Young campers, teachers and football coach among Texas flood victims

3 hours ago Share Save Rachel Hagan BBC News Share Save

Camp Mystic This picture of Renee Smajstrla was taken at Camp Mystic on Thursday, her uncle wrote on Facebook

An eight-year-old girl and the director of an all-girls' summer camp are among the victims of flash floods in Texas that have claimed dozens of lives. Officials say most of the victims have been identified. Authorities have not yet released any names publicly. Here is what we know so far about the victims, many of whom were children.

Renee Smajstrla

Renee Smajstrla, 8, was at Camp Mystic when flooding swept through the summer camp for girls, her uncle said in a Facebook post. "Renee has been found and while not the outcome we prayed for, the social media outreach likely assisted the first responders in helping to identify her so quickly," wrote Shawn Salta, of Maryland. "We are thankful she was with her friends and having the time of her life, as evidenced by this picture from yesterday," he wrote. "She will forever be living her best life at Camp Mystic." Camp Mystic is a nearly century-old Christian summer camp for girls on the banks of the Guadalupe River near Hunt, Texas. Operated by generations of the same family since the 1930s, the camp's website bills itself as a place for girls to grow "spiritually" in a "wholesome" Christian atmosphere "to develop outstanding personal qualities and self-esteem".

Lila Bonner

Nine-year-old Lila Bonner, a Dallas native, was found dead after flooding near Camp Mystic, according to NBC News. "In the midst of our unimaginable grief, we ask for privacy and are unable to confirm any details at this time," her family said in a statement to the news outlet. "We ache with all who loved her and are praying endlessly."

Eloise Peck

Eloise Peck, 8, was also confirmed dead after the deluge at Camp Mystic, according to CBS News Texas. US media reported that she was best friends with Lila Bonner. A sign posted outside Eloise Peck's home said "she lost her life in the tragic flooding", and asked for privacy for the family.

Sarah Marsh

Camp Mystic

Sarah Marsh, a student at Cherokee Bend Elementary School in Alabama, would have entered third grade in August. She, too, was attending Camp Mystic and her grandmother, Debbie Ford Marsh, posted online to say that her granddaughter was among the girls killed. "We will always feel blessed to have had this beautiful spunky ray of light in our lives. She will live on in our hearts forever!" she wrote. In a post on Facebook, Alabama Senator Katie Britt said she was "heartbroken over the loss of Sarah Marsh, and we are keeping her family in our thoughts and prayers during this unimaginable time".

Janie Hunt

Nine-year-old Janie Hunt from Dallas, was attending the same camp and died in the floods. Her grandmother Margaret Hunt told The New York Times she went to Camp Mystic with six of her cousins, who were all safe. Margaret said Janie's parents had to visit a funeral home and identify their daughter. Janie was a great-granddaughter of the oil baron William Herbert Hunt.

Dick Eastland

Richard "Dick" Eastland, the longtime co-owner and co-director of Camp Mystic, died while being flown to a Houston hospital. The news was confirmed by Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, who attended Bible study with Dick and described him as a pillar of the local community. Dick's wife, Tweety, was found safe at their riverside home, according to Texas Public Radio. The Eastlands had run Camp Mystic, a girls' summer camp on the banks of the Guadalupe River, since 1974, becoming the third generation of their family to do so. According to the Washington Post, the couple have 11 grandchildren and much of the extended family is involved in camp life. Their eldest son, Richard, manages the camp kitchen and their youngest, Edward, and his wife direct operations at Camp Mystic Guadalupe River.

Chloe Childress

Chloe Childress was one of Mystic's camp counsellors. The 18-year-old's death was announced by her former high school. "Chloe made space for others to feel safe, valued, and brave. She understood what it meant to be part of a community, and more than that, she helped build one," the headteacher of Kinkaid School wrote in a letter. She was due to start studies at the University of Texas in Austin later this year, ABC News added.

Jane Ragsdale

Heart O' the Hills Jane Ragsdale was described as the "heart and soul" of Heart O' the Hills camp

Heart O' the Hills is another all-girls' camp that sits along the Guadalupe River and it was right in the path of Friday's flood. Jane Ragsdale, described as the "heart and soul" of Heart O'Hills, "did not make it", a statement shared on the camp's official website said on Saturday. Ragsdale, who started off as a camper then a counsellor, became the director and co-owner of the camp in 1976. "We are mourning the loss of a woman who influenced countless lives and was the definition of strong and powerful," the statement said. No campers were residing at the site when the floods hit and and most of those who were there have been accounted for, according to the statement.

Julian Ryan

GoFundMe

As floodwaters tore through their trailer in Ingram, Texas, Julian Ryan turned to his fiancée Christina Wilson and said: "I'm sorry, I'm not going to make it. I love y'all" - Christina told Houston television station KHOU. His body wasn't recovered until hours later, after waters had receded. Julian had just finished a late dishwashing shift at a restaurant when the Guadalupe River overflowed early Friday. He and Christina woke to ankle-deep water that quickly rose to their waists. She told the station their bedroom door stuck shut and with water rushing in, Ryan punched through a window to get his family out. He severely cut his arm in the process. Their 13-month-old and 6-year-old sons and his mother survived by floating on a mattress until help could arrive. "He died a hero, and that will never go unnoticed," Connie Salas, Ryan's sister, told KHOU.

Katheryn Eads

Katheryn Eads, 52, was swept away by floodwaters in the Kerrville area of Texas, early Friday morning after she and her husband, Brian, who told The New York Times, fled their campervan as rising water surged around them. Another camper had offered them a ride and they made it across the street before the vehicle stalled in the flood. Moments later, both were pulled into the current. Brian said he lost sight of his wife after being struck by debris. He survived by clinging onto a tree until he reached dry land. Katheryn's body was later recovered. "God has her now," her mother, Elizabeth Moss Grover, wrote on Facebook. Amy Hutchinson, director of Olive Branch Counselling in Texas, where Katheryn had worked, told The Washington Post she was "a hope and a light to all who knew her… a stellar counsellor and professor."

Jeff Wilson

Humble ISD

Teacher Jeff Wilson was also killed in Kerrville, according to the local school authority, which said he was a "beloved teacher and co-worker" who had served the district for more than 30 years. His wife and son were still missing, according to the post by the Humble Independent School District. The group were on a camping trip when flooding struck, CBS News Austin reported.

Reece and Paula Zunker

The death of another teacher, Reece Zunker, was announced by a second Texan schools authority. The football coach died alongside his wife Paula, according to Kerrville Independent School District. Their two children are still missing, the district's Facebook post added. "Reece was a passionate educator", the Facebook post said. Paula, a former teacher, also "left a lasting mark", the impact of which continued to be felt.

Blair and Brooke Harber

Two sisters from Dallas - 13-year-old Blair Harber and 11-year-old Brooke Harber - were staying with their grandparents along the Guadalupe River when their cabin was washed away, CBS News reported. The deaths were confirmed by St Rita Catholic Community, where Brooke was due to start sixth grade. Blair was preparing to enter eighth grade. "Please keep the Harber family in your prayers during this time of profound grief. May our faith, our love, and our St. Rita community be a source of strength and comfort in the days ahead," said Father Joshua J Whitfield in correspondence with church members. The girls' parents were in a separate cabin and were not harmed. Their grandparents are still unaccounted for.

Bobby and Amanda Martin

Husband and wife Bobby Martin, 46, and his wife Amanda Martin, 44, also lost their lives, Mr Martin's father told the New York Times. They, too, were said to be staying near the river when their vehicle was swept away by rising flood waters. Bobby was described by a friend who spoke to the Houston Chronicle as a keen outdoorsman and attentive friend, and Amanda was the "same shining light".

Tanya Burwick

Walmart employee Tanya Burwick, 62, was driving to work in San Angelo when flood water hit early on Friday, family members said. Her empty vehicle and later her body were found the same day. "She lit up the room and had a laugh that made other people laugh," her daughter Lindsey Burwick was quoted as saying by the AP news agency.

Sally Sample Graves

The umpire who officiated the match at the centre of Sunday's electronic line-calling controversy at Wimbledon is "having a rest day", the All England Club's chief executive said.

An "operator error" meant the ball-tracking technology was accidentally deactivated for one game in the fourth-round match between Britain's Sonay Kartal and Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova on Centre Court.

Kartal sent a backhand long when game point down at 4-4, but this was not detected by the line-call system, which instead made two automated calls of "stop".

Umpire Nico Helwerth opted to replay the point - which Kartal won - but was criticised by Pavlyuchenkova and some pundits for not using his authority to overrule and call the ball out.

The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) said he had "followed the established process".

Asked about Helwerth's absence from the umpire rota on Monday, AELTC chief executive Sally Bolton said: "We have rotation of our umpires regularly. A little bit like the players, the umpires also need rest days throughout the tournament.

"So he's having a rest day today.

"He's fine. Look, it's really important to say that the umpire followed the protocols in place. He did what he needed to do on court and acted entirely correctly."

Released Hamas hostage says Trump can bring home those still captive in Gaza

25 minutes ago Share Save Nick Beake BBC News Reporting from Tel Aviv Share Save

BBC Keith Siegel urged the US president to pressure both Israel and Hamas to agree a deal

An American Israeli man who was held captive by Hamas has told the BBC that US President Donald Trump has the power to secure the release of the remaining hostages and end the war in Gaza. Keith Siegel, 66, was kidnapped from Kibbutz Kfar Aza during the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023. He was released this February after 484 days in captivity under a ceasefire deal that Trump helped broker just before he took office. He was taken along with his wife, Aviva, who was held for 51 days before being freed during an earlier ceasefire. Mr Siegel was speaking ahead of a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Trump at the White House on Monday evening.

In an interview in Tel Aviv, he thanked Trump for securing his own release and said the president could now do the same for the remaining 50 hostages, up to 20 of whom are believed to still be alive. "I believe he has a lot of strength, power and ability to put pressure on those that need to be pressured, on both sides in order to get the agreement, get the deal signed, and get all of hostages back and bring it into the war," he said. Trump has said he hopes a new ceasefire and hostage release deal will be agreed this week, but it appears there are still significant gaps between Israel and Hamas. The two sides resumed indirect talks in Qatar on Sunday evening but they ended after three hours without a breakthrough, according to a Palestinian official. Before he flew to Washington DC, Netanyahu said he believed his meeting with Trump could "definitely help advance that result we are all hoping for". It is believed the plan includes the staggered release of 10 living hostages and the bodies of 18 dead hostages in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli jails. Hamas said on Friday that it had delivered a "positive response". But a Palestinian official said it had requested several changes, including a US guarantee that hostilities would not resume if negotiations on an end to the war failed - an idea Netanyahu has previously rejected.

Reuters Keith Siegel and his wife Aviva met Donald Trump in Washington earlier this year

The Salt Path author defends herself against claims she misled readers

2 hours ago Share Save Steven McIntosh Entertainment reporter Share Save

Getty Images

Author Raynor Winn has been accused of fabricating or giving misleading information about some elements of her best-selling book The Salt Path. The 2018 book, and recent film adaptation, told the story of a couple who decide to walk the 630-mile South West Coast Path after their home is repossessed. An investigation by the Observer suggested some of Winn's claims about her husband's illness and the events that led to the couple losing their home have been misrepresented. Winn has described the Observer article as "highly misleading" and said the couple are taking legal advice, adding that the book was "the true story of our journey".

Here's what we know so far:

What is The Salt Path about?

Getty Images Gillian Anderson played Winn in the film adaptation of The Salt Path, released in May

The Salt Path has sold more than two million copies since its publication in March 2018, and a film adaptation starring Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs was released earlier this year. In the book, Winn said she and her husband Moth lost a substantial sum of money after making a bad investment in a friend's business, which left them liable for his debts when the company failed. She said it ultimately led to the couple losing their home. Around the same time, Winn wrote, Moth was diagnosed with corticobasal degeneration (CBD), which usually has a life expectancy of around six to eight years. Winn said after she and Moth became homeless and Moth was diagnosed, the couple decided to set off on the South West Coast Path. The book documents the pair eventually walking the full 630-mile route, living off a small amount of money in weekly tax credits each week, and wild camping every night. It describes the physical exhaustion but also rewarding nature of the walk, as well as their interactions with members of the public along the way. The book ends with the couple getting a fresh start with the offer of new accommodation. As a result of the walk, Winn says her husband's health improved, and he has now lived for 12 years since the diagnosis. Winn has written two further books since The Salt Path - both of which also focus on themes of walking, nature, homelessness and wild camping - and has a fourth due to be published later this year.

What does the Observer's investigation allege?

Getty Images Moth Winn (left), pictured with actor Jason Isaacs, who portrayed him in the film

The investigation claims the couple lost their home in North Wales after Winn defrauded her employer of £64,000, and not in a bad business deal as she originally suggested. The couple reportedly borrowed £100,000 with 18% interest, secured against their house, from a distant relative, in order to repay the money she had been accused of stealing. The Observer said the couple also had a £230,000 mortgage on the same property, meaning that their combined debts exceeded the value of the house. The couple's home was then reportedly repossessed after the relative sued them to recover the money. The Observer added the couple owned a house in France that had land on which they had previously stayed. However, it also said the property had been in an uninhabitable state for some time, and that villagers said the couple never stayed in the house but would stay in caravans on the land. The newspaper also said it had spoken to medical experts who said it was unlikely Moth had CBD, given his long survival after diagnosis. It also reports that Raynor and Moth Winn are not the couple's real names. After the Observer's article was published, the charity PSPA, which supports people with CBD and has worked with Raynor and Moth Winn, said it had "made the decision to terminate our relationship with the family".

How has Raynor Winn responded?

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