Texas Father Found 'I Love You' Texts From His Daughters After Attempting to Reach Them During Flash Flood

Individual accounts of tragedy are emerging out of Central Texas as communities along the Guadalupe River contend with the devastation inflicted by flash flooding over the July 4 weekend.

Included in the death toll — which has soared to over 100 — are 13-year-old Blair and 11-year-old Brook Harber, whose final message to their father came by text as he struggled to kayak to their rescue, the The Wall Street Journal reported.

The Harber family was spending the holiday weekend at their cabin in the Casa Bonita community near Hunt, Texas. Since they purchased in cabin in 2020, it's been a haven for memories of time together spent kayaking and fishing.

The summer storm woke 45-year-old RJ around 3:30 a.m. on Friday, hours after he had received flash-flood warnings for other areas. Concerned for his daughters who were staying with their grandparents at a nearby cabin, closer to the river, he decided to check on the girls and fishing gear he'd left by the river. When he stepped out of bed, several inches of water already covered the floor.

RJ woke his wife and the two climbed out of a window to escape rising floodwaters, rushing to wake their neighbors. The father then borrowed a kayak and life jacket and attempted to paddle through raging floodwater toward his daughters. He made it halfway, but powerful currents and floating debris forced him back.

"I shined a flashlight out there, and I could see it was white water, and I've kayaked enough to know that that was gonna be impossible," RJ told The Wall Street Journal. "There were cars floating at me and trees floating at me. I knew if I took even one stroke further, it was gonna be a death sentence."

RJ and his wife headed to higher ground, where a family opened their home to others who had escaped the floods. Despite unreliable cell service, RJ looked at his cell phone. He had a text from Brooke. "I love you," read the message, sent at 3:30 a.m.

Annie Harber, 43, also received 3:30 a.m. "I love you," messages from both daughters. Blair and Brooke's other grandfather in Michigan received a text containing a photo of him with the girls that read, "Love you."

Blair and Brooke's bodies were later found miles downstream; their grandparents remain missing.

As of Wednesday, at least 161 people remain missing in Kerr County, where the flood's damage was concentrated. Statewide, 119 deaths have been confirmed. As rescue and recovery operations continue, speculation into emergency alert system failures amid budget cuts has emerged.

When asked whether he would initiate an investigation into potential preparation and response shortcomings, Texas Governor Greg Abbott compared the state to a football team. "Every football team makes mistakes," he told reporters, going on to say asking about blame was "the word choice of losers."