The number of people missing in a Texas county hit hard by the July 4 flooding along the Guadalupe River has gone down to three. The City of Kerrville said on Facebook that the Kerr County Flood Disaster Joint Information Center was able to confirm this through “extensive follow-up work among state and local agencies.”

Right after the flooding, officials said there were more than 160 people in the area who couldn’t be accounted for. But now, “many individuals who were initially reported as missing have been verified as safe and removed from the list” of missing people in Kerr County, according to a statement posted on Facebook on Saturday, July 19.

“We are profoundly grateful to the more than 1,000 local, state and federal authorities who have worked tirelessly in the wake of the devastating flood that struck our community,” Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said in a statement. “This remarkable progress reflects countless hours of coordinated search and rescue operations, careful investigative work, and an unwavering commitment to bringing clarity and hope to families during an unimaginably difficult time.”

Floods kill at least 135 statewide

Recovery operations by local, state, national and international search teams are ongoing. In a Saturday, July 19, update, the Kerr County Sheriff’s Office said more than 1,000 first responders, as well as thousands of volunteers, are helping the Kerr County community.

“Our thoughts remain with the families still awaiting news, and we will continue to stand with them as efforts persist,” Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring, Jr. said.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said on Thursday, July 17, that at least 135 people in the state died in the floods. Most of the deaths were in Kerr County. At least 27 campers and counselors from an all-girls Christian summer camp in Hunt called Camp Mystic are among the dead.

Texas legislature to address flooding

On Monday, July 21, the Texas Legislature will begin a special session. Abbott said on X lawmakers will address “key issues for Texans, including flood preparedness and recovery.”

The Associated Press reported that this special session was originally convened for other reasons, including Abbott’s veto of a bill that banned edible hemp products with THC in them. However, Abbott said on July 9 that flood-related items had been added to the legislative agenda.

One of these items is legislation to improve early flood warning systems and other preparedness infrastructure in “flood-prone areas.” Some have questioned whether residents were alerted about the devastating flooding early enough, especially as there were forecasts of heavy rain in the days before it started. Some local officials, and even President Donald Trump, have criticized people’s focus on this, as they say it should be on the search operations.

Also on the agenda for Texas legislators are bills to strengthen flood emergency communications and response infrastructure; relief funding and local match funding for Federal Emergency Management Agency assistance; and legislation to evaluate and streamline natural disaster preparation and recovery.

Newly-created Texas House and Senate special committees on disaster preparedness and flooding are set to have a joint hearing at the state Capitol on Wednesday, July 23. Members of the committees are set to visit Kerrville for another hearing as well.

“The creation of both the House and Senate’s Select Committees on Disaster Preparedness and Flooding is just the beginning of the Legislature looking at every aspect of this tragic event,” Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said in a statement. “Right now, we must focus on the recovery of those still missing, then rebuilding communities in flooded areas. In the coming year, and into the next regular legislative session, we will gather all the facts and answer the many questions to which the public demands answers.”

Hear this story

A bulge in the jet stream developing as high pressure builds could create a persistent heat dome lingering well into August.

Thunderstorms could bring hail downpours from southern Nebraska to Canada, with wind gusts possibly reaching 85 miles per hour.

Bouts of severe weather coupled with unrelenting heat threaten to provide Americans with a tumultuous and possibly deadly weather week, forecasters say.

Multiple rounds of thunderstorms will bring risks of flash flooding through the Midwest and East on the periphery of a “heat dome” that could bring triple-digit temperatures to parts of multiple states, AccuWeather warned.

More than 50 million Americans from Texas to Missouri were already under National Weather Service extreme heat warnings or advisories on July 20. Thunderstorms at night could bring hail downpours from southern Nebraska to Canada, with wind gusts possibly reaching 85 miles per hour.

The severe weather threat sweeps across the Midwest and East on July 21, with Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia all facing the possibility of flash flooding and gusty winds. AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said that much of the region was hammered by heavy thunderstorms recently and can’t absorb another round.

“We are highly concerned about the risk of dangerous to life-threatening flash flooding in the zone from southern Illinois and Indiana to central and eastern Kentucky, central and southern West Virginia and southwestern Virginia,” Sosnowski said.

Heat dome could last for weeks

A bulge in the jet stream developing as high pressure builds could create a persistent heat dome lingering well into August, AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Chad Merrill said. The Kansas City, Missouri, area, which hasn’t hit 100 degrees in two years, could reach the figure multiple times this week, he said. Dallas could see 100 degrees for the first time in 2025.

“This has the look of a long-lasting heat wave with limited rainfall,” Merrill said. “Drought will expand through the central Plains by mid-August and worsen in Kansas and Nebraska, where there are already pockets of moderate to extreme drought.”

Number missing in Texas floods drops from 97 to 3, officials say

Number of people missing in deadly Texas flooding drops to 3

The number of people thought to be missing in the devastating floods in Kerr County, Texas, over the Fourth of July holiday weekend has been revised down from 97 to three, officials announced July 19. The city of Kerrville, Texas, said the Kerr County Flood Disaster Joint Information Center confirmed that “through extensive follow-up work among state and local agencies, many individuals who were initially reported as missing have been verified as safe and removed from the list.”

On July 15, Gov. Greg Abbott said 97 people were still listed as missing in the greater Kerrville area, down from 160-plus about a week ago. As of July 17, Abbott said, the death toll stood at 135 statewide, with 116 from Kerr County perishing in the floods. Read more here.

Contributing: Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy

The number of people reported missing in the hardest hit Texas flood region during the catastrophic floods has plunged dramatically from nearly 100 as most have been found safe, officials announced Saturday.

Only three people remain unaccounted for in Kerr County – down sharply from 97 earlier this week – after deadly floodwaters tore through the Lone Star State on July 4.

“Through extensive follow-up work among state and local agencies, many individuals who were initially reported as missing have been verified as safe and removed from this list,” Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said in a statement.

Advertisement

3 The number of flood victims reported missing in Kerr County has plunged. Getty Images

“This remarkable progress reflects countless hours of coordinated search and rescue operations, careful investigative work, and an unwavering commitment to bringing clarity and hope to families during an unimaginably difficult time.”

About 160 people were unaccounted for in Kerr County alone at the height of the catastrophe.

Advertisement

Officials said search and rescue operations will continue across the Guadalupe River watershed for those still missing.

Kerr County was the epicenter of destruction when the Guadalupe River surged 20 feet in just 90 minutes during the early hours of the Fourth of July, killing 27 children and counselors at Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian summer camp located on the river bank.

3 A man attempted to clear debris from the Guadalupe River following catastrophic floods. REUTERS

3 Nearly 100 people were first reported missing during the catastrophic floods. AP

Advertisement

In total, at least 135 people were killed statewide in the historic floods, with Kerr County accounting for about 107 of the deaths – including 70 adults and 37 children.

The disaster has since sparked scrutiny over the state’s emergency response and warning systems as the deadly storm wreaked havoc.

The horrific flooding is one of the deadliest events for US children in the past 100 years.

With Post wires.

The number of missing people in the Texas county hardest hit by the devastating July 4 floods is now just three, a dramatic drop from the nearly 100 officials had reported just days ago. Many were confirmed to be safe, local officials said on Saturday.

The new figure is a significant decrease from the 97 who were reported earlier in the week, and it represents those missing only in Kerr County. A handful more remain unaccounted for in other areas of the Hill Country that were devastated by the disastrous floods, which have killed at least 135 people statewide. Kerr County was the area in the state most affected by the floods, accounting for 107 of the deaths.

In a statement on Saturday, officials in Kerrville, the seat of Kerr County, said that “many individuals who were initially reported as missing have been verified as safe.” As of Saturday evening, the death toll in Kerr County had not changed.

It is not clear how many of the people previously listed as missing were actually affected by the floods. Some could have been out-of-town vacationers whom the authorities eventually found to be safe back home. Others could have been reported erroneously by worried relatives. The authorities have not publicly released a list of the missing.

(KERRVILLE, Texas.) — Officials in hard-hit Kerr County, Texas, which was ravaged by flooding earlier this month, say the number of people believed to be missing has dropped from nearly 100 to three.

“Through extensive follow-up work among state and local agencies, many individuals who were initially reported as missing have been verified as safe and removed from the list,” the city of Kerrville said in news release. “This has been an ongoing effort as investigators worked diligently to verify reports of missing persons and confirm their status.”

Earlier this week, Texas officials said 97 people in the county were still unaccounted for after the deadly July 4 floods. At its height, the number of people listed as missing in the county was more than 160.

“We are profoundly grateful to the more than 1,000 local, state, and federal authorities who have worked tirelessly in the wake of the devastating flood that struck our community,” Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said in a statement. “Thanks to their extraordinary efforts, the number of individuals previously listed as missing has dropped from over 160 to three.”

In addition to the three people missing in Kerr County, there were still three people missing in Travis County and one person listed as missing in Burnet County, according to the most recent update earlier this week.

Overall, the death toll from the July 4 flooding across the state of Texas stood at 134 as of earlier this week.

Of those, 107 were in Kerr County — including 70 adults and 37 children.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.