As devastating floodwaters tore through central Texas last Friday, one father’s final message has emerged—both chilling and deeply heartbreaking.
Jeff Ramsey, 61, and his wife Tanya, 46, were asleep inside their Airstream trailer at the HTR RV Park in Kerrville when the Guadalupe River suddenly surged, unleashing a relentless wall of water that swept away everything in its path.
In those terrifying moments before the flood engulfed their trailer, Jeff grabbed his phone and called his two children, Jake and Rachel. Knowing they might not answer, he left a voicemail that will forever haunt their hearts.
“Buddy, I love you so much. It doesn’t look like we’re going to make it. Tell Rachey I love her,” Jeff’s voice trembled as he delivered the heartrending message.
Jake told the New York Post that his dad’s voice was unlike anything he’d ever heard before — filled with raw panic and desperation.
Just moments later, Jeff left a second voicemail for his daughter Rachel. Behind his trembling voice, the sounds of rushing water and Tanya’s terrified screams echoed in the background:
“We’re dying, we’re dying!”
That haunting message was the last anyone ever heard from them.
A Tragic Failure to Warn
What makes this story even more heartbreaking is the cruel timing.
Jeff only received an evacuation alert from the RV park after the floodwaters had already swept them away. According to Jake, the warning came through just as Jeff was leaving his final goodbye to Rachel — too late to save them.
The sheer injustice of that moment left Jake infuriated.
Though Jeff couldn’t save himself or Tanya, he found the strength in those final moments to warn Tanya’s brother and mother, who were staying nearby in a cabin — a desperate act of love amid the chaos.
Jeff’s urgent call woke Tanya’s brother and mother just in time. The cabin where they stayed was later found completely destroyed.
“He saved them,” Jake said quietly. “They would have slept through it and been swept away. Dad saved their lives.”
Tragically, Tanya’s body was later recovered by search crews, identified by the tattoos that marked her spirit. Jeff, however, remains missing — his fate still unknown.
“She Was Our Mom, Too”
Tanya wasn’t just a stepmom — she was family.
“We were her kids,” Jake shared. “Sure, we had a mom, but to her, we were her babies.”
A breast cancer survivor, Tanya ran a wig shop in Dallas, offering hope and strength to others. Jeff, a longtime insurance salesman, poured his heart into the Adaptive Training Foundation, a Dallas gym dedicated to helping amputees and those facing physical challenges rebuild their lives.
One friend, Morris Brossette, paid tribute on Facebook:
“You’ll be hard-pressed to find a man with a bigger servant’s heart than Jeff. Thank you, brother, for your unwavering support over the past decade to me and everyone at Adaptive Training Foundation. I’m eternally grateful for that last huge hug last week. Rest easy, brother. We’ll carry your name with love and light.”
A Small Miracle: Chloe Survives
Amid the heartbreak, a sliver of hope shines through. The couple’s beloved dog, Chloe — a whippet they rescued years ago — was found alive at a local animal shelter.
Still reeling from the loss, Jake is vocal about the failures in emergency response. He insists more could have been done — and should have been — to save lives.
At a memorial service, Jake met with Texas State Senator Tan Parker, who pledged that the alert system would be improved to prevent future tragedies like this.
But for Jake, it was too little, too late.
“The only alert my dad got was a text — after it was already too late. He had already said goodbye to me and my sister,” Jake said painfully.
As the floodwaters slowly recede and the community grapples with its losses, Jeff’s final voicemail stands as a haunting reminder of how swiftly life can change — or be taken — when nature unleashes its fury.
Our hearts go out to everyone affected by this unimaginable tragedy. We hold the Ramsey family and all those impacted in our thoughts and prayers.