As officials continue to confirm deaths and search for those missing after the Texas Hill Country floods on Friday, locals have started to share stories of incredible acts of bravery and heroism amid a weekend of anguish.
Julian Ryan and his fiancé Christina Wilson were at their home in Ingram, when water began rushing through the doors.
As the water was quickly rising, Ryan, 27, punched through a window to get Wilson, their children, and his mother out of the flooded house, according to Houston outlet KHOU-11.
Wilson told the outlet the glass cut one of Ryan’s arteries and his arm was badly injured. Calls to 911 went unanswered.
“By 6 (a.m.), he looked at me and the kids and my mother-in-law and said, ‘I’m sorry, I’m not going to make it. I love y’all,’” Wilson told KHOU-11.
Ryan is being remembered as a “true hero,” who was dedicated to his family, according to a GoFundMe created for the family.
Erin Burgess, who lives in Ingram, told FOX 29 San Antonio she wouldn’t have survived if it weren’t for her teenage son.
Burgess said water poured into her home within minutes, forcing her family to seek refuge outside. They hung onto a tree for an hour before water fell low enough for her to hike to a neighbor’s house, the outlet reported.
She credited her 19-year-old son, who is more than 6 feet tall, with saving her life.
“That’s the only thing that saved me, was hanging on to him,” Burgess said.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry praised Emma Foltz, a resident of Alexandria, Louisiana, and a senior at Louisiana Tech University, who has worked as a camp counselor at Camp Mystic in Texas for three years.
“She played an instrumental role in helping evacuate 14 of her campers to safety,” Landry wrote in a Facebook post. “Please join me in thanking Emma for all her hard work and bravery under immense pressure.
“We continue to pray for all those affected by this travesty,” he added. “Louisiana is here to help!”
“Texans are known for their faith, strength, and resilience,” Abbott wrote in a statement. “Even as floodwaters raged, neighbors rushed in to rescue, comfort, and bring hope. In times of loss, we turn to God for comfort, healing and strength. I urge every Texan to join me in prayer this Sunday—for the lives lost, for those still missing, for the recovery of our communities, and for the safety of those on the front lines.”
Here are some of those still missing, as of Saturday night.