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New York Times
5 days ago
- Climate
- New York Times
After the Floods, a Pain So Vast It Makes Texas Feel Small
Beaumont, Texas, is a good 360 miles down Interstate 10 from where the Guadalupe River charged over its banks on July 4 but not far enough to spare it from the pain of the flood. Crowds solemnly lined a street on Sunday, holding cutouts of hearts, as a hearse pulled off the highway carrying one of their own — a 22-year-old college student named Aidan Heartfield, one of four natives of the city who were killed. In Houston, Keli Rabon worried about her 7-year-old son, Brock. He came home from a summer camp session that ended after just two days and pointed out a space in her kitchen between the top of the cabinets and ceiling. That's where he would hide, he told her, if a flood swamped their house. So much about the scale of the floods that tore through Central Texas has been staggering: the ferocity and speed of the water, harrowing stories of survival, and heroism that gave way to agonizing accounts of loss. The death toll from the floods stands at 135, making it one of the deadliest weather events in the state's history. Nearly 100 remain missing. The magnitude of the disaster has made Texas almost feel small: Roughly 270,000 square miles, and yet some aspect of the grief and the trauma seems within arm's reach of its 31 million people. 'They say six degrees of separation, but it's a lot smaller than that,' said Ms. Rabon, 40. 'We can truly all see ourselves in this tragedy.' In conversations across the state, those who did not directly feel the wrath of the floods said they could easily trace their ties to someone who did. As funeral directors sent home the remains of the dead, the destinations emanating from the Central Texas epicenter could shade a map of the Lonestar State: Austin, San Antonio, Lubbock, Amarillo, Liberty. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
New York Times
10-07-2025
- New York Times
Corrections: July 10, 2025
An article on Wednesday about four friends who took a weekend trip to Texas's Hill Country before the catastrophic flooding began misstated Aidan Heartfield's age. Mr. Heartfield, who remains missing, is 22, not 21. Errors are corrected during the press run whenever possible, so some errors noted here may not have appeared in all editions. To contact the newsroom regarding correction requests, please email nytnews@ To share feedback, please visit Comments on opinion articles may be emailed to letters@ For newspaper delivery questions: 1-800-NYTIMES (1-800-698-4637) or email customercare@
Washington Post
09-07-2025
- Washington Post
On the Guadalupe River, a crew's frantic search to bring a dad closure
INGRAM, Texas — It took two pieces of salvaged plywood to draw a crude map of the 10 miles of the Guadalupe River where volunteers should look for any signs of Aidan Heartfield. The 22-year-oldcalled his father early on July 4 saying he, his girlfriend and two friends awoke in the black of night to four inches of water pooled on the floor of his family cabin. A minute later, his dad recalled his son saying the water was up to four feet. They went outside seeking higher ground, but a tree soon slammed into the house, swiping the structure off its slab and leaving them without anything to hold onto. The phone went dead. Aidan and the others were missing.
New York Times
08-07-2025
- New York Times
Texas Floods Live Updates: At Least 161 Still Missing in a Single County, Governor Says
It was supposed to be a regular weekend trip with friends, to the house in Texas's Hill Country. Aidan Heartfield, a quiet, introspective young man, loved these weekends, often bringing his girlfriend, Ella Cahill, with him to his family's house. Together with Ms. Cahill's college roommate, Reese Manchaca, and a longtime friend from high school, Joyce Catherine Badon, they drove down to the house, in Hunt, Texas, near the Guadalupe River. The four of them, all 21, grilled, and Mr. Heartfield sent a selfie at around 1 a.m. Friday. Mr. Heartfield and Ms. Cahill had spent part of her sister's May wedding in Italy talking about what their own ceremony might be like. Sweethearts since sophomore year of high school, they planned to move in together after they graduated from college. Mr. Heartfield was excited about the marketing internship he had secured for his final year of school, while Ms. Cahill had settled on studying business management. But then, at around 4:30 a.m. Friday, Aidan woke up to water in the home. He called his father, who told them to get to higher ground. 'All hell broke loose,' said Mackenzie Cahill-Hodulik, Ms. Cahill's older sister, in an interview, recounting what she had been told. Mr. Heartfield handed the phone to Ms. Badon, saying he needed to help his girlfriend. There was a scream — 'Oh my god, they just got swept away' — and Ms. Badon said to tell her parents she loved them. Then the line went dead. In the days since, two bodies — those of Ms. Badon and Ms. Manchaca — have been recovered. Mr. Heartfield and Ms. Cahill have yet to be found. Image Reese Manchaca with Ms. Cahill. Credit... via Mackenzie Cahill-Hodulik 'It's a stab in the heart really,' Ms. Cahill-Hodulik said. She added: 'They were just here to have a good time. They were great kids.' As she spoke Tuesday morning, she was standing on a slab, she said, all that was left of the home. The entire family, she said, had driven down to the area to search for her sister and her boyfriend. Some things have been recovered. A high school photo of Ms. Badon, Mr. Heartfield and Ms. Cahill in Mr. Heartfield's car. His watch and keys. Ms. Cahill's makeup bag. A sweatshirt on a tree limb half a mile from the house. 'There's no words to explain it,' Ms. Cahill-Hodulik said. 'In a way it's comforting, because we have a piece of her. But then I go back and think of just the state of what we found them in. And I go back to thinking of how scared she was.' She added: 'Our hope is that they're found together. We're going to stay as long as it takes. I don't think any of us will get any type of closure until they're found.'
New York Times
08-07-2025
- New York Times
Two Found, Two Missing: An Agonizing Search After the Texas Floods
It was supposed to be a regular weekend trip with friends, to the house in Texas's Hill Country. Aidan Heartfield, a quiet, introspective young man, loved these weekends, often bringing his girlfriend, Ella Cahill, with him to his family's house. Together with Ms. Cahill's college roommate, Reese Manchaca, and a longtime friend from high school, Joyce Catherine Badon, they drove down to the house, in Hunt, Texas, near the Guadalupe River. The four of them, all 21, grilled, and Mr. Heartfield sent a selfie at around 1 a.m. Friday. Mr. Heartfield and Ms. Cahill had spent part of her sister's May wedding in Italy talking about what their own ceremony might be like. Sweethearts since sophomore year of high school, they planned to move in together after they graduated from college. Mr. Heartfield was excited about the marketing internship he had secured for his final year of school, while Ms. Cahill had settled on studying business management. But then, at around 4:30 a.m. Friday, Aidan woke up to water in the home. He called his father, who told them to get to higher ground. 'All hell broke loose,' said Mackenzie Cahill-Hodulik, Ms. Cahill's older sister, in an interview, recounting what she had been told. Mr. Heartfield handed the phone to Ms. Badon, saying he needed to help his girlfriend. There was a scream — 'Oh my god, they just got swept away' — and Ms. Badon said to tell her parents she loved them. Then the line went dead. In the days since, two bodies — those of Ms. Badon and Ms. Manchaca — have been recovered. Mr. Heartfield and Ms. Cahill have yet to be found. 'It's a stab in the heart really,' Ms. Cahill-Hodulik said. She added: 'They were just here to have a good time. They were great kids.' As she spoke Tuesday morning, she was standing on a slab, she said, all that was left of the home. The entire family, she said, had driven down to the area to search for her sister and her boyfriend. Some things have been recovered. A high school photo of Ms. Badon, Mr. Heartfield and Ms. Cahill in Mr. Heartfield's car. His watch and keys. Ms. Cahill's makeup bag. A sweatshirt on a tree limb half a mile from the house. 'There's no words to explain it,' Ms. Cahill-Hodulik said. 'In a way it's comforting, because we have a piece of her. But then I go back and think of just the state of what we found them in. And I go back to thinking of how scared she was.' She added: 'Our hope is that they're found together. We're going to stay as long as it takes. I don't think any of us will get any type of closure until they're found.'
