Texas mom recalls rushing to sons’ camp after they survived flooding

Keli Rabon, a mother of two sons who safely escaped flooding at a Texas camp, described the harrowing moment she realized the region’s high waters were “far more serious” than she initially believed on “The Story.”

“Once I saw the statement from Camp Mystic that your daughter is okay if you’ve not been notified yet, I thought, oh my gosh, this is far more serious than that initial text message [on July 4th] would have led me to believe,” Rabon recalled Monday. “And then within a couple of hours, I decided I needed to get in the car and go, you know, a mom on a mission to get to my kids.“

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The mother shared she rushed from Houston to Camp La Junta, where her two sons, ages 7 and 9-years-old, were staying. Their flooded camp is located six miles from Camp Mystic, which currently mourns the loss of 27 campers and counselors. At least 100 total have died from the floods, according to authorities.

Rabon attributed her sons’ safe evacuation from the flood to their camp counselors’ bravery.

“As the water started to come in, his brave camp counselors, who are really just kids themselves – college kids – they encouraged the boys to get on the first bunk, then to get on the second bunk,” she relayed. “Then, before you know it, they were lifting the little boys up into the rafters to keep them out of harm’s way.”

Rabon described her 7-year-old as still being in a “state of shock,” adding that he remembers the water being high enough to break the window. 

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“I just can’t imagine how terrifying this was,” Rabon shared. “And it was happening, you know, as it was dark. No power, you’re so unfamiliar in this situation. How do you ever prepare for that?”

A childhood attendee of Hill Country camps herself, the mother addressed whether she would ever send her sons to camp again.

“I need to think it through, but I can tell you that Brayden, my older one, with two summers of camp under his belt, says in a heartbeat he would go back,” Rabon admitted. 

Her sons said they are comfortable with her discussing such a distressing situation because they want to “represent the pride” they have in Camp La Junta, Rabon added. 

In Kerr County, the Guadalupe River rose more than 25 feet within an hour, state officials report. President Donald Trump has declared the region’s flash flooding a “100-year catastrophe” and plans to visit Hill Country on Friday.