One incoming UT student died, and another incoming student is still missing after the deadly floods in Kerr County on Friday. Both girls were counselors at Camp Mystic, where 27 campers and counselors died, the camp confirmed on its website Monday morning. Authorities continue to search for the missing girls.
Chloe Childress, an 18-year-old who graduated this year from The Kinkaid School in Houston, died in the flood, according to an email from The Kinkaid School sent to the community. Katherine Ferruzzo, a 19-year-old who graduated from Memorial High School in Houston and was set to study early childhood education at UT, is still missing, according to reporting from the Houston Chronicle.
Five Camp Mystic campers and one counselor are unaccounted for, the Kerr County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post on Wednesday.
“Chloe had a remarkable way of making people feel seen,” the Kinkaid email states. “She was wise beyond her years, with a steady compassion that settled a room. Whether it was sharing her own challenges to ease someone’s burden or quietly cheering a teammate or classmate through a tough day, Chloe made space for others to feel safe, valued and brave. She understood what it meant to be part of a community, and more than that, she helped build one.”
Ferruzzo is still missing at the time of publication, according to the Houston Chronicle. Several girls from Spring Branch Independent School District, the district that Ferruzzo’s school is part of, have died or remain missing, according to a statement from the district. The district declined to comment on specific people.
“As of today, our daughter, Katherine Ferruzzo, a counselor in the Bubble Inn cabin at Camp Mystic, remains unaccounted for,” Ferruzzo’s family said in a statement on Monday. “We ask for your ongoing prayers as responders search for her and the many other victims of last week’s devastating floods in Central Texas. Katherine has a fierce and loving spirit, and we have no doubt she did all she could to save the lives of the girls in her cabin.”
A University spokesperson confirmed both counselors were set to attend UT in the fall.
Members of the University’s Panhellenic Council are organizing a candlelight vigil at 8:15 p.m. on Tuesday, July 8, on the Main Mall. Counseling and Mental Health Center counselors and UTPD will attend the vigil to assist anyone in need, according to a social media post.
“As Longhorns, we pause to remember those lost, take stock of our many blessings and continue to do our part to care for those affected,” interim President Jim Davis said in a statement about the flooding in Central Texas.
Childress and Ferruzzo were counselors for the Bubble Inn cabin, which houses some of the youngest girls at Camp Mystic, about 150 yards away from the river, according to The Washington Post. Camp director Richard “Dick” Eastland died trying to rescue girls in the Bubble Inn cabin and was found with some of the campers, according to the Post. The water rose by more than 20 to 26 feet in 45 minutes at 4 a.m. on Friday, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said in a July 4 press conference.
Camp Mystic is a Christian summer camp for girls in Hunt, Texas, next to the Guadalupe River, established in 1926. Dick Eastland and his wife, Tweety Eastland, were both UT alumni, and they became the owners and executive directors of the camp after it had been in their family for three generations, according to the camp’s website.
“In the Mystic spirit, their goals are to boost every camper’s self-confidence and to nurture the development of their individual characters,” the website states. “Dick & Tweety continue to keep the Mystic traditions thriving.”
As of 9 a.m. Wednesday, 95 fatalities have been reported in Kerr County, including 59 adults and 36 children, according to the county sheriff’s Facebook post. At least 120 people across the state have died because of last weekend’s flooding, according to The New York Times.
At least 14 people have died and “several others are missing” in the Austin region, including fatalities in Travis, Williamson and Burnet counties, according to KUT News.
Hundreds of local, state and national first responders, K9 units and air, water and ground vehicles are searching in the field, according to a Facebook post by the sheriff’s office.
Editor’s Note: This story was updated at 10:38 a.m. on July 10 to include new information. This is a developing story. The Texan will continue to update it as more information becomes available.
