06/07/2025
Courtesy of NYPOST.COM
Texas flood death toll hits at least 80 with beloved teacher, soccer coach and wife ID’d as latest victims
The death toll from the catastrophic Texas floods has risen to at least 80 — with dozens more people missing and the number of those killed only expected to rise as the Lone Star State sifts through the wreckage.
Gov. Greg Abbott and local officials confirmed the tragic rising death toll Sunday.
That number is now nearly double the casualties reported Saturday night. At least 68 are dead at the flooding’s epicenter in Kerr County, while 12 more were killed in other counties, according to officials.
The confirmed dead in Kerr were 40 adults and 28 children. Still, multiple adult victims and four of the children there have not yet been able to be properly identified.
Search efforts have been hampered by the physical destruction wrought when the Guadalupe River overflowed its banks during torrential rains Thursday night into Friday, with trees and other debris still littered across the countryside.
So far there have been 525 rescue operations across the state, with 366 being conducted by air.
Leitha said that 11 girls and one counsellor are still missing from Camp Mystic, the Christian girls’ summer camp just off the banks of the Guadalupe River. Five campers, ages 8 and 9, have been confirmed dead in the flooding — along with the camp’s owner.
When asked why the camps weren’t evacuated before the water level rose, and whether emergency alerts went out in time, Leitha and city manager Dalton Rice declined to comment, abruptly ending Sunday’s 10 a.m. press conference.
Several more inches of rain were expected in the region Sunday, according to the National Weather Service, which extended its flood watch and warned that 2-4 inches of rain were possible in some areas — with concentrated areas receiving as much as 10 inches.
Some 400 first responders from 20 agencies city, state and national are continuing the rescue operation in Kerr County, which saw the worst of the flash flooding along the river, facing difficult conditions like toppled trees, overturned cars and large piles of mud-filled debris.
More than 850 people were rescued within 36 hours of the start of the flash flooding, which started after a sudden storm dumped more than a foot of rain on the region, officials said.
"We will continue our search efforts until everyone is found,” Leitha assured, urging those who need to report missing loved ones to call 830-258-1111.
The three victims identified Saturday include a high school soccer coach and his wife and a beloved high school teacher.
Reece Zunker, a soccer coach in Tivy, Texas, and his wife Paula, who were on vacation with their two children when the flooding swept through Kerr County Friday, were among the latest victims identified by officials.
Our Tivy Soccer & KISD community is heartbroken with the loss of our leader and inspiration,” Tivy Boys Soccer wrote on Facebook Saturday night.
“The Coach Reece Zunker was not just a soccer coach he was a mentor, teacher and a role model for our Kerrville kids.”
Local outlet the Kerrville Daily Times reported that the two children were still missing. The family had been staying in a river house in the town of Hunt, not far from Camp Mystic.
Also confirmed among the dead is Jeff Wilson, a teacher at Kingswood Park High School who taught in the Humble Independent School District for 30 years, the school wrote on X.
“Tonight our [Humble Independent School District] family is grieving the devastating loss of teacher Jeff Wilson, who passed away due to the catastrophic flooding in Kerrville,” the mourning social media post read.
“He was a beloved teacher and co-worker to many and will be deeply missed.”
The district added that Wilson’s brother-in-law shared that his wife, Amber, and son, Shiloh are still considered missing.
“Please continue to keep their entire family, and ours, in your prayers,” the district urged.
Officials will provide the latest on the rescue effort in a press conference scheduled for 4 p.m. EDT Sunday.
Abbott, who visited Camp Mystic and called it “horrendously ravaged” in a social media post, declared Sunday a day of prayer for the state in tribute to the victims as well as those still missing.
“The height the rushing water reached to the top of cabins was shocking. We won’t stop until we find every girl who was in those cabins,” he said in a statement.
President Trump announced on Truth Social Sunday morning he was declaring a major disaster declaration for Kerr County to ensure first responders have the resources they need.
"These families are enduring an unimaginable tragedy, with many lives lost, and many still missing,” he wrote, noting that the administration is working closely with state and local leaders.
Pope Leo XIV offered condolences and a prayer to the flood victims during Sunday’s mass from the Vatican.
“I express my sincere condolences to all the families who have lost loved ones, in particular their daughters who were at summer camp, in the disaster caused by the flooding of the Guadalupe river in Texas in the United States.”
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Campers and staff from Camp Waldemar, near the North fork of the Guadalupe River, are reunited with their families after heavy rainfall in central Texas on Saturday.)
