Two sisters, Blair and Brooke Harber, who died in the Texas floods on Friday, July 4, were found having passed away holding hands.
They were staying with their grandparents
Blair and Brooke Harber, aged 13 and 11, were staying with their grandparents, Charlene and Mike in Hunt when the flooding occurred.
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Their parents, RJ and Annie, were staying five homes up, but by the time the storm woke them up and they were able to reach the other cabin, it was too late to save the girls and their grandparents.
The sisters were found holding hands
According to a GoFundMe set up by the girls’ aunt, Jennifer, the sisters were found 15 miles away in Kerrville on Saturday afternoon and “their hands were locked together.”
Jennifer also said that Brooke had texted her father and grandparents, “I love you” at 3:30 a.m.
The father had tried to reach them
The girls’ grandparents, Charlene and Mike, have not yet been found after the flooding.
When the parents got woken up by the storm, their cabin had already begun to flood but they were able to escape through a window. RJ then borrowed a neighbor’s kayak to try to reach his family’s other cabin in the high water.
The water had risen too high
“He woke two neighbors up for help, saved their lives and borrowed a kayak,” Jennifer wrote.
“But the water had risen too high to reach the neighbor’s house that my parents and nieces and their two dogs were at.”
The father tried to reach his family despite it
“He attempted by kayak and the house was only five houses down closest to the river, but the waters were too rough,” the fundraiser page read.
“He knew he would be swept away. There were white caps on the waves so he kayaked back to where the other six survivors were.”
The girls were praised by their father
Speaking to CNN, RJ recalled his daughters’ personalities. He said, “[Blair] was a gifted student and had a generous kind heart.”
“[Brooke] was like a light in any room, people gravitated to her and she made them laugh and enjoy the moment,” the father added.
The death toll from the flooding has exceeded 110
The sisters will be laid to rest in a joint funeral back home in Dallas once their grandparents, who remain missing, are found.
The floods which saw Guadalupe River rise washed out an all-girls Christian summer camp, Camp Mystic.
According to the latest estimates by CNN, the death toll from the disaster has now exceeded 110, with search and rescue efforts still ongoing as more than 160 people remain missing.
