The first responders are still hard at work, looking for missing people in search and rescue efforts after the horrendous flooding in the Texas Hill Country.
There were reports on Sunday that two girls had been rescued in a tree. That was widely reported, but the local paper that reported it has now retracted the story and said it was unfortunately not true.
But as we reported, there were a lot of rescues. DHS head Kristi Noem praised one of the rescuers, a hero member of the Coast Guard who she said had been involved in saving 165 lives.
READ MORE: Amid Tragedy and Heartbreak in Texas, Hero Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer Saves Over 160 Lives
The United Cajun Navy was helping. The Texas National Guard was also among those who saved many, including helping evacuate some stranded campers.
🚨 WATCH: The Texas National Guard rescues a large group of young girls who were at camp near Kerrville
So grateful for these guys.
These heroes have saved an INCREDIBLE amount of lives these past few days 🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/7wSapnHxQT
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) July 6, 2025
Carl Jeter went out onto his balcony when he heard a woman screaming nearby. At first, he thought she was in the flood waters. Then he saw her sitting in a tree, hanging onto it for dear life. He marshaled help to save her, as you can hear from this report. She had been driven about 20 miles by the flood waters from where she had been camping. She had to avoid everything from RVs to refrigerators in her journey.
Man saves woman in tree that treaded water for 20 miles in Texas flood pic.twitter.com/UxPrTMY1Ma
— Widiwidi (@TxWidiwidi) July 5, 2025
Carl’s son, Josh Jeter, said boats showed up to help out.
There were multiple teams that showed up,” Josh said. “There was a Swiftwater Rescue from Boerne, Texas that showed, and then there were some Texas Parks and Wildlife game wardens that showed with boats as well. We were able to help launch those boats by hand into the water for them to get in and rescue her.”
She was cut and bruised but otherwise had no other physical injuries. The Jeter family then took her into their home, wrapped her in blankets, and gave her some care.
READ MORE: Trump Authorizes Disaster Relief for Kerr County, Texas, in Wake of Horrific Flooding (Updated)
Search and Rescue Efforts Continue to Recover 20 Missing Girls, Others in TX Flood; Trump, Vance Respond
One of the reasons the flooding was so problematic was how quickly the water rose as you can see from this video. It shows the rise of the Guadalupe River. You can see the difference from the start of the video to the end when it covers the bridge. The water was so powerful it was crushing trees and even drove a floating house into the bridge.
The numbers keep going up.
Larry Leitha, the Kerr County Sheriff in Texas Hill Country, said 68 people had died in flooding in his county, the epicenter of the flooding, among them 28 children. Texas Governor Greg Abbott, speaking at a press conference on Sunday afternoon, said another 10 had died elsewhere in Texas and confirmed 41 were missing.
