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OAN Staff Abril Elfi
3:54 PM – Saturday, July 5, 2025
The death toll of the Texas flash floods has risen to 43, including four missing girls who have been identified and declared dead.
According to Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha, who spoke at a news conference Saturday afternoon, the death toll in the flash floods has risen to 43, including 15 children. Leitha stated that five of the adults and three children have not been identified.
He also added that at least 27 people remain missing. In a previous report, Leitha stated that officials had carried out over 160 air rescues. As of Saturday, 850 people had been rescued, with eight injured.
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Renee Smajstrla, 8; Sarah Marsh, 8; Janie Hunt, 9; and Lila Bonner were among the 27 campers who were missing from Camp Mystic. The four girls have now been declared dead.
“Thank you to all our friends and family for all the prayers and outreach. Renee has been found and while not the outcome we prayed for, the social media outreach likely assisted the first responders in helping to identify her so quickly,” Smajstrla’s uncle wrote on Facebook along with a picture of the young girl beaming. “We are thankful she was with her friends and having the time of her life, as evidenced by this picture from yesterday. She will forever be living her best life at Camp Mystic. Please continue to pray for the other families in Kerrville.”
Marsh was also found dead, her grandmother announced on Facebook.
“Our sweet Sarah is gone!” Debbie Ford Marsh wrote Saturday. “We will always feel blessed to have had this beautiful spunky ray of light in our lives. She will live on in our hearts forever! We love you so much sweet Sarah!”
Bonner’s family announced her death in a statement in which they described suffering “unimaginable grief,” according to NBC News.
“We ache with all who loved her and are praying endlessly,” they said.
Hunt was also found dead, according to Corpus Christi Crónica. The 9-year-old’s mother told CNN Friday that she had heard nothing about her daughter’s whereabouts since the flood flooded the camp.
Some of the hundreds of people rescued in the last 36 hours were clinging to trees, Gov. Greg Abbott (R-Texas) stated at the press conference. The governor said that he had approved an updated federal disaster proclamation that included many more Texas counties that had been devastated by storms.
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, who was also present at the news conference, stated that President Donald Trump has indicated that he will honor Abbott’s declaration.
Officials have stated that the floods were not expected by forecasts, and that the river rose by 26 feet in 45 minutes.
Parts of central Texas received a month’s worth of rain in just a few hours. Hunt, a community near Kerrville, experienced almost 6.5 inches of rain in only three hours early Friday, which is considered a one-in-100-year rainfall event in the area.
President Trump has posted this on his Truth Social platform sending his prayers for the state.
“The Trump Administration is working with State and Local Officials on the ground in Texas in response to the tragic flooding that took place yesterday. Our Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, will be there shortly,” he wrote.
“Melania and I are praying for all of the families impacted by this horrible tragedy. Our Brave First Responders are on site doing what they do best. GOD BLESS THE FAMILIES, AND GOD BLESS TEXAS!” he concluded.
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