Just moments before a raging wall of floodwater crashed through the home where she and her friends were staying, 21-year-old Joyce Badon sent a desperate, heartbreaking message to her family—one that would become her final words.
Over the July 4th weekend, torrential rains turned the peaceful Guadalupe River in Central Texas into a deadly force of nature. With little warning, the river surged to the height of a two-story building in under an hour, submerging everything in its path—homes, camps, and entire families.
According to AFP, the sudden deluge struck Kerr County with terrifying speed. As of July 9, the official death toll has climbed to 107 across six counties, NBC reports, including more than two dozen children and counselors from an all-girls Christian camp. Dozens are still unaccounted for, and the number is expected to rise as recovery efforts continue.
Among the missing: Joyce Badon and her close friends Ella Cahill, Reese Manchaca, and Aiden Heartfield. The group had gathered at a country house by the river to celebrate the holiday weekend. By morning, the house was gone—ripped from its foundation and swept away.
A Sudden Silence
Joyce’s father, Ty Badon, shared with CNN the chilling details of their last known contact. The group had been on the phone with Aiden’s father, who owned the house.
“We were told they were talking, and then the line just went dead,” Ty said. “Aiden told his dad, ‘Hey, I’ve got to go—I need to help Ella and Reese, they just got washed away.’ Seconds later, the phone cut off. That’s all we know. The house is no longer there.”
A Mother’s Plea
On Facebook, Joyce’s mother, Kellye, poured her heart out in a public plea for prayers.
“A flash flood came through and washed their cars away,” she wrote. “It happened so fast, and with so much water, they couldn’t even make it into the attic.”
She described how Aiden managed to call his father as the disaster unfolded, only to be swept away himself—along with Joyce, Ella, and Reese—by debris and the crushing force of the river.
In her final moments, Joyce’s last message to her family was a plea no parent should ever receive:
“The water’s rising… please help.”
The last person to speak to Joyce Badon before floodwaters consumed the house was Aiden’s father, according to Joyce’s mom, Kellye. In her July 4 post—written with raw hope still clinging to every word—Kellye pleaded with the world to pray.
“We pray for safety for JC and her friends,” she wrote. “We are going to believe that we will pick up my daughter & her friends ALIVE in Hunt, TX today.”
But as the hours turned into days, that fragile hope gave way to a grim search along the battered banks of the Guadalupe River.
Grief Among the Trees
Volunteers—friends, family, and even complete strangers—poured into the area to help. Scouring the riverbanks, sifting through piles of splintered wood and debris, they braved the thick mud and searing heat, desperate for any sign of Joyce and her three friends.
“One of the bodies was found 8 to 10 feet up in a tree, hidden beneath a web of debris,” said Louis Deppe, a volunteer leading the search for the Badon family. “Not one person could see it. The more eyes, the better.”
It was during one of these agonizing searches that Joyce’s father, Ty, made a gut-wrenching discovery.
“My son and I were walking, and I thought it was a mannequin,” he recalled. “It was a little boy—eight or ten years old—and he was dead.”
Ty’s voice broke as he added, “We were just walking, doing what we could, when we stumbled across him.”
A Community Divided—and United
Tina Hambly, the mother of one of Joyce’s friends, helped organize the grassroots search. Seven teams were deployed across a seven-mile stretch of river.
“We’re just trying to divide and conquer,” she told AFP. “Friends, families, and even strangers showed up. We couldn’t do it without them.”
The Call No Parent Wants
On July 7, the search for Joyce came to a devastating end.
Her body was found.
Though her parents had clung to hope, Joyce Badon was no longer missing—she was gone.
Her father confirmed the tragic news to NBC News. Later, Kellye posted a tearful tribute on Facebook, remembering her daughter as bright, loving, and full of promise—a young life stolen too soon by a storm no one could have predicted.
In that final moment, Joyce’s last words were a plea for help. Her memory, however, will remain a call to cherish every voice, every message, every moment—because sometimes, those moments are all we have left.
In the face of unimaginable loss, Kellye Badon clung to faith—and on the morning of July 7, she felt her prayers answered.
“God showed us the way we should go this morning!” she wrote in a heart-rending Facebook post. “We found our lovely daughter who blessed us for 21 years! We pray to be able to find her three friends soon. Thanks to EVERYONE for the prayers and support. God is good!”
That afternoon, as storm clouds parted above the Badon home, a rainbow stretched across the sky—a gentle sign from above.
“Joyce Catherine telling us from heaven, ‘All is well with my soul,’” Kellye posted, along with a photo of the rainbow. It was a message only a grieving mother could fully understand—and desperately needed to believe.
Joyce’s Final Words
Volunteer Louis Deppe, who had worked tirelessly alongside the Badon family, later shared the chilling final message Joyce sent as the floodwaters closed in.
“On [Joyce’s] cellphone, the last message her family got was: ‘We’re being washed away,’” Deppe told AFP. “Then the phone went dead.”
It was the last anyone heard from Joyce Catherine Badon.
Since then, the body of 19-year-old Reese Manchaca has also been recovered. Aiden Heartfield and Ella Cahill remain missing, as search teams continue combing through debris and riverbanks, hoping to bring every family closure.
A Community United in Grief and Grace
What began as a joyful July 4th weekend turned into a nightmare of swift water, shattered homes, and aching silence. Yet through it all, families like the Badons have shown resilience rooted in faith, hope, and community.
As loved ones grieve and search efforts continue, we invite you to share your prayers, memories, and messages of support for all those impacted by the devastating Texas floods. No one should carry this pain alone.
Please leave a message below—and share this story to help honor the lives lost and the strength of those left behind.