Tragedy Strikes During Texas Flooding at Camp Mystic

A young counselor with a passion for mentoring was among those who lost their lives in severe flash flooding at a summer camp in Texas over the weekend. Chloe Childress, 19, who had recently arrived to spend her summer guiding young girls, was killed when the Guadalupe River surged unexpectedly, rising 26 feet in less than an hour.

Chloe was deeply committed to her community and was excited to begin her studies at the University of Texas at Austin this fall. She had served as co-president of her high school’s honor council, participated in varsity cross-country, and founded a club to assist senior citizens, according to her LinkedIn profile.

Her family described her as a source of contagious joy, grace, and faith. “Her joy is now eternal, and her faith has become sight,” they said. The head of her school, The Kinkaid School, memorialized her as a compassionate leader whose honesty inspired courage and resilience in others.

Tragically, Chloe was among the 27 confirmed victims from Camp Mystic, an all-girls camp in Hunt, Texas. The flooding resulted in at least 82 deaths in the wider community and left many people still missing. The river’s level surpassed a record set during a similar flood in 1987, highlighting the severity of the disaster.