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Two teenage counselors near Camp Mystic shared the harrowing experience of having to inscribe names on the bodies of young campers while bracing for the worst.
Silvana Garza and Maria Paula revealed the terror that gripped the campsites in Texas Hill Country as the destructive flood waters posed a serious threat to their survival.
In anticipation of the worst, the counselors revealed they began writing their names on their bodies.
‘Us as counselors, we started to write our names on our skin, anywhere that was visible,’ Maria told Spanish outlet NMas.
‘We did the same for the girls, wrote their names anywhere that was easy to see.’
The massive floods ravaged the Lone Star State on the Fourth of July, with at least 80 people killed, including 28 children.
An all-girls private Christian summer camp called Camp Mystic took the brunt of the devastation.
Silvana and Maria were working at a neighboring branch when survivors from Camp Mystic were ushered to their location, causing confusion and panic.
‘At the time, we started to prepare our girls because we thought we were also going to be evacuated,’ Maria said.
‘We told them to pack a bag, to pack their favorite stuffed animal. We didn’t know if we were going to be evacuated or not. We were just waiting.’
Counselors Silvana Garza and Maria Paula recounted the moment they resorted to writing their names on their bodies and instructing their campers to do the same upon receiving orders to evacuate.
Camp Mystic, an all girls Christian camp, was in the direct path of the flood, leaving multiple young girls dead or missing
Silvana and Maria explained to a local Spanish outlet that they were at a neighboring camp and had to evacuate after the tragedy at Camp Mystic
Things took a turn for the worse when the counselors were informed about the tragedy nearby and asked to ‘put on a happy face’ to not scare the younger girls.
Silvana explained that the young girls began to catch on that something tragic had happened. When they learned they were going to be evacuated, chaos ensued.
‘All of the girls started to go crazy, some were crying because they didn’t want to leave,’ Silvana said.
‘Others wanted their parents. I really don’t know how to explain it. It was something awful.’
The girls said that they didn’t have their cell phones during the event and weren’t initially told about the fatalities.
Silvana admitted that she didn’t understand the magnitude of the tragedy until they evacuated.
Just last week, the two girls were at Camp Mystic and were only recently moved to the neighboring location.
Silvana added that ‘no one can understand’ the experience other than those who have lived it.
Despite the mass tragedy, Silvana found solace in the fact that the girls who were killed ‘had an amazing time’ at the ‘incredible’ camp before their untimely deaths.
While rescue efforts continue in Kerr County, Silvana and Maria are staying at a shelter house in Kirby, which is about two hours from Camp Mystic.
Rescue efforts have continued since the flood as dozens remain unaccounted for
Search and rescue workers have been combing through the impacted areas nonstop in search of survivors or remains of missing people
In another harrowing tale, a teenager at Camp Mystic revealed how she quickly grabbed her name tag as her cabin began to flood so that her body would be identified in case she wasn’t found alive.
Callie McAlary, 16, said in an interview on Fox News with her mother, Tara Bradburn, that she was afraid she wouldn’t survive when she awoke to her fellow campers running from flood waters.
‘We went to bed thinking it was just a normal thunderstorm. One minute you see lightning strike and the next you hear “water’s coming up” and you have kids running just trying to get to other cabins, trying to get to safety,’ Callie recalled.
Callie was staying on Senior Hill with the older campers and escaped the ravaging waters that hit the buildings on lower ground, near the Guadalupe River.
‘I put on my name tag because I was scared that if water was coming out of other cabins that ours might be next, and I just put it on for safe keeping,’ she revealed.
‘In my head I was saying, “If something does happen and I do get swept away, at least I’ll have my name on my body,”‘ Callie said.
Callie McAlary, 16, has attended Camp Mystic for years and was a senior camper during the devastating floods over the Fourth of July weekend
Callie (left) sat down for an interview on Fox News with her mother, Tara Bradburn (right), and revealed that she grabbed her name tag to identify her body in case she didn’t survive the floods
Callie was staying on Senior Hill and was rescued from the massive floods. Many of the younger girls who were in cabins closer to the river lost their lives (Pictured: the campsite ravaged after the flash floods)
Her mother Tara listened to her daughter’s traumatizing story in horror and choked back tears when recalling the moment she saw Callie alive with her name tag still on.
‘This was not an environment we ever thought we would have to prepare her for,’ Tara added.
‘That comment, to me as a parent, when she got off that helicopter and finally came into my arms, and I saw this name tag on her… it resonated with me,’ Callie’s mom said while holding back tears.
Despite the traumatic experience, Tara praised her daughter for thinking quickly during a crisis.
Callie’s mom added that she was grateful her daughter survived, but was devastated for the families in their camp community who lost children.
Callie recalled the awful moments in the early hours of Independence Day as she evacuated the camp that’s been an integral part of her childhood.
Callie discussed the shock and sadness she felt after finding out that some of the girls at her camp could be gone
Callie said the flood came on fast, and at first, she didn’t think it was anything more than a storm (Pictured: items scattered after the flooding ruined camp cabins)
The teen said she couldn’t imagine that some of the younger girls who hugged her just last week could now be gone.
The tragedy has claimed the lives of at least five young girls who were attending the summer camp, some of whom were just eight years old.
Renee Smajstrla, 8, Janie Hunt, 9, Sarah Marsh, 8, Lila Bonner, 8, and Eloise Peck, 8, died in the floods while attending Camp Mystic.
Two other girls, who weren’t campers but were staying at a cabin nearby with their grandparents, also died.
Blair, 13, and Brooke Harber, 11, were killed while their grandparents, Charlene and Mike Harber, were reported missing. Their parents were staying in a separate cabin and were safe.
At least five girls from Camp Mystic lost their lives while a massive multi-agency search has ensued to find at least 11 unaccounted-for campers (Pictured: the aftermath of the tragedy)
The death toll has risen to at least 80 people, 28 of whom are children (Pictured: people gather for a prayer circle near the Guadalupe River)
Callie, a senior camper, was staying in a cabin on higher ground. Most of the missing girls were younger and were staying closer to the river
A large-scale search effort has ensued, with over 800 people rescued. A massive search and rescue operation is still underway to locate at least 11 other missing campers.
Multiple agencies including local first responders and the Department of Homeland Security are responding to the emergency.
President Donald Trump signed a ‘major disaster declaration’ to support officials and Governor Greg Abbott vowed during a press conference, ‘We will find every one of them.’
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said the federal government is working to ‘update the technology’ to enhance weather warnings.
