The tragedy at Texas summer camp, Camp Mystic, where devastating floods claimed the lives of multiple young campers, has a personal connection to Georgia Rep. Buddy Carter, whose granddaughters survived the incident while their cousin lost her life. According to a post on FOX 5 Atlanta, Carter revealed that although his granddaughters were safe, their cousin, identified as Janie, was among the victims of the flooding.
The camp, which suffered the catastrophic event after an unprecedented deluge dropped four months' worth of rain in mere hours, saw almost 60 fatalities with more still missing; the young campers, some as young as 8 years old, were caught in the surging waters that overwhelmed Camp Mystic located near the Guadalupe River, Carter urged for collective prayers and emphasized the urgency of resources for rescue operations in a statement obtained by FOX 5 Atlanta.
Meanwhile, in an interview with Channel 2 Action News, Rep. Carter shared the harrowing ordeal that his granddaughters went through, describing the moments of frantic waiting until confirmation of their safety was received, the congressman recounted, "My oldest son called me and he was obviously very upset and told me what had happened and they couldn't get in touch with anyone."
Further, Carter spoke to the trauma his granddaughters are now facing, having narrowly escaped with their lives but carrying the grief of their cousin's loss, he said, "It's been very traumatic as you can well imagine," detailing that the girls are set to begin counseling and mentioning that his son had to offer them extra comfort, staying with them through the night; expressing gratitude to the first responders and to President Trump for offering his condolences to Janie's parents, these details were shared first with Channel 2 Action News.
