The devastating floods that tore through Texas last week have left behind unimaginable grief, with the death toll now surpassing 100. Among the countless tragic stories emerging from the disaster, one account stands out—a father’s final, desperate attempt to protect his children as floodwaters swept them away.
Lorena Guillen, owner of Blue Oak RV Park in Kerr County, witnessed the horrifying moment. She described seeing a man clinging to a tree in the rushing water, his arms locked around his children as neighbors begged him to let go so they could be rescued. “My husband was shouting, ‘Please throw me your baby!'” Guillen recalled, her voice trembling. “But the man held tight to his babies… and then they were gone.”
The father was later identified as John Burges from Liberty, Texas. His wife and two sons remain missing, while their daughter—away at summer camp—survived. Just hours before the flood, the family had been celebrating the Fourth of July at Guillen’s RV park. “The kids were so excited to be here,” Guillen said, the memory now unbearably painful.
That night, the sounds of terror filled the air as cabins floated away and people screamed for help. Guillen and her husband rushed toward the chaos, but the water rose too quickly. “The RVs were already washing away,” she said. “It was completely black—we couldn’t see anything.”
Nearby, Camp Mystic suffered catastrophic losses, with at least 27 campers and staff dead and 11 still missing. Among the victims was the camp’s director, Dick Eastland, who died trying to save children. His grandson later shared a moving tribute: “If he couldn’t die peacefully, he would die saving the girls he loved.”
As floodwaters recede, the true scale of the tragedy becomes clear. But amid the devastation, stories like John Burges’ and Dick Eastland’s remind us of the extraordinary love that shone through the darkness.
