logo
CNN anchor who attended Camp Mystic as a kid ‘overwhelmed with emotion' as she returns to cover deadly Texas floods

CNN anchor who attended Camp Mystic as a kid ‘overwhelmed with emotion' as she returns to cover deadly Texas floods

New York Posta day ago
A CNN reporter shared on air how 'surreal' it has been for her to cover the devastation at a 'magical place' like Camp Mystic after attending the Texas camp herself as a young girl.
Pamela Brown, CNN's chief investigative correspondent, shared her fond memories of the camp that was ravaged by Friday's floods during a live broadcast in an emotional off-the-cuff moment.
3 CNN correspondent reflected on her fond memories as a little girl when she was a camper at Camp Mystic.
CNN
'It's surreal coming back here 30 years later. I was a 10-year old little camper here filled with so much hope and joy,' Brown said during a discussion with an anchor. 'I remember the excitement and anticipation of coming to Camp Mystic.'
She explained how hard it was to wrap her head around how a river that is the source of such fond memories for her and other former campers could be the source of so much unspeakable tragedy.
'It's such a magical place, now all these girls – these sweet young campers – who had to evacuate and their families,' she said. 'So much innocence has now been lost.'
Brown, along with the press corps from around the country and the world, have descended upon Texas Hill Country after a once-in-a-generation catastrophic flood devastated the area Friday, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake, including Camp Mystic, an historic all-girl Christian camp that catered to Texas's elite.
3 CNN correspondent Pamela Brown said that with the devastation caused by the flooding so much innocence has been lost.
Pamela Brown/Instagram
At least five girls from the camp have been confirmed dead — all ages 8 and 9 — and 10 others are still missing.
The death toll from Friday morning's calamitous flooding rose to at least 80 across Texas on Sunday evening, with 68 of the deaths in Kerr County, where Camp Mystic's two campuses once stood.
'For me coming back I'm overwhelmed with emotion and I'm overwhelmed with memories,' Brown said. 'I can't get over looking at those cabins right next to the Guadalupe River, that river was the source of so much joy.'
She and her fellow campers loved to play games in the river.
'There was this thing called The Blob, which was like this inflated balloon type thing that we would jump on and then the person at the end would jump off into the water and it was so much fun,' she reminisced.
3 CNN correspondent Pamela Brown recounted how she and her fellow campers would look for dinosaur fossils in the Guadalupe River.
Pamela Brown/Instagram
Brown recounted how she and her fellow campers spent much of their time frolicking in the river, and even hunted for dinosaur fossils.
'Thats what we loved. And to think that that same river is the source of this devastation,' she added.
Brown is a multi award-winning CNN anchor and chief investigative correspondent, who currently anchors The Situation Room, according to her bio on the CNN website.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Teen counselor killed after Texas flood tore through Christian camp ‘she loved so dearly' had heartbreaking wish for summer
Teen counselor killed after Texas flood tore through Christian camp ‘she loved so dearly' had heartbreaking wish for summer

New York Post

time31 minutes ago

  • New York Post

Teen counselor killed after Texas flood tore through Christian camp ‘she loved so dearly' had heartbreaking wish for summer

A teen counselor who was excited about spending the summer 'loving and mentoring' her young charges was among the girls killed when historic flash flooding swept through a Texas Christian camp over the weekend, her devastated family revealed Monday. Chloe Childress, 19, and at least 26 other campers and counselors from Camp Mystic — an all-girls summer camp in Hunt — died when the Guadalupe River rose 26 feet in less than an hour early Friday morning, killing at least 82 people in the surrounding community. 'Returning as a counselor to the place she loved so dearly, Chloe was looking forward to dedicating her summer days to loving and mentoring young girls at Camp Mystic,' her heartbroken family said in a statement. The Houston teen, who had arrived at the camp just days before, 'lived a beautiful life that saturated those around her with contagious joy, unending grace, and abiding faith,' they added. 4 Chloe Childress, a Camp Mystic counselor, was killed in this weekend's historic flooding in Texas. VSCO/Chloe Childress 4 Childress was planning to attend the University of Texas at Austin this fall. VSCO/Chloe Childress 'While we know that her joy is now eternal and her faith has become sight, our hearts are shattered by this loss and the similar heartbreak of other families like ours.' Childress was the co-president of the honor council at The Kinkaid School, her high school, ran varsity cross country and founded a club devoted to helping senior citizens, according to her LinkedIn profile. The recent graduate 'lost her life upholding this selfless and fierce commitment to others,' Head of School Jonathan Eades said in a statement, according to ABC News. 'A loyal and beloved friend to all who knew her, Chloe led with empathy. Her honesty gave others the courage to speak up. Her resilience helped others push through. Her joy, so present in all the little things, reminded all who knew her to keep showing up with heart,' he said. 4 Childress's family remembered Chloe for her 'joy' and faith. VSCO/Chloe Childress 4 Childress was among the 27 confirmed Camp Mystic campers and counselors killed this weekend. VSCO/Chloe Childress She was due to attend the University of Texas at Austin in the fall. The catastrophic flooding has left more than 100 dead and many still missing, according to local officials. Most of the deaths were reported in Kerr County, north of San Antonio. The river reached its second-highest height on record, surpassing an eerily similar 1987 deluge, according to the National Weather Service.

Help us tell the story: Share your photos and videos from flooding in Texas
Help us tell the story: Share your photos and videos from flooding in Texas

USA Today

timean hour ago

  • USA Today

Help us tell the story: Share your photos and videos from flooding in Texas

At least 104 people are dead, and many others remain unaccounted for after a devastating storm and catastrophic flooding battered a swath of central Texas on the Fourth of July. Deadly floodwaters rose as much as 26 feet high over the Guadalupe River, killing at least 27 children and counselors from Camp Mystic, the Kerr County all-girls Christian summer camp located about 60 miles northwest of San Antonio. The death toll continues to rise as rescue efforts continue for missing people by air, land and water. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, confirmed that authorities have rescued over 850 people since the flooding broke out. "Texas is grieving right now. The pain, the shock of what has transpired these last few days, has broken the heart of our state," Cruz said at a news conference Monday, July 7. "There are moms and dads that are grieving right now. This is every parent's nightmare, and I will say the pain and tears have been indescribable." Images of the aftermath at Camp Mystic show abandoned bunk beds covered with mud and damaged camp buildings. Others show the girls' belongings flung from pink blankets and stuffed animals to a single sandal on the ground. As images continue to emerge, USA TODAY is asking anyone willing to share photos or video of the tragic aftermath to submit them here. The content may be used in future stories depicting the wreckage in central Texas as communities continue to grapple with the tragedy. Do you have photos or videos of the devastation? Here's how to share To share images or footage showing the aftermath of the devastating central Texas flooding on July 4, submit this form. The form requires readers to answer a few questions, including whether they give permission for the content to be published on USA TODAY and other news affiliates in the USA TODAY Network. See photos of the aftermath of Texas flooding

Texas flooding one of deadliest mass casualty events for US children in past 100 years
Texas flooding one of deadliest mass casualty events for US children in past 100 years

New York Post

time2 hours ago

  • New York Post

Texas flooding one of deadliest mass casualty events for US children in past 100 years

The catastrophic flooding that swept through central Texas on the Fourth of July has the grim distinction of being one of the deadliest events for US children in the past 100 years. Of the 89 people confirmed dead so far, at least 27 are kids, many of them from Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian summer camp located just a few hundred feet from the banks of the Guadalupe River in Hunt in Kerr County. As of Monday afternoon, officials said 10 of the little campers are still unaccounted for as rescue efforts continue around the clock. 11 A cabin destroyed by the flooding at Camp Mystic in Hunt, Texas seen on July 5, 2025. Photo by RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP via Getty Images 11 Stuffed animals on the windowsill of a cabin at Camp Mystic after the flood. REUTERS 11 At least 27 children have been killed in the devastating floods. The unimaginable tragedy puts the Texas flash floods among other mass-casualty events involving children since 1925. New London School Explosion (1937) 11 The scene of the explosion at the London School in New London, Texas in 1937. Bettmann Archive A natural-gas leak at an elementary school in New London, Texas — then called London — led to an explosion that destroyed the London School on March 18, 1937, killing 295 people, most of them children. That year, the London school board had opted to tap into Parade Gasoline Company's residue gas line in an effort to save money. It was a gas-line connection that the United States Bureau of Mines later concluded was faulty. 11 One of the victims in the New London explosion getting his injuries treated. Bettmann Archive The botched job resulted in in odorless, colorless natural gas flooding the school unnoticed until a shop teacher turned on an electric sander, with the switch creating a spark that ignited the gas, an investigation concluded. Hartford Circus Fire (1944) 11 The fire at a Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus tent in 1944. Bettmann Archive A Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus big-top tent water-proofed by a combination of paraffin wax and 6,000 gallons of gasoline sparked one of the worst fire disasters in US history, killing 167 people, including an estimated 100 children. Around 7,000 people packed the big top for a 2:15 p.m. performance July 6, 1944, most of them women and children. The paraffin and gasoline combination was a common way of waterproofing fabrics at the time — but also made the 200-by-450-foot tent highly flammable. The fire began on the southwest side of the tent's sidewall as The Flying Wallendas were performing. The bandleader noticed the flames and instructed the band to start playing John Philip Sousa's 'The Stars and Stripes Forever' — a tune known to circus performers as a signal something was amiss. Ringmaster Fred Bradna attempted to direct the audience to get up from their seats and leave in an orderly fashion, but the fire had shorted out the power, rendering his warning inaudible. Bath School massacre (1927) 11 The scene of the bombing at the Bath School in Michigan in 1927. Bettmann Archive The Bath School massacre was a bombing attack perpetrated by a deranged school board treasurer against the Bath Consolidated School in Bath Township, Mich., on May 18, 1927, killing 38 children and six adults. Andrew Kehoe, 55, who was incensed over losing an election for township clerk a year earlier and also facing foreclosure on his property, placed hundreds of pounds of explosives under the school with the intention of detonating them in an act of 'murderous revenge.' Before detonating the explosives, which were connected to an alarm clock timer in the school's basement, Kehoe murdered his wife and burned his farm to the ground. As rescuers frantically combed through the rubble, he drove a truck loaded with even more explosives and packed with metal debris to create shrapnel up to the schoolyard and detonated it, killing himself and four others. Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting (2012) 11 Authorities at the scene of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 14, 2012. Getty Images The deadliest elementary-school shooting in US history was carried out Dec. 14, 2012, in Newtown, Conn., by 20-year-old former student Adam Lanza, who murdered 26 people including 20 children ages 6 and 7 before shooting himself in the head. Just before he left his home to commit the heinous act, Lanza shot and killed his mother. He then drove to the school in her car, dressed in black clothing and armed with a Bushmaster XM-15, an AR-style semi-automatic rifle, and unleashed his carnage. 11 People gathered for a prayer vigil at St. Rose Church in Newtown following the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. AFP via Getty Images The horrifying mass shooting led to fierce debate about gun control in the US, including around subjects such as universal background checks and limiting magazine capacities. Oklahoma City bombing (1995) 11 The scene of the explosion at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995. Getty Images The deadliest act of domestic terrorism in US history, committed by a pair of anti-government extremists, killed 168 people on April 19, 1995, 19 of them children. Timothy McVeigh and his accomplice, Terry Nichols, detonated a rented Ryder truck full of explosives in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Okla., reportedly outraged by how the US government handled recent incidents such as the Ruby Ridge standoff in 1992 and the Waco, Texas, siege in 1993. The blast destroyed more than a third of the building, which later had to be demolished. The high number of child victims was due to the America's Kids Day Care Center located in the building. Uvalde school shooting (2022) 11 A memorial outside of Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas after the mass shooting. Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, was the site of another one of America's worst school shootings, where 18-year-old former student Salvador Ramos killed 19 pupils and two teachers May 24, 2022. On the day of the shooting, Ramos drove to the school and entered a classroom after breezing by cops stationed in the hallways. He remained inside classrooms shooting victims for 1 hour and 14 minutes before the US Border Patrol Tactical Unit broke in and shot him. The Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Police Department was roundly criticized for waiting around idle as Ramos perpetrated the attack. Two officers, including chief Pedro Arredondo, were later criminally indicted for their alleged mishandling of the shooting response.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store