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Yahoo
08-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
What to know about claims two Mexican counselors saved 20 campers from deadly Texas floods
In the aftermath of the tragic and fatal floods in Texas that occurred in early July 2025, rumors of heroic rescues and celebrity relief donations ran rampant across the internet. One such rumor purported that two counselors of Mexican heritage at Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian summer camp along the bank of the Guadalupe River severely impacted by the flood, "rescued 20 girls trapped by the flooding," as one user on X (archived) put it. The rumor was massively popular on other social media platforms as well, including Facebook (archived), TikTok (archived) and Instagram (archived). Nearly every version of the rumor purported that the counselors in question were from Mexico, questioning if their ethnicity was the reason mainstream news was not adequately covering their heroic actions as a result of the ongoing mass deportation agenda of the Trump administration. For instance, one Instagram post (archived) claimed about the rumor, "Two Mexican women saved 20 children from drowning in Texas. US media is not sharing the story." The popularity of the claim led numerous Snopes readers to reach out via email to check its veracity. The rumor appeared to stem from an appearance of 19-year-olds Silvana Garza Valdez and María Paula Zárate on the Mexican news network NMás, in which they recounted their experiences during the flood. Snopes was unable to independently verify Valdez and Zárate's employment at Camp Mystic, so we have opted not to include a rating on this claim. We've reached out to Camp Mystic and will update this article if we receive a response. According to Valdez and Zárate, they were stationed at the Lake Cypress campground of Camp Mystic, which opened in 2020 and operated concurrently with the original campground. The Lake Cypress campground is situated on a hill and farther away from the Guadalupe River, which kept it from sustaining as much immediate damage as the original Camp Mystic site. A map on Camp Mystic's website depicted the locations of each campground and said the Lake Cypress camp was "built on the hill that overlooks the back lake." (Camp Mystic) Around two minutes into the interview, Valdez clarified they (translated from Spanish) "were at the new camp, they are like two branches on the same land," referring to the Lake Cypress location. "The original camp … was like a loss, almost total … They explained to us that all the girls who survived the camp were in our dining hall." Valdez explained they were told that the survivors waiting in the dining hall were going to be joining them in their cabins, so to keep their campers calm, they "organized all the girls to do welcome signs [and] to collect clothes that they want to donate because obviously they lost everything." According to the two women, the survivors were ultimately evacuated before that happened, and so they began to prepare for their own rescue as well. "Before dinner we started preparing the girls as well as counselors because we thought that they were also going to evacuate us," Zárate said. She continued, "So we started writing our names on our skin where it could be seen. We started to teach the girls to write their names where they could. We put their badges on them, their names, we told them to pack a suitcase with their things … we didn't know if they were going to evacuate or not. Then we were waiting." The counselors tried to entertain the campers with games until their own rescue. "I did not understand the gravity of the situation until we left on the Army trucks," added Valdez. At the end of the segment, one anchor said (translated from Spanish), "Imagine, they were 18 years old and had 20 little girls in their care." The claims suggesting Valdez and Zárate "rescued 20 girls trapped by the flooding" or "saved 20 children from drowning" appeared to embellish the specific details of the women's experience as told in their own words. Further, the detail about campers writing their names on their bodies was spotlighted by outlets like The New York Post and The Latin Times, which may have contributed to the spread of the more hyperbolic version of the tale when it began making the rounds on social media. Finally, during a news conference on July 5, 2025, Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum referenced Valdez and Zárate, referring to them as "two young Mexican women who rescued other young girls." The statement occurs around 1 hour and 13 minutes into the conference, viewable on Sheinbaum's official YouTube channel, following a question from the press about the Texas floods. Snopes has investigated other claims coming out of the Texas floods, including debunking the report that two young girls were found clinging to a tree after being swept away by floodwaters. - YouTube. Accessed 8 Jul. 2025. ---. Accessed 8 Jul. 2025. ---. Accessed 8 Jul. 2025. Christensen, Laerke. "Watch out for Story about Rescuers Saving 2 Young Girls Clinging to Tree in Texas Floods." Snopes, 7 Jul. 2025, Cypress Lake | Camp Mystic for Girls. Accessed 8 Jul. 2025. "Death Toll from Catastrophic Flooding in Texas over the July Fourth Weekend Surpasses 100." AP News, 7 Jul. 2025, FAQ – Cypress Lake | Camp Mystic for Girls. Accessed 8 Jul. 2025. Odisho, Taylor. "Camp Mystic Counselors Wrote Names of the Girls They Were Comforting On Their Arms While Waiting for Help: 'I Had to Stay Strong.'" Latin Times, 7 Jul. 2025, "Sheinbaum Reconoce a Mexicanas que Rescataron a Varias Niñas de Inundaciones en Texas." N+, 7 Jul. 2025, "Two Camp Mystic Counselors from Mexico Describe Managing Campers through the Texas Floods." Los Angeles Times, 8 Jul. 2025,
Los Angeles Times
08-07-2025
- General
- Los Angeles Times
Two Camp Mystic counselors from Mexico describe managing campers through the Texas floods
As the deadly floods in Texas took place over the Fourth of July weekend along the Guadalupe River, two counselors from Camp Mystic — an all-girls Texas Christian youth camp — had to put on a brave face as they watched their campers. Silvana Garza Valdez and María Paula Zárate, 19-year-old camp counselors from Mexico, recalled the events during the deadly disaster that killed more than 100 people, including 27 campers and counselors, in an interview with NMás Saturday. In the very early morning hours of July 4, Zárate first heard the torrential downpour that prevented her from sleeping and at 3 a.m. the electricity went out throughout the Hunt, Texas, camp. At midday, the counselors were informed that girls from another section of the camp had been caught in the flooding and that the surviving girls were safely relocated in a camp dining hall. Realizing the severity of the situation and seeing that the survivors from the other part of the camp were evacuated via helicopter, Zárate and Garza Valdez began preparing the campers under their supervision. 'We began writing the girls' names on their skin, wherever it could be visible,' Zárate said. 'We told them to make a bag with all their things, whatever was most necessary ... to get ready to evacuate. But we didn't know if they were going to evacuate us or not and so we waited.' It wasn't until the water spilled out of its banks and furniture from the campgrounds rushed by that the younger campers began to really understand what was happening. That's when questions were slung at Zárate and Garza Valdez, who reassured their troop that they'd be OK. The campers were quelled with games and songs until they were informed that they too would be evacuated. 'All the girls lost their cool, they all began crying because they didn't want to leave campgrounds, because they wanted to be with their parents. It was a terrible situation,' Garza Valdez said. 'It was never reported to us that anyone died because no one was really sure in the moment. What they told us at the time was that 25 girls were missing and that two were [safely] found at a nearby campground.' Reflecting on having survived the flooding, Garza Valdez said the entire incident was surreal. 'I felt like I was in a dream. I didn't think it was real,' she said. 'I don't think I understood the gravity of the situation until we left on the Army trucks. It was terrible. A week before, we were sleeping in the affected cabins and so it was incredible to learn that they had moved us and that we are alive.' As of Monday morning, 10 campers and one counselor were still unaccounted for at Camp Mystic, according to the Associated Press. Camp Mystic released a statement regarding the deadly flooding on its website Sunday. 'Camp Mystic is grieving the loss of 27 campers and counselors following the catastrophic flooding on the Guadalupe river. Our hearts are broken alongside our families that are enduring this unimaginable tragedy,' the statement reads. 'We are praying for them constantly. We have been in communication with local and state authorities who are tirelessly deploying extensive resources to search for our missing girls.' A complete estimate for all the unaccounted for people has not yet been released. 'It was a storm from like a horror movie. The thunder was incredibly strong and you felt like the lightning was striking right by your side because it lit up all the cabins,' Garza Valdez said. 'It was a storm that of which I've never seen before in my life. It never stopped raining.'
