Return to Transcripts main page

Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

104 Dead In Texas With Area At Risk For More Flooding; U.S. Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer Hailed As A Hero After Saving 165 Kids From Texas Flooding, "Hearts Are Broken": Mystic Camp Confirms At Least 27 Campers, Counselors Killed In Texas Floods, 11 From Camp Still Unaccounted; Texas Floods: 104 Dead, At Least 28 Of Them Children; 24 Missing; 27 Campers & Counselors From Camp Mystic Confirmed Dead. Aired 8-9p ET

Aired July 07, 2025 - 20:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It was empty, but she died there just the same.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: R.V. Park was just gone. Everything it was, you know, wasn't on this earth anymore.

FOREMAN (voice over): Greg White's friend, Bill Houston is nowhere to be found. Although White says the body of Bill's dog, Sage, was discovered in the debris. High school soccer coach Reece Zunker and his wife, Paula were swept away. Psychologist and college professor Catherine Eads, too.

And even as some campers have ridden away from the calamity singing songs of faith, a sad search for more victims goes on.

Tom Foreman, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: Thanks to Tom, and thanks to all of you for joining us. AC360 begins now.

[20:00:55]

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER: 360": It is hard to say good evening with at least 104 lives lost in Central Texas, many of them young children, girls, some having their first memorable summer away from home. It's tough to even find the words at all. They died when the Guadalupe River, swollen by a summers worth of rain in just a few hours, rose more than 20 feet in the pre-dawn morning of Independence Day.

This is video from several hours into the disaster. The debris washing downstream giving at least some rough idea of what the floodwaters can and did do to anything in their path, especially vulnerable structures and dwellings. Mobile homes for one, and this time cabins at summer camps. These are the ones at least a dozen along the Guadalupe and

tributaries of it that sustained damage. Worst hit was a non- denominational Christian girl's camp, Camp Mystic, where the south fork of the river meets a creek, and their floodwaters converge. Twenty-seven campers and counselors are known to have died. A counselor and ten campers are still unaccounted for.

Some of the youngest girls, just eight-years-old, were in cabins closest to the river. Those on higher ground who waited while rescuers focused on those in greater danger did not know what was unfolding in the darkness below. Their counselors, some themselves just a few years older, did what they could do to shield them from that as they were finally evacuated later in the day. On one bus, the kids joined together and sang.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CHILDREN SINGING "It's fresh, like spring, you want to pass it on. I wish for you my friend this happiness that I found. You can depend on me.")

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: We'll talk with the young woman working at the camp who was on that bus about what she saw and did to keep the kids in her cabin occupied while rescue operations were underway. We're learning more tonight about those who rushed to help, and in doing so, saved lives and comforted souls. We'll do our best to tell those stories tonight, along with everything else that comes in the wake of these tragedies, including questions about what kind of warnings were or should or could have been given.

For now, though, those questions remain mostly unanswered. We also want to tell you a little of what we've learned about some of the victims. The camp's director, Dick Eastland, died trying to rescue campers. One camp worker saying he remained a true hero until the end. Jane Ragsdale was described as the heart and soul of the girl's camp she ran Heart of the Hills, it was called, which was not in session at the time of the flooding. This is her recently singing with campers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(JANE RAGSDALE Singing When you sing, you say life is good today. So keep singing till we meet again.)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Mystic Camper, Renee Smajstrla died in the flood. She was eight years old. So was Hadley Hanna, who we don't have a photo of. Her mom described her as the most joyful, happy kid with a smile on her face. Eloise Peck was eight as well. Janie Hunt was just nine. Six of her cousins were also camp with her, according to "The New York Times". They all survived, and Margaret Bellows, eight-years-old, also died. She shared a cabin with many of the other victims.

Linnie McCowan's father said she filled her family's hearts with so much joy he can't begin to explain. We're going to miss her very much, he said on social media. But no, she's up there shining bright.

Beyond Camp Mystic, the flooding took the lives of Brooke and Blair Harber. A relative tells us that Blair had a generous heart, that her younger sister, Brooke, was like a light in any room. People just gravitated toward her. She was 11, Blair was 13.

Katheryn Eads was a college professor and psychologist, a mother and a grandmother. Her daughter, Victoria, says she was an incredible person who spent her life helping kids. Reece and Paula Zunker had deep ties to the community. He was a high school soccer coach, a mentor, a role model. Their two children remain unaccounted for tonight.

Julian Ryan managed to help his fiance and two young children escape. They escaped their mobile home as the floodwaters rose. He was a dishwasher at a local restaurant, had just gotten back from his shift, and managed to fall asleep when the water came surging in, rising to chest height after putting their 13 month old and six year old on mattresses which were floating, Ryan broke a window in one last try, getting everyone out. He did, but he fatally injured himself and he died in his moms arm's. His last words to her were, I love you. Julian Ryan was 27.

His story is just one of so many that are coming to light, which unfolded over just a very few hours in the dark of night. Ed Lavandera has more.

[20:05:38]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): At 1:14 Friday morning, the first warning for life threatening flash flooding was meant to trigger the emergency alert system on cell phones in parts of Central Texas. But it's not clear if residents or the local camps that were devastated by catastrophic flooding received the alert.

Several survivors have told CNN they did not get an alert.

DALTON RICE, KERRVILLE CITY MANAGER: It's very tough to make those calls because what we also don't want to do is cry wolf, even when first responders were on the ground at 3:30 in the morning and we had reports, we had first responders that were getting swept away, actually responding to the first areas of rainfall.

LAVANDERA (voice over): By 4:00 A.M., the rains turned deadly as residents and campers were also being swept away by floodwaters.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is there any communication from local law enforcement? Anyone at that camp?

RICE: Kerr County is a massive, massive area from here to those camps is 45 minutes on a good day? A lot of those areas don't even have cell service.

LAVANDERA (voice over): More emergency warnings followed, but by 5:00 A.M. The river had flooded over its banks, sweeping up cars, campers and even cabins in its wake.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh my God.

LAVANDERA (voice over): At 6:00 A.M., one resident found an officer at her door. The National Weather Service had also forecasted a hazardous flood outlook the day before, as early as Thursday morning. Then a flood watch at 1:18 local time later that day.

AMANDA SUE JONES, FLOOD SURVIVOR: It was just immeasurably fast.

LAVANDERA (voice over): As much as four months' worth of rain fell in a single day on Friday.

JONES: It's almost like a wall of water came through.

LAVANDERA (voice over): In Kingsland, Texas. This time lapse video shows just how quickly flood water rose on the Llano River in a span of just 30 minutes. In Kerrville, some residents narrowly escaped the rising waters, and in Hunt, Texas, the Guadalupe River shot up more than 22 feet in less than two hours, stunning young kids at the all- boys camp. La Junta.

Kid: My brother here, he had to swim out of his cabin.

Brother: The flood started getting bigger and it was going up to -- we had bunk beds in our cabins and it was going up to the top bunk.

(CHILDREN SINGING "all shout it from the mountain tops.")

LAVANDERA (voice over): Further up the river was incredibly hard hit. Catastrophic flooding took the lives of 28 campers and counselors at the All-girls Christian Camp Mystic, 11 girls still remain missing from the camp. Nearly 700 campers were finally evacuated by late Friday afternoon after rescuers spent hours trying to reach them. Questions remain about the emergency response, but there were no sirens. The region does not have a flood warning system, according to Kerr county officials.

JOE HERRING JR., KERRVILLE, TEXAS MAYOR: I think everyone in Kerrville, everyone in Kerr County, wishes to God we had some way to warn them.

LAVANDERA (voice over): Search and rescue operations now fanning over more than a 60-mile area looking for those still missing.

JAKE STOVALL, FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR, GULF SEARCH AND RESCUE: There's always hope. I've done this long enough. I've found people four days later and 20 foot up in a tree.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Senior national correspondent, Ed Lavandera is in Kerrville, Texas, he joins us now.

So, Ed, obviously, there's a lot of questions about the alerts, and more will be learned in the days ahead. But there were alerts that went out to phones. What do we know about those?

LAVANDERA: Well, a database of those wireless emergency alerts that went out shows that there were three for several hours in the middle of the night, one around 1:15, another around 3:30, and then again at 4:00 in the morning. But Anderson, over the last few days, I've talked to many people who say none of -- they did not receive those. Even the mayor of Kerrville said today that he did not get an alert in the middle of the night on his phone as well.

So, there are a lot of questions surrounding that. And we also asked the local officials if there was any information or any evidence that local authorities on the ground made any attempts to directly reach anyone at Camp Mystic in particular, further up the river there, between 1:00 and 4:00 A.M., as the flood waters and the flooding situation was worsening and they were not able to answer that question at this moment.

So we have no details if there was actual calls directly made to that camp to alert them of just how dangerous this situation was becoming -- Anderson.

COOPER: Ed Lavandera, thanks very much.

Our next guest is U.S. Coast Guard rescue swimmer Scott Ruskan. He helped rescue 165 people from Camp Mystic on Friday, helping campers and counselors into helicopters, including Army National Guard Blackhawks. This was his first rescue mission, after finishing his training about six months ago.

Petty Officer Third Class Scott Ruskan joins us now. Really appreciate you being with us. I understand you were in Corpus Christi. You found out you were being deployed by helicopter to the flood zone. What did it look like from the air?

[20:10:15]

SCOTT RUSKAN, PETTY OFFICER THIRD CLASS, U.S. COAST GUARD: Yes, Cooper, that's a great question. Kind of some of the things you were seeing arriving on scene originally, it was just really bad weather, right? We weren't initially able to reach Kerrville for probably about maybe like six to seven hours. It should have been about an hour flight from Corpus. But yes, we were just really battling bad weather, kind of the storm that was causing these floods.

Once the crew -- we had a great crew on that mission. It was Ian Hopper as our aircraft commander, Blair Agujafor, she was our copilot and then Seth Reeves was our flight mechanic, and we really couldn't have done this mission without those four people, including myself.

So finally, we were kind of able to make our way to Kerrville after about a long six to seven hour day before were even on scene. We were tasked, along with the United States Army National Guard. Our main mission was to kind of exfil and get all the campers out of Camp Mystic any of the ones that were still there.

So when we arrived on scene and we were kind of overhead, we really noticed, like, as you guys can see behind me, like, yes, this is like devastating flood. Like I've never seen anything this tragic in my life or this serious. And yes, it was definitely an eye opening experience. And yes, we were just very concerned about like the safety of everyone involved, safety of our crew, safety of myself as the rescue swimmer. But yes, it was it was definitely a sight that we probably won't forget.

COOPER: And I understand that you were dropped as part of Camp Mystic above the flood zone, and that except for like a period of ten minutes when there was another rescuer there with you, you were alone and basically running point on triage, bringing campers and counselors to two airlift sites. What was that like? I mean, did they did they know -- I talked to one person who was there and her younger campers didn't really know what had happened below. What was it like just running this operation there on the ground.

RUSKAN: Yes, yes, so, when we got on scene, we kind of made an assessment with the crew. You know, me, Ian, Blair and Seth, can all chatted about it, and we decided the best course of action was going to be to leave me there. They figured they'd have more room in our Dolphin 65 helicopter for about two more kids if they left me there, and we also didn't know if there was anyone on scene kind of assessing, kind of our rescue professionals, so what an opportunity for me to kind of, you know, do my job and kind of get in there

But yes, once we got on scene, we were boots on the ground. There's just a lot of scared kids, you know, you have anyone from the ages of seven to 17 as long as like, as well as their camp counselors as well there. So, everyone's pretty terrified. Everyone's cold and again, I've said this a few times before, but yes, these people are having the worst day of their life and it's my job to kind of make it as comfortable as possible, given the situation and just kind of assess based on condition of how cold these people are, any injuries they may have or the youngest ones. I wanted to get those guys out of there first.

And then I'm just kind of coordinating with the Army, like those guys at the National Guard and Task Force One were stellar. Like, what awesome professionals to work with. And yes, they did a great job taking all these people out. I was kind of just the middleman moving them back and forth, so.

COOPER: I read a story about you that is it true you were an accountant before and you made a career change just recently, and this is really your first mission. Is that right?

RUSKAN: Yes, that's correct sir. Yes, so previously I went to college Rider University, great school in New Jersey, and I worked for KPMG for a summer prior to enlisting in the Coast Guard. It was great. I think it was a good decision. Kind of wanted to follow a little bit more of a passion, something I was passionate about, something I thought I could make a big difference in the world. The pipeline for the rescue swimmer school is very challenging. It's one of the hardest rescue swimmer schools and one of the hardest military schools in the world. But they make it hard for a reason, and it kind of shows this week. COOPER: Yes.

RUSKAN: You know, I got the rescue and it was really neat that I was able to kind of get in there and do it. But any of the rescue swimmers in the Coast Guard would have done the exact same thing. Any of the aircrews would have done the same thing. And I'm just really, you know, honored to be a part of that, that culture and that group.

COOPER: Well, I'm really glad you made the career shift because you were in the right place at the right time and you and all the other folks you were working with did a great job. Petty Officer Scott Ruskan, thank you so much.

RUSKAN: Yes, thank you guys for having me and again, just kind of keep everyone -- it's still going on, the disaster is still people working. Just kind of keep those people in your thoughts and prayers going forward.

COOPER: Absolutely, there's a lot of people working around the clock trying to still find people, find people alive if they can bring people home. It's important to remember that in many cases, the counselors Camp Mystic who watched over these kids as the disaster unfolded were only just years past being campers themselves. Many of them had been to that camp. They loved it so much they wanted to come back as counselors.

Just before air time, I spoke with Caroline Cutrona. Her cabin was further up the hill, away from the river. She was able to keep her campers calm and ultimately help them evacuate, even as it became clear that a catastrophe had hit the rest of the camp.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Caroline, thank you so much for being with us. I'm so sorry for what's happened to you. Can you just talk a little bit about what you remember that that night? When did you realize something was happening?

[20:15:14]

CAROLINE CUTRONA, CAMP MYSTIC COUNSELOR: I mean, I thought it was just lightning and thunderstorm. I had no idea of the severity. I mean, I was awake throughout the night because it was loud and the cabins were shaking. But we've had thunderstorms and lightning at Camp Mystic multiple times, and it's always been okay. And so, I always thought it was going to be okay.

COOPER: Were there any kind of alerts or warnings that that you were aware of?

CUTRONA: No, as camp counselors, we turn in our phone when we don't have our time off. And so, there was no alert or anything that I heard, no signal to know that anything was happening.

COOPER: So, you hear banging, you know, there's storms up and you're up. How many kids did you have in your in your cabin or your area? CUTRONA: I had 14 little girls in my cabin.

COOPER: And how old were they?

CUTRONA: They're between the ages of nine and ten.

COOPER: Wow, you must be good, because that's a lot to handle.

CUTRONA: Yes, I love taking care of them.

COOPER: Well, had you been at this camp before? Had you gone to this camp?

CUTRONA: Yes this was my 11th summer there, so I love Camp Mystic.

COOPER: So you hear the storm? What happened next? When did you realize something was happening further down the hill? Because you and the girls, you were with were higher up the hill.

CUTRONA: Yes, we were up on Cypress Lake and up the hill, and you could not see Guadalupe and the flats from where I was. You could see the waterfront and the river that led into Guadalupe. But that's all the water I could see and it was high. And we were still higher but that's all I could see.

COOPER: When did you learn the severity of it, and how?

CUTRONA: Yes, so, I mean, throughout the day, slowly kind of figured every little bit of information I continue to get, I continue to think it was more and more severe. After breakfast, we had cereal in bed and they brought around only a few milk for everybody, and the rest was they said, you all have to share. And so, that was a little weird and then a counselor came into our cabin from the office and she said to the girls that we were going to play a fun game and that all the girls needed to hand that counselor from the office one pair of shorts, one top and a pair of undies.

And that was, you know, that was really weird. I was like, why? And then that's when I learned, like, there was -- they were evacuating the girls from Guadalupe up into James Hall, which is the dining hall where we eat at Cypress Lake. And so that's when I realized, oh, these girls, like, must have lost everything. But I didn't know anyone was unaccounted for until later in the day.

When everyone had finished lunch, the director of Cypress Lake came by to the girls in the counselors that were at my cabin, and she said she pulled all the counselors out and informed us that 27 girls were unaccounted for, and that Dick Eastland was missing, too and that's when we found out.

COOPER: I can't imagine what went through your mind when you heard that.

CUTRONA: Yes, honestly, the first thing I thought, this is not real. Wake up, Caroline, wake up. This is not real. I'm in a dream, and that's what I wanted it to be. I wanted it to be a dream because it's -- that's not real. That can't happen, this is -- Camp Mystic the safest place I've ever known and I just couldn't believe it. So, it was devastating.

COOPER: I saw a video online of, I think it was on a bus as kids were being taken away. I think a nurse -- I'm told a nurse, maybe recorded the video of kids singing on the bus. Were you on that bus or do you know what that is?

CUTRONA: Yes, they're singing.

(CHILDREN SINGING)

CUTRONA: Yes, we sing that song there, it's a good song.

COOPER: In terms of communicating, in normal times, if you don't have cell phones, how -- is there like a camp announcement system like loudspeakers or how do how do you find out what's going on?

[20:20:43]

CUTRONA: Yes, so, we have just an overall loudspeaker that, you know, they'll say, all right, campers and counselors, your first period activity is now over. Please report to your second period activity and they'll announce it on like this loudspeaker that you can hear no matter wherever you are at camp, you can hear it. And so, but the power went out at about 4:00 A.M. at Camp Mystic. So, I knew as a counselor because I didn't hardly sleep the whole night that the thunder lightning was going on.

Once that power went out, I knew in my head, oh, we're not going to have Reveille, which is what we wake up to. It's the trumpet sound and, you know, from you hear in "The Parent Trap" movies, whatever. But I knew that we weren't going to wake up to that sound because the power was out. So, that couldn't have happened. No announcements could have been made unless they were to individual cabins.

COOPER: So if the if the power was shut, the public address system would not have worked.

CUTRONA: Yes, not on the loudspeaker, no.

COOPER: Right, well, Caroline, I'm -- I appreciate talking to you again. I'm just so sorry for what you went through. And I wish you the best.

CUTRONA: Yes, thank you so much. I appreciate your time and just hope that people keep praying for those missing girls and families.

COOPER: Yes, absolutely. Caroline Cutrona, thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: My next guest had six family members impacted by the floods, including his niece, Devin Smith, who was rescued after being carried in the water for nearly 20 miles until she was able to grab hold onto a branch and scream for help. She was on a family camping trip on the Guadalupe River. Her dad was killed, while four other family members are still missing. Joining me now is her uncle Travis Reynolds.

Travis, I'm so sorry. We're talking under these circumstances. I understand four members of your family are missing. What's the latest you've heard from authorities on the search?

TRAVIS REYNOLDS, NIECE RESCUED FROM THE FLOOD: Yes, thank you for your time today. Yes, right now, we're still missing my brother Cody, his wife, Shelley, Tasha, which is Shelley's sister and Devin's mom and then Kendall, which is Devin's sister. Today we got really sad news that Joel, his body had been recovered, and he's confirmed deceased. So we've been working through the emotions of that today and dealing with Devin and still actively trying to search to find my brother and sister-in-law and the rest of the family.

COOPER: Oh God, it's unimaginable. How is Devin doing? How did -- has she told you what she went through? I mean, that's incredible that she was swept for so long down the river.

REYNOLDS: Yes, Devin's story is a miracle and we truly believe it was the hand of God and our faith in God has definitely carried us through this. But Devin was able to actually recount a large majority of the story. They were camping and they woke up to the flood waters. They tried to make an escape in a vehicle. My brother, sister-in-law and her sister actually escaped for the time being and got up the hill in a truck and were trying to get them to safety. The SUV that Devin, Joel, and Tasha were in, stalled out and they escaped through the sunroof. They were swept into a tree.

Joel held on to him and prayed over his family and did his very best to hang on as long as he could until the floodwaters swept him away. And sadly, he didn't resurface. Tasha and Devin held on to each other for as long as they could.

When they got swept away and they were separated because of some debris, they got pulled under water and they got to talk to each other back and forth in the river for as long as they could, and shared some -- Tasha shared some insight as when Devin was asking her to swim to her. She said, please don't just stay where you're at and let the current carry you. And Devin was able, after a very lengthy time in the river, to get a hold of a tree branch. And the rest of the story you see on the video, she stood there for quite some time. From what we understand, at least several hours.

COOPER: And I understand you also went out earlier to help with recovery efforts. What do you -- what was that like and what do you do now? I mean, as you're waiting for word, it's just -- it's so unthinkable.

[20:25:12]

REYNOLDS: You know, I wish we knew what to do. We did as a family. We did all that we could all that we knew to do. And my family and I actually went down in the Comfort, Texas area downriver from where were standing and tried our best to help where we could. We walked miles down the riverbank just looking for any signs of anybody. Obviously, you know, we want to bring our family home. But I also know

there's a lot of families across the state that are hurting, and our hearts are for them as well. And were just trying the best we can to help anywhere. We've done -- talked with the Texas Rangers, talked with the Red Cross, with multiple different agencies, trying to find avenues where we can help. And so far right now, we haven't heard any word back on where the rest of my family is at.

COOPER: I appreciate you talking to us in these circumstances, Travis. And I wish you the best. And I hope you get good news. And I hope you get news soon. And we're all praying for you.

REYNOLDS: Thank you, we really do appreciate it. Thank you guys for telling the story of our family.

COOPER: Travis Reynolds, thank you.

Coming up next. What a local R.V. park owner lived through as the waters rose, people scrambled for survival. Some did not make it and how she helped some people get out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:30:43]

COOPER: The death toll from flooding in Texas Hill Country is now at least 104. It's been rising all day. Among those victims, those staying at a Riverside RV Park owned by Lorena Guillen. I spoke with her shortly before airtime.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

COOPER: I understand you woke up early in the middle of the night and went down to check the level of the river. Is that right?

LORENA GUILLEN, OWNER, BLUE OAK RV PARK: Yes, that is correct. I was -- well, actually, I hadn't gone to sleep. My -- I have a restaurant right here on site and my house is right here. And I closed the restaurant at around 1:00 in the morning and it was started to rain really heavily. And I could not sleep.

So around 2:30 in the morning, I went to check the water levels of the river. So I drove all the way to the edge of the river. And I looked down and it was fine. Everything was wet, but it was fine.

And I called the sheriff's department at that time and I asked them how was the upper river area. And they had no information at that point. So I went to bed.

COOPER: And then when did you wake up next?

GUILLEN: I started to see a lot of lights from the rescue team and that's what woke me up. And my husband and I ran down the stairs and run into the RV Park. And there was -- we noticed there was a lot of water coming our way. The rescue team were trying to get their boats on the water to rescue a family that was being swept by the water. My husband got all the way to the waist into the river because the father was walking towards us with his two babies in his arms. And my husband kept yelling at him, throw your baby, throw your baby at me. And at that point, a big wave came by and they both got swept away.

My husband, fortunately, he got caught near the edge of the river at that point. And he was able to hold on and climb out into safety. He hadn't told me that until today. Otherwise, he knows I would have been really mad about that.

But then while he was doing that, I was going from door to door on knocking on every single RV we had to get everybody to safety. And, you know, getting people out, there was no time. The water was racing so fast. It went from nothing to 35 feet above, you know, all the way to the restaurant, 35 feet in 45 minutes.

COOPER: Wow.

GUILLEN: And while we were doing that, you can see a lot of vehicles floating away with the lights on. And you can hear a lot of honking and people banging against the windows, screaming for help.

COOPER: They were -- people were in the vehicles floating away.

GUILLEN: Yes, it was coming so fast. We've never seen a flood that fast. Never.

COOPER: The man with the babies who your husband was saying, throw me your babies, did he make it?

GUILLEN: No. Him and his wife have been found, but the babies have not.

COOPER: So of all the people staying in your RV Park, was that the only family that were killed?

GUILLEN: Yes, we were -- I'm going to say this word literally (ph) fortunate enough that one of my residents heard them screaming for help and he called 911 immediately. So we were one of the first RV Park that were held by the rescue team. And that's what woke up everybody.

So we were able to start getting people out immediately. And all of their RVs were gone. Every possession my 28 residents that I had here lost. Everything was gone, so --

[20:35:09]

COOPER: But you were able to help get most of them out except for that family?

GUILLEN: Except for that family. Yes, sir.

COOPER: Yes, sir. And --

GUILLEN: And then -- COOPER: -- you had an employee, Julian Ryan, is that right? You closed

the restaurant at one. I'm told he went home. What happened to him?

GUILLEN: Yes. We left the restaurant a little before 1:00. It was raining so hard. I told him, don't worry about it. Don't take the trash. I will do that in the morning. Go home. Be with your family. It's raining too hard.

And he left. Well, his house was flooding. So he broke a window to get his family to safety. And in the process of his -- he caught an artery of his arm. He got his family out into safety, but he bled to death.

COOPER: Oh my gosh.

GUILLEN: And he --

COOPER: We're showing his picture. How old was Julian?

GUILLEN: He was in his late 20s, a wonderful kid trying to make a living, working hard, extremely polite and well mannered. Everything was yes, ma'am. No, ma'am. Yes, sir. That was that type of kid he was. He was a local kid who grew up here with family here.

His mom was there. You know, very well loved by everybody. So it's just a complete and, you know, just -- we don't understand how -- we're just devastated by losing him and losing that family.

But I want to make a point that we're just one tiny little part of this whole devastation. That devastation goes for miles and miles and miles.

COOPER: Lorena, I'm so sorry for what you had been through and what you're going through. And I'm so glad you were able to help get so many people out of those RVs. And I'm glad your husband's OK.

Lorena Guillen, thank you so much.

GUILLEN: No, thank you. I really appreciate it.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

COOPER: Coming up next, more on what we know and don't know about that alert system in the area. We'll talk with our Chief Investigative Correspondent and former Camp Mystic camper Pamela Brown.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:41:27]

COOPER: At least 27 people have died, including children as young as eight at Camp Mystic, one of a dozen camps near the Guadalupe River in Texas Hill Country. As we've reported, several alerts went out on cell phones, but no clear answers yet as to whether they were received at the camp or whether anyone called the camp.

CNN's Pamela Brown knows the place well, she was once a camper there. She's now our chief investigative correspondent and joins us tonight from Kerrville. Pamela, what questions remain right now about the warning systems and what, if any, answers have you gotten?

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR, THE SITUATION ROOM: Well, Anderson, questions are sharpening over whether more could have been done in the decades before this deadly flooding and in the moments before it to avert the tragedy we saw here and also the ongoing threat. This is considered Flash Flood Valley. There is still a lot of concern here.

And what happened here has exposed a lot of holes, frankly. CNN did a review of a real time messaging system that is run by the National Weather Service. And it showed that no emergency manager from Kerr County was sending messages or interacting with National Weather Service staff leading up to the flooding, even as emergency officials in other towns and counties nearby were interacting on that same system.

Now, I should note, we don't know whether the emergency managers were just looking at it and just not interacting on it. But it is notable, especially when you look at the information we have about the alerts that were sent out. The first alert came from the National Weather Service at 1:15 a.m. of that life threatening flash flood.

That warning was issued then. That's when it was supposed to go on the phones. 3:35 a.m., emergency alert warning issued. Then another at 4:03 and then 4:35, the sheriff's office put out the first report of flooding.

But Anderson, I interviewed the mayor of Kerrville today who said he didn't receive any warnings on his phone. Clearly, the cell service or lack thereof there has been a big issue. And officials still talk about how fast and ferocious the water rose. And they're defending their response and why they didn't evacuate sooner when it wasn't so dangerous.

Here's what the Dalton -- Dalton Rice, the city manager, told me today when I pressed him on that.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

DALTON RICE, CITY MANAGER, KERRVILLE, TEXAS: It's very tough to make those calls because what we also don't want to do is cry wolf. You know, we don't want to make sure that we activate it at the right time. It is very difficult, very challenging, especially with this -- we're looking at 100 kilometers, right? That's a big straight line distance. That's not even along the river. These areas take a lot of time to get out to.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BROWN: So bottom line, no sirens here, no evacuations. And officials we've been speaking to, Anderson, say the current system here in Kerrville is just outdated for the new norm of these weather events that are just becoming more increasing and more significant.

COOPER: And I know obviously this is personal to you that you attended this camp, Camp Mystic, about 30 years ago. What does it mean to you and generations of other kids and families?

BROWN: It's been really hard to come back here, Anderson. My heart hurts, frankly, because Camp Mystic has left a special place in my heart. I had the privilege of going there, I should say, and I recognize that.

But I have so many fond memories. As a kid, I went there to escape everything. You know, parents dropped their kids off to give them that experience away from the news and social media and everything else so that they can have an experience of a lifetime for four weeks.

And I had that experience. I had so many joyous memories on the Guadalupe River, Anderson, that was the source of so much terror and grief. And I've been going back and looking at, you know, through the archives, finding old letters I wrote as a camper at Mystic, and I just can't stop thinking about these parents who could be getting letters from their little girls in the mail. Little girls that are no longer alive. It's just too much to bear.

[20:45:14]

COOPER: Yes. Pamela Brown, thank you for being there.

We'll have more ahead. Coming up next, I'll talk with a member of the volunteer, United Cajun Navy, which is now on the scene. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: One of the volunteer groups in Texas tonight is the United Cajun Navy. It was formed in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana. And spokesperson Brian Trascher joins me now.

Brian, thanks so much for being with us. You've been out on search and rescue operations. What's it like out there? What are you seeing?

BRIAN TRASCHER, SPOKESPERSON, UNITED CAJUN NAVY: It's a lot like we saw in West North Carolina, Anderson, after Hurricane Helene. The hilly territory, the kinetic waves rushing down, you know, tsunami- like flooding, waters taking out, destroying property and structures, and unfortunately taking lives in the process.

[20:50:11]

COOPER: You previously likened the flood zone to whitewater rapids. Have conditions improved?

TRASCHER: They have. As, you know, we'll get some more rain and it'll come up again and -- but it's been pretty dry today. Somebody told me that there might be another cell coming in tonight, but we'll just keep being careful.

COOPER: I've heard from some rescuers who talk about going out there looking for survivors and that even with this amount of time passed that there's still hope out there. Is that something you hold in your heart every time you go out as well? TRASCHER: We go out every day believing that we're going to find somebody alive. So far, that hasn't happened. Fortunately, the Coast Guard and a lot of the state and federal officials that have been here have found a lot of survivors and rescued a lot of people. My K-9 team recovered about 11 persons so far. Unfortunately, they didn't make it.

COOPER: How many folks does the Cajun Navy have out there?

TRASCHER: we -- so, let's see. The original airboat team probably had about a dozen. And then we sent in a search and rescue team that was about -- started out with about 10 of them and they ramped up to about 25. And then now we have our chaplain here for bereavement counseling and myself and a few other of our leadership.

COOPER: I mean, I'm old enough to remember Hurricane Katrina very well and remember seeing a lot of you folks out there doing incredible work. And it's remarkable to see that you're still doing it. What is it that makes you do this kind of work?

TRASCHER: Quite frankly, I mean, you were at Katrina front and center and you were with General Honore and you all become friends since. And you know how we were treated, Anderson. You know that we were left out to die. And that's the way I felt when I got to Western North Carolina.

Not quite the same here. This is, you know, a little bit of a different situation. But because we decided as an organization, that we're just not going to tolerate a late or even, you know, subpar federal response to a disaster. People need relief and they need it right away. And we have generous donors and we have volunteers with good hearts, with good skills, and we can go out there and deliver those services.

COOPER: Yes. It's remarkable what you're doing, and I'm so glad you're doing it.

Brian Trascher, thank you.

TRASCHER: Thank you.

COOPER: Coming up next, the long and tragic history of flooding in this area.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:56:50]

COOPER: Four months of rain fell in Central Texas in just a few hours. That's how this disaster began and not for the first time. More on the history now from Randi Kaye.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This was the scene July 16th, 1987 in the Texas Hill Country when the Guadalupe River experienced extreme flooding. The water proved deadly. Eleven inches of rain fell on the area and teenagers from another summer camp, Pot O' Gold Christian Camp near Comfort, Texas, were packed into buses in a desperate attempt to flee the scene.

Rescue teams managed to save dozens.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All campers (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Hold hands, girls.

KAYE (voice-over): A quick-thinking bus driver also helped save campers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At the time he entered the water, he was -- he judged approximately 12 inches deep. And by the time that he got the last youngster off the bus, the water was already up in the floor of the bus.

KAYE (voice-over): Not everyone was so lucky. Ten teenagers from inside this bus died.

When the water has nowhere to go in these parts, it surges through the hills and canyons. This area is so prone to flooding, it's often referred to by meteorologists as Flash Flood Alley.

The Guadalupe River is no stranger to major floods. According to this report from the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the river flooded each of these years. The report was in response to the October 1998 flood that claimed 12 lives.

That flood, according to this document, developed in a matter of hours and inundated areas that had never been flooded before. It offered tips for planning an evacuation route and assembling a disaster supply kit. Beyond that, it seems, little was done over the next quarter century to improve the warning system for future floods.

KAYE: We found as far back as 2016, nearly a decade ago, Kerr County commissioners were assessing the need for a flood warning system for the county. This after a river nearly buried the town of Wimberley, Texas, during Memorial Day weekend of 2015. Still, a Kerr County commissioner in an August 2016 meeting pushed back on the cost of such a system, calling it, quote," a little extravagant."

KAYE (voice-over): County documents show the next year they requested nearly a $1 million grant from FEMA, but didn't get it. In 2017, the Upper Guadalupe River Authority issued this video, warning people of flood risks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A dry draw can almost immediately change into a roaring river with thousands of gallons speeding downstream, causing water levels to rise several feet in a matter of minutes.

KAYE (voice-over): In 2021, more talk about possibly adding a flood warning system that included sirens.

CHARLIE HASTINGS, KERR COUNTY ENGINEER: We can hire an engineer at the next court meeting.

COMMISSIONER TOM MOSER, KERR COUNTY, TEXAS: OK. OK, so we need to take action to hire the engineer? You're going to put that on a future agenda.

HASTINGS: Future agenda, yes, sir.

MOSER: OK, good enough.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

COOPER: Randi joins us. Now, you spoke with the Kerr County sheriff back -- from back in 2016. What did he say?

KAYE (on-camera): Yes, Anderson, I spoke with the former Sheriff Rusty Hierholzer, and I wanted to ask him about his push over the years for a flood warning system. He didn't want to talk about it today, given all that his community is going through, but he did refer me to the 2016 meeting notes of the county commissioners, and it is all right there.

You can see that he was telling them about having to pull children from trees in previous flooding situations in that region. And he also told them that this code red system, which is this system --

COOPER: Yes.

KAYE (on-camera): -- that residents sign up for, is just not enough, that they need sirens. But as you heard in our story, Anderson, some just don't want to pay that.

COOPER: Randi Kaye, thanks very much.

The news continues. The Source with Kaitlan Collins starts now.