KERRVILLE, Texas — In one of the most devastating stories to emerge from last week’s deadly Texas floods, a father desperately clinging to his children was swept away by raging waters after refusing to let go, despite residents pleading to save them.
Lorena Guillen, owner of the Blue Oak RV Park in Kerr County—ground zero for the flooding—described the tragic moment through tears on Monday.
“My husband was waist-deep in the water yelling, ‘Please, throw me your baby!’” Guillen recounted. “But the father just held on. He wouldn’t let them go. Then the current took them.”
That father, identified as John Burgess of Liberty, Texas, has since been confirmed dead, according to KWTX. His wife Julia and their two young sons remain missing. Their daughter, who was at a nearby summer camp, survived.
The Burgess family had been staying at the park for the Fourth of July holiday. Guillen said she’ll never forget the terrified screams that filled the night as 28 RVs were destroyed by the sudden surge from the Guadalupe River.
“We heard people screaming all night,” she said. “Cabins from the RV park next door came floating by, smashing into trees. It was chaos. Just voices yelling, ‘Help me! Help me!’ over and over.”
Guillen, who also owns a local bar, said she received a flash flood warning just after closing for the night. At around 2:30 a.m., she walked to the riverbank to check the conditions herself. “It looked calm,” she said. “I even called the sheriff’s department to ask if we should evacuate, but they said they had no updates at that time.”
Within an hour, the water surged more than 10 feet. She and her husband rushed out as rescue teams arrived and RVs began floating away. “It was pitch black. A family of five was stranded. The river was moving so fast—too fast.”
Guillen and her husband banged on RV doors to alert residents. By Sunday, eight bodies were recovered from her property. Two young girls were found trapped under debris. Dozens more were missing from the neighboring park.
The river rose a staggering 27 feet in just 45 minutes, leaving behind mangled cars, downed trees, and twisted metal. Cleanup crews have been working around the clock, but the damage is overwhelming.
Despite the loss, Guillen said she doesn’t fault local responders. “I truly believe they did everything they could. The problem is there wasn’t enough money to put proper warning systems in place. We need alarms on every property. People didn’t stand a chance.”
She added: “I’ve lived here most of my life. I have friends in their 90s who say they’ve never seen anything like this. No one ever imagined the river could take everything so quickly.”
The official death toll from the flooding in Kerr County has surpassed 95, with over 150 people still missing. Rescue efforts continue.
