CENTER POINT, Texas – The search for survivors continues in the Texas Hill Country after catastrophic flash flooding swept through Kerr County early Friday morning.
Hundreds of search and rescue crews are now combing the miles of river banks along the Guadalupe River.
They’re on foot, in the air, and even on horseback, looking for any survivors or closure for families desperately waiting for answers.
“I just haven’t felt the urge to do something like this and felt the fight or flight since I was at war in the military,” said Garrett Hugo, who was volunteering to look for survivors.
Every person has their reason, their drive to help.
“Well, so the family has closure,” Kinley Klaehn said. “They know where they’re missing. They’re not missing. They know, right? They know they’re found.”
Hugo and his buddy decided to launch their kayaks in the Guadalupe River in Center Point.
They started paddling upstream to get a unique perspective of the now torn-up river banks that twist and turn through the small communities.
“Odds are it hasn’t been searched. So, we’re gonna give our efforts. And yeah, hopefully it turns out something positive,” Hugo said. “I’m looking for survivors. I’m looking for, unfortunate, non-survivors so they can have a final resting place.”
On the banks, people were hiking whole sifting through the gigantic piles of tree trunks and torn up trucks that line the river.
Overhead, airplanes and helicopters are scanning for anything that might lead them to answers.
And on horseback, volunteers are bringing those answers to families.
Kinley Klaehn: “We decided we should look in that spot a little bit more before we went back down. And that’s where we found her.”
Sarah Klaehn: “The girl that was with us was like, ‘I feel like we need to really look here. Like, I’m drawn to this tree.’ And sure enough, she was right.
Kinley Klaehn: “I walked up and he was kind of hesitant, he looked down. There she is. It takes a while to process it.”
Sarah Klaehn: “We covered her with a towel, called it in.”
That’s the reality of what our first responders and volunteers are seeing.
It’s incredibly hard, emotional work. But when they find closure for a family, it’s all worth it.
“It’s very, very rewarding. I’m glad we came out today. Glad we came,” Kinley said.
