Hailey Chavarria prayed and prayed for loved ones who had lost contact with on Sunday while sitting outside a church that was sheltering survivors of the Fourth of July flash flood and families like hers who had hurried to Kerrville, Texas.
The wait has been excruciating for Austin-based teacher Ms. Chavarria, 28. Three days after a flood of water ripped through their campsite along the Guadalupe River, where they had gathered for what was supposed to be a joyous holiday camping trip, five members of her Midland, Texas family—her mother, her mother’s husband, an aunt, the aunt’s husband, and a cousin—were still missing.
Devyn Smith, a 22-year-old cousin, was the only family member discovered alive, clinging frantically to a tree. In days when there aren’t many, her rescue was documented on camera, making it a cause for celebration. From 4 a.m. to roughly 10 a.m. on Friday, she had been pulled more than 15 miles downstream, past damaged RVs and refrigerators, and through three dams.
According to Ms. Chavarria, Ms. Smith is still in the hospital, with staples in her skull and scratches and bruises all over her body.
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