Heartbroken Eyewitness Recounts Tragic Flood: Texas Father Clings to Children, All Swept Away
During the devastating floods in Kerr County, Texas, a father’s desperate grip on his children ended in heartbreaking tragedy, a local witness recalls.
Lorena Guillen, owner of the Blue Oak RV Park, described the harrowing scene: her husband was in the floodwaters pleading with the father to hand over his children. “My husband was trying to help — he begged, ‘Please throw me your baby!’ But the father held on tight,” Guillen said solemnly on Monday. “Then they were all swept away.”
The father, later identified as John Burgess of Liberty, Texas, was tragically confirmed dead, according to local news outlet KWTX. Burgess was the younger brother of country music star Pat Green, who shared a heartfelt tribute to his brother on Instagram.
John’s wife Julia and their two young sons remain missing in the aftermath, while their daughter—who had been staying at a nearby summer camp—was found safe. The family had traveled to the Blue Oak RV Park to celebrate the Fourth of July, and according to Guillen, the children had been eagerly looking forward to the holiday trip.
The flood destroyed all 28 RVs in the park that morning. Guillen’s haunting memories of the night linger: “We heard people screaming throughout the night. The cabins from the RV park next door came floating by, smashing against the trees.”
This tragic event has left the community shaken, mourning a family torn apart by nature’s unforgiving fury.
“’Help me! Help me!’ That’s what echoed through the night,” said Lorena Guillen, owner of Blue Oak RV Park. “You heard so much screaming — it was just overwhelming.”
Guillen had just closed her other business, Howdy’s Bar, around 12:45 a.m. on Friday when the rain started pouring. Soon after, a flash flood warning was issued.
By 2:30 a.m., unable to sleep, she walked to the river’s edge — but saw nothing unusual. Seeking reassurance, she called the sheriff’s department to check water levels and whether evacuation was necessary. They had no updates.
About an hour later, the arrival of rescue crews’ flashing lights jolted her and her husband awake.
“My husband and I ran down to the park. The first level of the RVs was already being swept away. The river had risen about 10 feet,” she recalled. “A family of five was stranded near the river — their RV was floating off. It was pitch black, and so terrifying.”
The couple frantically banged on doors, urging everyone to evacuate as the floodwaters rose. On Sunday, eight bodies were found on the property, and two young girls were discovered trapped beneath debris. At the neighboring RV park, about 40 people were still reported missing.
The devastation was unimaginable: tangled wires, crushed vehicles, and uprooted trees scattered where RVs once stood, all caused by the Guadalupe River surging 27 feet in just 45 minutes.
Guillen stresses the urgent need for better flood warning systems but doesn’t blame authorities. “There just isn’t enough funding or resources for flood sensors and alarms,” she explained. Even longtime residents couldn’t remember a flood this catastrophic.