Young sisters, beloved grandma and dedicated camp director among Texas flooding victims

CBC

8 hours ago

A small-town grandmother who disappeared on her way to work. A beloved director of a Texas summer camp for girls. An Alabama elementary student away from home. These are a few of the dozens of victims lost in devastating flooding in Texas.
The flooding in central Texas originated from the fast-moving waters of the Guadalupe River on Friday, killing nearly 70 people, including 21 children.
Authorities say search-and-rescue efforts are still underway, including for campers missing from a summer camp for girls.
Tanya Burwick
The last time Tanya Burwick's family heard from her was a frantic phone call about the floodwaters as she headed to work at a Walmart early Friday in the San Angelo area. When Burwick didn't show up for work, her employer filed a missing persons report and sent a colleague to look for her.
Police investigating the 62-year-old's disappearance found Burwick's unoccupied SUV fully submerged later that day. Her body was found the next morning blocks from the vehicle.
"She lit up the room and had a laugh that made other people laugh," said Lindsey Burwick, who added that her mom was a beloved parent, grandparent and colleague to many.
She and her brother Zac said the day was especially difficult because it happened on the Fourth of July as they were working at a fireworks stand that's been in the family for generations.
As word of Tanya Burwick's disappearance spread, people from Blackwell, a small community of about 250 people, showed up to the stand that's run out of a trailer painted orange.
"People came to our aid," Lindsey Burwick said.
Police in San Angelo said more than 12,000 houses, barns and other buildings have been affected by the floods in the community of roughly 100,000 people.
"We ask that the public continue to keep the Burwick family in their thoughts and prayers as they navigate this heartbreaking tragedy," the San Angelo Police Department said in a Facebook post.
Jane Ragsdale
Jane Ragsdale, 68, devoted her life to the Heart O' the Hills Camp, a summer camp for girls in Texas Hill Country. She was a camper and counsellor there herself in the 1970s before becoming a co-owner. By the 1980s, she was director of the camp in Hunt, Texas.
"She was the heart of The Heart," the camp said in a statement. "She was our guiding light, our example, and our safe place. She had the rare gift of making every person feel seen, loved, and important."
Since the camp was between sessions, no children were staying there when the floodwaters rose. The camp's facilities, directly in the path of the flood, were extensively damaged and access to the site remained difficult, according to camp officials. The camp has been in existence since the 1950s.
Camp officials said Ragsdale would be remembered for her strength and wisdom.
"We are heartbroken. But above all, we are grateful," the camp said. "Grateful to have known her, to have learned from her, and to carry her light forward."
In a 2015 oral history for the Kerr County Historical Commission, Ragsdale, whose first name was Cynthie but who went by her middle name, Jane, talked about how her father was also a camp director and how much she enjoyed her experiences.
"I loved every minute of camp from the first time I stepped foot in one," she said.
Videos of Ragsdale strumming a guitar and singing to campers during a recent session were posted in a memorial on the camp's Facebook page: "Life is good today. So keep singing 'til we meet, again."
Sarah Marsh
Eight-year-old Sarah Marsh from Alabama had been attending Camp Mystic in Texas, a longtime Christian girls' camp in Hunt where several others were killed in the floods. As of Sunday, afternoon, 11 children were still missing.
Sarah was a student at Cherokee Bend Elementary in suburban Birmingham.
"This is an unimaginable loss for her family, her school, and our entire community," Mountain Brook Mayor Stewart Welch said in a Facebook post. "Sarah's passing is a sorrow shared by all of us, and our hearts are with those who knew and loved her."
He said the community — where about 20,000 people reside — would rally behind the Marsh family as they grieved.
Sarah's parents declined an interview request on Sunday "as they mourn this unbearable loss," the girl's grandmother, Debbie Ford Marsh, told The Associated Press in an email.
"We will always feel blessed to have had this beautiful spunky ray of light in our lives. She will live on in our hearts forever!" Marsh wrote on Facebook. "We love you so much, sweet Sarah!"
She declined further comment.
U.S. Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama also noted the girl's tragic death.
"We continue to pray for the victims' loved ones, the survivors, those who are still missing, and our brave first responders as search and rescue efforts continue in Texas," she said in a post on social media platform X.
Blair and Brooke Harber
Sisters Blair and Brooke Harber, both students at St. Rita Catholic School in Dallas, had been staying along the Guadalupe River when their cabin was swept away, according to the school.
Pastor Joshua J. Whitfield of St. Rita Catholic Community, which shares a campus with the school, said the girls' parents, Annie and RJ Harber, were staying in a different cabin and were safe. However, their grandparents were unaccounted for. Annie Harber has been a longtime teacher at the school.
Blair was headed into eighth grade, while Brooke was going into Grade 6.
"We will honor Blair and Brooke's lives, the light they shared, and the joy they brought to everyone who knew them," Whitfield wrote in a Saturday letter to parishioners. "And we will surround Annie, RJ, and their extended family with the strength and support of our St. Rita community."
The church held a special prayer service Saturday afternoon and offered counselling.
"Please keep the Harber family in your prayers during this time of profound grief," Whitfield wrote. "May our faith, our love, and our St. Rita community be a source of strength and comfort in the days ahead."