{"id":19843,"date":"2025-07-08T22:25:09","date_gmt":"2025-07-08T22:25:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=19843"},"modified":"2025-07-08T22:25:09","modified_gmt":"2025-07-08T22:25:09","slug":"8-year-old-twin-sisters-killed-in-texas-floods","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=19843","title":{"rendered":"8-year-old twin sisters killed in Texas floods"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>What should have been a summer of memories turned into an unimaginable nightmare.<\/strong><\/p><div class=\"vfbzu69f60f75e3d36\" ><div style=\"width:100%; max-width:1200px; margin:0 auto;\">\n  <a href=\"https:\/\/bolt-casino.com?r=0BFDBF1283\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\n    <img \n      src=\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/f8693ebb-2018-480f-a2f7-0096810c07f0.jpg\" \n      alt=\"200% Deposit Bonus + 10% Cashback\" \n      style=\"width:100%; height:auto; display:block; border-radius:8px; cursor:pointer;\"\n    \/>\n  <\/a>\n<\/div><\/div><style type=\"text\/css\">\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 1201px) {\r\n.vfbzu69f60f75e3d36 {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 993px) and (max-width: 1200px) {\r\n.vfbzu69f60f75e3d36 {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 769px) and (max-width: 992px) {\r\n.vfbzu69f60f75e3d36 {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 768px) {\r\n.vfbzu69f60f75e3d36 {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n@media screen and (max-width: 767px) {\r\n.vfbzu69f60f75e3d36 {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n<\/style>\r\n\n<p><strong>Over the July 4th weekend, a wall of floodwater ripped through Camp Mystic, a cherished Christian summer camp along the banks of the Guadalupe River in Hunt, Texas \u2014 stealing the lives of dozens of children and counselors in a matter of minutes.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Among the victims: 8-year-old twin sisters Hanna and Rebecca, granddaughters of David Lawrence Jr., the former publisher of the Miami Herald and Detroit Free Press. Their 14-year-old sister Harper survived.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt has been an unimaginable time for all of us,\u201d Lawrence shared in a statement to the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.miamiherald.com\/news\/local\/community\/florida-keys\/article310106435.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Herald<\/a>. \u201cHanna and Rebecca gave their parents John and Lacy and sister Harper, and all in our family, so much joy. They and that joy can never be forgotten.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Lawrence\u2019s son, John, and his wife Lacy \u2014 both attorneys living in Dallas \u2014confirmed the news in a heartfelt message through\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/texas\/news\/north-texas-girl-9-confirmed-dead-camp-mystic-flood-central-texas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">NBC News Texas<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHanna and Rebecca brought so much joy to us, to their big sister Harper, and to so many others,\u201d they wrote.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-172935\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn-main.newsner.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/07\/08075002\/ladu1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"538\" height=\"359\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Texas Flash Flooding Missing Persons \/ Facebook<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cWe will find ways to keep that joy, and to continue to spread it for them. But we are devastated that the bond we shared with them, and that they shared with each other, is now frozen in time. Thank you for the love and support.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The girls had just completed 2nd grade at University Park Elementary School and were described as bright, bubbly, and full of life.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are deeply saddened to report the loss of multiple students, and our thoughts and prayers are with all of the families deeply affected by this unimaginable tragedy,\u201d the school said on its site.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-a-camp-forever-changed\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">A camp forever changed<\/h2>\n<p>As the Guadalupe River swelled with unstoppable force, it overwhelmed Camp Mystic, leaving nothing untouched. Search and rescue crews have been scouring the grounds ever since.<\/p>\n<p>The current death toll from\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.newsner.com\/news\/young-sisters-killed-in-texas-floods-found-with-their-hands-locked-together\/\">the floods<\/a>\u00a0has surpassed 100, with 27 victims connected to Camp Mystic \u2014 including both campers and staff \u2014 according to a statement released by the camp.<\/p>\n<p>Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha confirmed that ten campers and one counselor are still missing. Even Camp Mystic\u2019s longtime owner, Richard \u201cDick\u201d Eastland, was among those killed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur hearts are broken alongside our families that are enduring this unimaginable tragedy,\u201d the camp stated. \u201cWe are praying for them constantly. We have been in communication with local and state authorities who are tirelessly deploying extensive resources to search for our missing girls.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-a-legacy-of-love-and-advocacy\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">A legacy of love and advocacy<\/h2>\n<p>David Lawrence Jr., who helped guide the Miami Herald to five Pulitzer Prizes during his tenure, retired in 1999 and later founded The Children\u2019s Movement of Florida, an organization committed to early childhood education.<\/p>\n<p>He played a key role in pushing through a statewide constitutional amendment that guaranteed free pre-kindergarten education for every 4-year-old in Florida.<\/p>\n<p>His life\u2019s work has centered around improving opportunities for children \u2014 now, his own granddaughters are among the very young lives cut short.<\/p>\n<p><strong>In moments like this, words can only do so much. The loss of Hanna, Rebecca, and so many others has shattered hearts far beyond Texas.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>As we hold their families in our thoughts, may we carry their joy, their laughter, and their light with us. Hug your children a little tighter tonight \u2014 and never take a single moment for granted.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What should have been a summer of memories turned into an unimaginable nightmare. Over the July 4th weekend, a wall of floodwater ripped through Camp Mystic, a cherished Christian summer camp along the banks of the Guadalupe River in Hunt, Texas \u2014 stealing the lives of dozens of children and counselors in a matter of&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19844,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"default","_kad_post_title":"default","_kad_post_layout":"default","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"default","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"default","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19843","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>8-year-old twin sisters killed in Texas floods - VM News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=19843\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"8-year-old twin sisters killed in Texas floods - VM News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What should have been a summer of memories turned into an unimaginable nightmare. 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