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Texts Among Kerr County Officials Show Confusion About Missing Campers During July 4 Floods
Newly released texts reveal officials struggled with sparse and conflicting information during the flood that killed 119 people, with over 20% of deaths at Camp Mystic.
- On July 4, newly obtained texts show confusion among Kerr County Sheriff’s Office leaders as early 911 calls at 2:52 a.m. and 3:57 a.m. warned of flooding, and the COMMAND CHAT text thread began.
- A debris-filled surge pushed the Guadalupe River above 35 feet, making roads and bridges extremely dangerous while officials issued a Code Red alert and faced phone and cell outages at Camp Mystic.
- Emergency leaders launched a COMMAND CHAT that reached 1,113 users, with Chad Matlock reporting helicopters en route and airborne while Capt. Clint Massingill requested rescue status and more aircraft.
- At Camp Mystic, the camp lost 25 campers, two counselors, and Dick Eastland, while officials planned to evacuate roughly 200 girls and reunite them with parents.
- Leaders disagreed over operational priorities as Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly testified he slept through early hours and emailed the emergency coordinator at 6:27 a.m., while officials received sparse, sometimes contradictory information amid pressure from Gov. Greg Abbott and Gov. Dan Patrick.
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14 Articles
14 Articles
Coverage Details
Total News Sources14
Leaning Left1Leaning Right0Center10Last UpdatedBias Distribution91% Center
Bias Distribution
- 91% of the sources are Center
91% Center
C 91%
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