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A video shared online shows a woman desperately clinging to a tree and crying for help after being dragged 20 miles down the Guadalupe River during deadly floods in Texas on Friday (July 4).
The 22-year-old woman was several feet in the air on the branches of a Cypress tree as floodwaters rushed below when she was initially spotted by nearby homeowner, who recounted the incident with KENS 5.
"A true miracle," the homeowner named Carl told the news station. "There's no other way to explain it."
"I began to holler back to her, 'hey, I see you, we'll get you help.' he added.
The homeowner said he called 911 and waited 20 minutes before driving down the road to an area where he knew a Texas Department of Safety agent would be present "and sent some folks over here but it took a while." The woman was safely taken out of the tree, at which point she confirmed that she was dragged 20 miles in the floodwaters.
At least 27 people were killed during sudden floods in the Texas Hill Country, while at least 20 people remain missing from a Christian girls summer camp, NBC News reports. The Guadalupe River flooded and swept into Kerr County and other nearby areas at around 4:00 a.m. on Friday following heavy rain storms.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called the storm an "extraordinarily catastrophe" and confirmed that rescue missions for the missing Christian camp girls would continue overnight.
“They will continue in the darkness of night, they will be taking place when the sun rises in the morning. They will be non-stop,” Abbott said during a press conference Friday night.
The all-girls sleep-away camp was evacuated overnight during the storms, however, several of the campers were reportedly left behind. Some of the girls were reportedly located and are stranded, however, "about 23" remain unaccounted for.
“That does not mean they’ve been lost. They could be in a tree. They could be out of communication. We’re praying for all those missing to be found alive,” Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick specified on Friday via the New York Post..
Staffers sent an email to families informing them of the incident and confirmed that the camp had lost power, water and WiFi during the incident.
“If you have not been personally contacted, then your daughter is accounted for,” the email, which was obtained by KSAT, stated. “We are working with search and rescue currently. The highway has washed away so we are struggling to get more help.”
Camp Mystic said the missing children varied in ages between 7 and 17.