, sometimes you have to shift from air operations. If it's raining or you can't see or there's no way to get a helicopter up, or maybe there are drones. So you also have to coordinate that carefully because you have a lot of air assets in the air.

You want to make sure that people are dividing that off into grids and searching it very thoroughly and making sure they're not leaving any stone unturned. Definitely a monumental task for the rescuers out there.

WHITFIELD: Yes. And this is all risky operations that are taking place because of the volatility of the conditions, the coordination, like you say, et cetera. What are, you know, ways in which to avert or manage any kinds of injuries that take place involving the rescue teams? Because these are treacherous conditions.

PACK: That's right. And, you know, here in East Tennessee and Western North Carolina, we just made it through Helene several months ago. Some of these very same water rescue stories, minus the 20 something children were just paramount up here. And you heard stories of survival. And so one thing rescue folks will tell you, as long as there's hope, they never give up on hope. So they're going to keep going until every inch has been searched and every effort has been made.

WHITFIELD: Jason, what do you -- what are you watching in, you know, what we're learning about these rescue search missions? What do you -- what are you hoping for or looking for?

PACK: Well, in some of the social media posts locally there you see these -- just these very, very heart-wrenching posts about where is my son, daughter, mom, child. And that reminds me of 9/11 when I was working at Ground Zero up there. People would just come up to you with fliers and say, where is my loved one? This is not to that scale, but it's very heartbreaking in any, you know, any kind of situation like that is very, very serious.

And so it's just a reminder that there's men and women in these communities that day in and day out, you don't really know of or you don't hear about, but they're going to do what they can and they're going to treat it like it's their child, Fredricka. They're going to be like it's their child that they're looking for. And I guarantee you, the spirit of Texas will prevail here.

WHITFIELD: All right, Jason Pack, thank you so much.

PACK: Thanks, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: At any moment now, officials in Texas are set to hold that press conference as officials urgently search for dozens of young girls among the missing. Those girls all being associated with a singular local summer camp. We'll take you there as it happens.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:28:10]

WHITFIELD: Welcome back. We continue to look at this breaking news coming out of Central Texas. At least 18 adults and nine children have died in flash flooding. Dozens of people are missing, and a desperate search is underway looking for any survivors. Among the missing 27 girls from Camp Mystic, one of the many summer camps in an area north of San Antonio along the Guadalupe River.

Images here showing the level of devastation to the Christian summer camp after the flash flood raced through. So far more than 850 people have been rescued or evacuated from the area, and we're now awaiting a press conference to get underway where both federal as well as state authorities will be in attendance. We'll bring that to you as it happens.

You're looking at one of the rescue missions that happened earlier. Someone was clinging to a telephone pole there, and those in that raft were able to rescue that person. It's been like this, a lot of rescues taking place upwards of 400 or so rescues that have taken place since Thursday.

We're also hearing from people who managed to survive the flooding, and those who were lucky enough to be on higher ground.

Earlier CNN's Ed Lavandera spoke with one of those residents.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA: Jerry, just walk me through what the -- what this was like, this experience like for you.

ADAMS: It was, it was just unbelievable. Like I say, I got up at 3:30 and started just to come see what was going on. And as far as I got was right up there about probably 100 yards up there. And this whole thing was just water and trash and everything going down the road. And I stopped and I just, you know, I had to pinch myself to make sure I was still awake, I guess.

[15:30:04]

But I just couldn't believe the destruction. And we ran around here for a while trying to see what needed to be done. And there was a girl that worked here at the hunt store that lived upstairs, and she said that she heard something, and she walked over there and opened her door upstairs. And there was the water.

LAVANDERA: Wow.

ADAMS: And so she got out her and her daughter and her dog and got on the roof. And she was up here on the roof, and I was down here, and I guess it was nearly daylight. And somebody asked me, somebody else had showed up and said, do you have a ladder? And I said, yes. So I ran and got a ladder and got her off the roof.

LAVANDERA: When you got down here and you saw what was happening, did you know that this was going to be as deadly and as horrific as it -- as we've learned?

ADAMS: Kind of, probably had a pretty good idea because like I say, I've seen water up to the road right there, but I've never seen it 36 feet, you know.

LAVANDERA: So we would have been well under water here.

ADAMS: Oh, yes. Yes, we'd have been -- the water level was right at the roof right there.

LAVANDERA: Wow.

ADAMS: That's where the water level was.

LAVANDERA: And it's hard as we stand here, it's really hard to have people understand just if the water is this high, we were, what, about 100 yards from the river?

ADAMS: Oh, yes. That's a lot of water.

LAVANDERA: It's a devastating amount of water.

ADAMS: It is. And it just, like I say, it's just unbelievable. And I feel so far sorry for the people that have lost houses and, well, especially family members and kids at camp and whatnot, you know, and it's just, it's pretty much shut down the whole, the whole community. And, you know, this was the lifeblood of this community with the camps and crowders and all that. You know, during the summer months, you know.

And I mean, that was everybody's bread and butter and it's just, now it's just, it's nothing. And it's going to be -- I'm going to guess it's going to take two or three years before this thing ever gets back to where it kind of was. You know, it's never going to be the way it really was. But it's going to take a lot of time and a lot of effort and a lot of praying to get this thing back.

LAVANDERA: Yes. Yes. You were telling me that you came down here to the river, and you actually saw a young boy sitting in a tree?

ADAMS: Yes, he was down there hunkered down on the root of a tree down there, and had a pair of shorts on, and that was about it. And you could tell he was freezing to death. But, pardon me. And everybody was saying, let's get him out. And I kept telling him, I said, no, just leave him alone. Because if you try to go out there and get him, you're going to get somebody else in a bind and get hurt or drown, or I said, just leave him alone. The water will go down eventually and you can walk over there and get him or safely go get him, you know.

LAVANDERA: Right. Do you think he had been swept away in the water and had grabbed onto the tree, or what?

ADAMS: He came up in (INAUDIBLE), which is about six miles up here.

LAVANDERA: Wait a second. The boy that you saw in the tree lived six miles away.

ADAMS: Yes.

LAVANDERA: So he got blown down through the floodwaters.

ADAMS: How the heck he stayed above water and got here alive, I, you know, only God can tell you that. Pardon me.

LAVANDERA: Yes.

ADAMS: But he -- and I saw him yesterday afternoon. I went up to the guy's house, and sure enough, that kid was there.

LAVANDERA: How old was he?

ADAMS: Oh, he probably. Well, 14, maybe.

LAVANDERA: OK.

ADAMS: Fifteen, something like that.

LAVANDERA: What was his demeanor like?

ADAMS: He was fine. I mean, he's kind of scratched up and whatnot, but he was, he was, otherwise he was in good shape, you know, so but he --

LAVANDERA: I can't even wrap my head around that.

ADAMS: I mean, like I say, just to sit there for hours, you know, until it was safely could go get him, you know?

LAVANDERA: Right.

ADAMS: Everybody was like, I say, everybody was wanting to do something. I said, no, don't because I've seen that happen. I've seen them.

LAVANDERA: Was he high in a tree?

ADAMS: No, he was down just right, probably right about where the water line was at that time.

LAVANDERA: OK. You think he'd made his way down?

ADAMS: It was down, you know, down there.

LAVANDERA: But he was way out there in the river.

ADAMS: Yes. I could take you and show you where he was, but.

LAVANDERA: Yes, we'll do that in a second. But you've also seen some -- the tragic side of all of this. You've seen some of the victims who were washed away up here. ADAMS: Yes. There's -- I'm not sure what the count is, but there's

going to be some fatalities. I know they found one little girl here behind the store that came from, I think somewhere up there. I'm not exactly sure where, but it was several miles.

LAVANDERA: Possibly Camp Mystic?

ADAMS: I don't, I don't think you -- I think it was a family that was at, there was a deal up here called Casa Bonita. Had a bunch of little houses.

LAVANDERA: Got it.

[15:35:02]

ADAMS: And it's completely gone. And I think they may have been in one of those.

LAVANDERA: Got it. Got it. So just with family for the weekend or something.

ADAMS: I think maybe the family was going, too, but I'm not -- don't quote me on that. I'm not sure.

LAVANDERA: But you've seen several of the victims' bodies.

ADAMS: Well, a couple of them. Yes.

LAVANDERA: Yes.

ADAMS: I mean, you know, where they said, like I didn't see this one, but I saw one down here by the road the other day that they had covered up waiting for the coroner or somebody to come pick it up, you know.

LAVANDERA: I'm sorry you've had to see all that. That's --

ADAMS: It's just, you know, it's just sad. It's just really sad for the community. And I'm sorry. I just -- I try not to do that, but.

LAVANDERA: No, man, totally understandable. Real.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Yes. Very sad and very unbelievable. That was Ed Lavandera reporting.

Much more straight ahead on the devastation in Texas. A desperate search is underway for dozens of people missing as residents share more of their incredible stories of survival.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT WALDEN, NEIGHBORS' HOUSE SWEPT AWAY: We got washed down three houses and we finally ended up snagged on a, on a big bush. So we hung onto the bush until we got rescued. (END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:41:01]

WHITFIELD: All right. The latest now on our breaking news out of Central Texas. At least 27 people, including nine children, are dead after torrential rain triggered a flash flood in Kerr County, Texas. Officials say more than 25 girls staying at summer camp in the area are still missing.

Let's go live to CNN correspondent Marybel Gonzalez, who is near the floodwaters in Ingram, Texas.

Marybel, what are you hearing and seeing there?

MARYBEL GONZALEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka. Well, there's definitely a sense of urgency here in this community. We were here outside of the Ingram Elementary School. Now this was a reunification center yesterday. This is where we saw dozens of families lining up, hoping to be reunited with their missing loved ones. But today it is serving as a donation center.

We've seen multiple people stopping by, dropping off the basic needs, as you see behind us, water and any sort of things that you would need during a disaster like this one. Now, as you mentioned, 27 people have died and nine of those people are children. This was a massive destruction here in this community, especially when you factor in, Fredricka, how quickly that water came in.

Parts of Central Texas received more than a month's worth of rain in just a matter of two hours. But we have heard that those search and rescue efforts are now underway. Local officials here were hesitant to give an exact number of how many people are still unaccounted for, but the local sheriff said that they are not going to stop until they find every single person that is missing.

WHITFIELD: And then, Marybel, has there been an update from, you know, first responders about rescue and search efforts, whether they run into, you know, a lot of obstacles when looking for these missing girls, for example?

GONZALEZ: Yes, Fredricka, that is one of the challenges that so many of these rescue teams are facing right now. We know that there's over a thousand federal, state and local rescue members trying to get to everybody that needs help. We have unfortunately heard that as of this morning, actually just hours ago, we were able to confirm with some of the family members of those girls at the camp.

We know that at least three of those young girls have passed away. More than 20 of these campers are still unaccounted for. Now, the camp, Camp Mystic, where this all happened, it is located right along the Guadalupe River, and we know that it rose more than 20 feet in just a matter of hours. So the waters came and they came very, very quickly, not giving enough people to get out to safety in time. And one of the things, Fredricka, that we heard from a group of

volunteers, in fact, is that one young girl was found alive after being swept 12 miles downstream, and she survived by clinging on to a tree. So all hands are on deck right now, Fredricka, to try to get to those young girls who are still unaccounted for and the families that are so desperately searching for them.

WHITFIELD: All right. Quite unbelievable.

Marybel Gonzalez, thank you so much.

So deadly flooding, it's not the only weather threat this weekend. More on the tropical storm brewing off the Carolina coast next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:48:55]

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back. The violence of that flooding in Texas is especially evident in the town of Kerrville. It is where a house was swept away. And it's not even known if the occupants survived.

Sarah Acosta of CNN San Antonio affiliate KSAT shows us the devastating aftermath.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARAH ACOSTA, KSAT REPORTER: This home floated about the length of a football field down the Guadalupe River when the flash flood rose quickly into the homes on Waterfront Drive in Kerrville along Bandera Highway and Loop 534.

And this is what's left of that home, completely leveled by the river behind it. And the neighbors tell us they fear that the people who lived here may have not survived. And we spoke with the people who live next door, and they walk us through what happened.

WALDEN: I had no idea that something like this could happen. And then, holy (EXPLETIVE DELETED), stuff started to hit the walls. And my wife jumped up and looked out the back porch. And it was a river.

ACOSTA: Scott Walden and his wife say the water came in so fast there was no time to evacuate.

WALDEN: By the time I went to get my keys to move my truck out of the way, to just back up across the street, the water had risen and flooded my truck.

[15:50:05]

The water got up there in the door about this high, and I looked at my wife and it was like, we need to get out of here.

ACOSTA: That water too strong and fast, sweeping them down the river. WALDEN: We went ahead and jumped out and we got washed down three

houses, and we finally ended up snagged on a on a big bush. So we hung onto the bush until we got rescued.

ACOSTA: They hung on to a crape myrtle tree for about 30 minutes before they were rescued by police officers, who formed a human chain.

WALDEN: We were kind of going, we hope this isn't it.

ACOSTA: Walden says they are grateful to be alive, saying his destroyed home and cars are just material things.

WALDEN: This is just stuff.

ACOSTA: Neighbor Irma Cantu says they live a couple of houses over fortunate their home is safe and they were able to evacuate quick enough. Feeling overwhelmed.

IRMA CANTU, NEIGHBORS' HOUSE SWEPT AWAY: A feeling of sadness because, I mean, even the people that were here weren't expecting this to happen.

ACOSTA: As they pick up the pieces and continue to look for neighbors and loved ones, she hopes it's a time where the community can stand strong.

CANTU: Helping each other is, this is when we need to come together and help each out.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Our thanks to Sarah Acosta of KSAT for that report.

All right. More dangerous weather is brewing now near the South Carolina coast. A tropical depression has officially been upgraded to a tropical storm Chantal.

CNN meteorologist Chris Warren has more on what we might expect from the system.

WARREN: We did see this system become a tropical storm during this morning, as this storm has gotten much better organized and it will be moving on shore tonight into early Sunday. And with that, there will be a lot of rain. Potential is there for flash flooding, but also expecting tropical storm force winds. Could see winds around 50 miles an hour by morning on Sunday, and then the rain and showers continue to work up the East Coast.

And as it does work up the East Coast, we are going to be seeing some of the heavier rain move into the northeast. But before that, for the rest of today and into tomorrow at the beaches, going to see some rough surf. Also some rip currents, a possibility. And again that threat, Fredricka, for more flash flooding exists right into tomorrow.

WHITFIELD: All right. Chris Warren, thanks so much. All right. At any moment, officials in Texas are set to hold a press

conference in that room right there as officials urgently search for dozens of young girls missing from a local summer camp in Central Texas. We'll take you there as it happens.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:57:21]

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back. As search teams desperately look for those still missing, some family members are taking up their own search.

Earlier, CNN's Ed Lavandera spoke with one man who was looking for his daughter and her friends.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAVANDERA: All four are missing?

BADON: Yes, yes, they're all missing. And, you know, it's been 4:00 yesterday morning that we were told that, you know, they were on the phone with Aiden's dad, who they own the house where it was a very nice house, no longer there. And Aiden said, hey, you know, I've got to go. I've got to help Ella and Reese. So he gave the phone to Joyce Kathryn. Joyce Kathryn said they just got washed away. And then a few seconds later, the phone went dead. And that's all we know.

So we presume that she got washed away as well. And if you go back to where the house is, it's, it's not a good sign. And that's why I was telling you, my son and I were walking, and I thought it was a mannequin. It was a little boy about 8 or 10 years old. And he was dead. So we just --

LAVANDERA: You saw that this morning?

BADON: Yes. So we, you know, we're just walking and doing the same thing we were doing. Look, you know, we stumbled across him, but hopefully we can find our children, our daughter and her friends alive so, anyway, I ask you if you would pray and whoever watches this thing, pray. We got together and picked up our son and came over here. And we waited around at a center and God bless them, they're doing a great job.

It's in Ingram, Texas, at the elementary school, and they're kind of like the place where all the survivors are brought. And we were hoping that we would hear our daughter and friends' names call, but they never did call. So we said this morning, we're going to come out and try to find them ourselves.

LAVANDERA: I mean, you're walking through this mess hoping for a miracle.

BADON: Amen. Keep the faith. It's all we can do. So that's all I got, Ed. Thank you.

LAVANDERA: Can you tell us about your daughter?

BADON: Yes. She's a beautiful girl. And I think I sent you a picture. Just a wonderful girl. And couldn't ask for a better daughter. All through school just easy, you know. No, no shenanigans or anything like that. I mean, she was a normal girl. We would have fun. But, yes, we loved her dearly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)