Mom Shares Chilling Details of How Her 2 Sons Survived Flooding at Texas Camp
At first, Keli Rabon wasn't alarmed. She had dropped off her sons, Braeden, 9, and Brock, 8, just a day earlier at the all-boys program along the Guadalupe River and knew that power outages weren't unusual in remote stretches of the Hill Country, especially during summer storms.
'We didn't think a whole lot of it,' Rabon told TODAY's Savannah Guthrie on July 7 during a joint interview with Braeden and Brock. But as the text messages continued — and the magnitude of the flooding became clearer — Rabon began to feel uneasy.
What made it more frightening, Rabon said, was that that she had no way to contact her children. Electronics aren't allowed, and by that point, the camp was relying on minimal communication.
'It became clear that this was a serious situation,' she said. 'So I just had to hop in the car, and my mama instincts kicked in. And you know, I've got to do what I can to get to my babies.'
Camp La Junta sits downriver from Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp for girls, where, in the early hours of July 4, a sudden flash flood swept through the grounds, killing more than two dozen campers and staff.
Rabon posted on Instagram, pleading for updates on the conditions at Camp La Junta.
'PLEASE SHARE. My sons are there and we know there is deadly flooding in the area, including devastation at Camp Mystic, the all girls camp 5 minutes away. Phones, power, WiFi are totally down,' she wrote. 'Prayers and information please!
On TODAY, Braeden recalled waking around 4 a.m. to the sound of 'kids screaming.' Disoriented, he wondered, "What the heck is going on?" Then he saw a line of '50 to 75' campers walking behind his cabin, followed by a rush of children whose own bunks were filling with water. Shortly afterward, everyone was evacuated.
'That's about all I remember,' Braeden said.
Meanwhile, Braeden's younger brother, Brock, was in a bunk that was taking on water. With the help of counselors, Rabon shared how Brock climbed from the bottom bunk to the top, then into the rafters of the cabin, where he waited as the water rose.
'Three cabins were washed out,' Rabon said. 'Brock's being one of them.'
Savannah, reporting from Texas, reflected on the heartbreak so many families are experiencing. As of July 7, at least 10 children remain missing from Camp Mystic, and the flooding has left at least 81 people dead across multiple counties in Texas.
'I mean, we kiss our kids goodbye and we hope they have the summer of their lives,' she said. 'And it's just so scary to think about those moments. I'm so happy, Keli, for you, that you've got your darling boys with you.'
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
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