Kansas City Chiefs heiress Gracie Hunt has shared a heartfelt message after her family lost a young relative in the devastating floods that swept Texas last week.
Over 100 people have sadly lost their lives after the Guadalupe River in Kerr County surged up to 30 feet above its normal level in the early hours of July 4, with at least 84 bodies recovered so far, including 28 children.
Among the victims was Janie Hunt, a young relative of Kansas City Chiefs owner Clark Hunt. She was attending Camp Mystic, a Christian all-girls summer camp in the Texas Hill Country, when the floodwaters overtook the camp.
On Sunday (July 6), the team owner's wife, Tavia Hunt, confirmed Janie’s death in a moving Instagram post, writing: “Our hearts are broken by the devastation from the floods in Wimberley and the tragic loss of so many lives - including a precious little Hunt cousin, along with several friend’s little girls.”
“How do we trust a God who is supposed to be good, all knowing, and all powerful, but who allows such terrible things to happen - even to children? That is a sacred and tender question - and one the Bible doesn't shy away from," she added.
Clark's eldest daughter, Gracie, echoed her mother’s grief in a post on Monday (July 7), admitting her “heart aches” for the victims of the disaster.
“Praying for Texas,” she wrote, adding: “Some days, it’s hard to understand how the world can hold both so much beauty and so much pain. How can the same God who created the stars and set the planets in motion allow such deep suffering? The truth is, we live in a broken world - one that groans for redemption (Romans 8). But Scripture promises that one day, Christ will make all things new—a new heaven and a new earth (2 Peter 3:13).”
She continued: “My heart aches for our extended family and friends who lost daughters, for every life lost and every family shattered by the floods in Texas.
"I don’t have easy answers, but I do know this: following Jesus doesn’t spare us from pain, but it means we never face it alone. Even in the darkest valleys, we hold on to the hope that this is not the end of the story.”
Tragedy struck Camp Mystic, a nearly century-old summer camp in Wimberley, in the early hours of Sunday as a month’s worth of rain fell in minutes. The floods caused the Guadalupe River to breach its banks while many campers were still asleep.
The camp, which had around 750 girls in attendance according to Texas Governor Greg Abbott, reported 27 campers and counselors dead, with 10 campers and one counselor still missing, BBC News reported.
The youngest girls, who were sleeping in low-lying “flats” near the riverbank, were among the hardest hit.
The camp’s beloved director, Richard “Dick” Eastland, 70, died while trying to save campers. High-school soccer coach Reece Zunker and his wife Paula also died in the floods, while their two young children remain missing.
Governor Abbott called the flooding “nothing short of horrific” and declared a statewide day of prayer on Sunday, urging Texans to pray “for the lives lost, for those still missing, for the recovery of our communities, and for the safety of those on the front lines.”
Search and rescue teams have saved more than 850 people, including individuals found clinging to trees, and continue to search with helicopters and drones.
Our thoughts continue to go out to every person and family impacted by these tragedies.