Two young camp counselors, Silvana Garza Valdez, 20, and Maria Paula Zarate, 19, took heroic action during the catastrophic Texas floods on July 4.
As water quickly rose near Camp Mystic, the two were working at a nearby branch when a group of evacuees arrived. Realizing the danger, they began writing their names on their own arms in case they were swept away. Then, they did the same for the girls in their care—writing the children’s names on their arms in visible places to help with identification if the worst happened.
Some areas of the camp were on higher ground, but others were dangerously low-lying. Despite the chaos, Silvana and Maria were able to help save 20 girls.
Silvana Garza and Maria Paula said they tried to stay strong and put on a “happy face” to keep the girls calm as they prepared to evacuate their section of Camp Mystic—where at least 27 campers and counselors have been confirmed d**d and 11 others are still missing.
“At the time, we started to prepare our girls because we thought we were also going to be evacuated,” Maria said, per the New York Post. “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.”
“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 campers and counselors were eventually rescued from their location, only to later learn the full scale of the tragedy.
More than 100 people have been confirmed d**d in the devastating Central Texas floods, as emergency crews continue searching for dozens still missing. Four days later, search-and-rescue teams continued searching for the missing along the Guadalupe River on Monday in Hunt, Texas.