The Hunt family is expressing their grief.
After Texas-based Camp Mystic confirmed 27 campers and counselors have died in the flash floods that hit the state on July 4, the Kansas City Chiefs owner Clark Hunt’s family confirmed that among those lost was his 9-year-old cousin Janie Hunt.
“Our hearts are broken by the devastation from the floods in Wimberley and the tragic loss of so many lives,” Clark’s wife Tavia Hunt wrote on Instagram July 6, “including a precious little Hunt cousin, along with several friend’s little girls.”
Indeed, the flood has become one of the deadliest to hit the United States over the past 100 years, leaving, as of July 7, 81 people among those dead, per NBC News, including 75 in Kerr County, where Camp Mystic, a Christian girls’ camp, is based.
“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?” Tavia continued. “That is a sacred and tender question—and one the Bible doesn’t shy away from. Scripture is filled with the cries of those whose hearts have been shattered, who still wrestle to trust the same God they believe allowed the pain.”
For their part, the Texas summer camp—which was hosting 750 campers at the time of the flood—expressed heartbreak over the unimaginable tragedy.
“Camp Mystic is grieving the loss of 27 campers and counselors following the catastrophic flooding on the Guadalupe River,” the organization wrote on its website July 7. “Our hearts are broken alongside our families that are enduring this unimaginable tragedy. We are praying for them constantly.”
The camp has also committed to deploy “extensive resources” to search for the girls who remain missing.
“We are deeply grateful for the outpouring of support from community, first responders, and officials at every level,” the statement continued. “We ask for your continued prayers, respect and privacy for each of our families affected. May the Lord continue to wrap His presence around all of us.”
As of July 6, officials stated during a press conference, 11 campers and one counselor were still missing from the camp. And upon hearing about the tragedy, Today host Jenna Bush Hager shared insight into her mother Barbara Bush’s ties to Camp Mystic.
“My mom was a counselor there, but also so many of my friends were raised at this camp,” Jenna said during a July 7 episode of Today. “Many of my friends were there, had their kids there last week, and the stories that I heard over the last couple of days were beautiful and heartbreaking.”
(E!, NBC News and Today are all part of the NBCUniversal family.)
To see more stars who’ve spoken out about the Texas floods, keep reading.
Jenna Bush Hager
TheJenna & Friends host shared that her mom, former First Lady Laura Bush, was a drama counselor at Camp Mystic, where at least 27 girls and counselors died, as of July 7, following the devastating flooding on the Guadalupe River.
“My mom was a counselor there, but also so many of my friends were raised at this camp,” Jenna said on Today, July 7. “Texas camps are institutions, as you just heard, where many family members—generations—this camp was 100 years old. Grandmothers, mothers, kids have all gone there.”
Jenna, who shared that many of her friends and their kids were there last week, praised the community for coming together amid the tragedy.
“The stories that I heard over the last couple days were beautiful and heartbreaking,” she said. “Texas has a type of resilience where they’re generous people, where people want to reach out and help.”
“Texas camps are really special because you’re thinking about 90-degree weather, no air conditioning,” the 43-year-old—who attended the nearby Camp Longhorn during her childhood—explained. “My kids are at camp in Texas, and my husband said, ‘Why are we sending our kids to Texas, to camp? It’s hot!’ And it’s because of the love that’s there.”
Jennifer Garner
The 13 Going on 30 star—who was born in Houston—expressed her condolences in a July 6 Instagram Stories, writing with a red heart emoji, “Texas, God, be near.”
Matthew McConaughey and Camila McConaughey
The Interstellar actor and his wife called on others to “lend a helping hand” amid this difficult chapter.
“At least 70 lives have been lost, many more are unaccounted for, and countless Texans are hurting – inside and out,” their joint July 6 Instagram statement read. “It’s gonna be a long road ahead, but right now the shock, the pain, and the chaos need the steady hand of a neighbor.”
The University of Texas at Austin professor and the model concluded, “Texans are some of the most resilient and generous people on the planet.”
Hilary Duff
The Lizzie McGuire alum shared her grief amid the tragic flooding, writing on Instagram on July 6 that “heartbroken doesn’t begin to cover” her feelings.
“Consumed,” she explained, “Obsessed. Praying for even a shred of a miracle—to find a child alive in the wake of this boundless disaster. Tears fall every time I imagine one of these families receiving bad news… waiting… or entire families lost. Just gone. It’s too much to comprehend.”
“Beautiful Texas, I love you,” she continued. “To all the boots on the ground—I love you. To those facing tremendous, impossible loss—we are looking at their beautiful faces, embossing them in our minds.”
Hilary, who also attended nearby Camp Longhorn growing up, emphasized how the experience at camp “imprints on your soul.”
“I was—and forever will be—that girl with a wild-hearted, fierce love for my barefoot summers at camp in the Texas Hill country,” she wrote. “It changes your identity. It’s a realm of true magic. You could never imagine an ending this tragic. I’m just so deeply, absolutely sorry. Your loss is felt across the world.”
Shakira
The “Hips Don’t Lie” singer shared on X (formerly Twitter) on July 5 that she would be donating a portion of the proceeds from her San Antonio concert to Catholic Charities of San Antonio, which is providing disaster relief to families impacted.
Khloe Kardashian
The Kardashians star expressed her sympathy to those affected by the flash flood, noting that her heart “is so deeply aching for every parent, every family member, and every community.”
“I can’t stop thinking about the families in Texas and the overwhelming pain they’re going through right now,” she wrote on her Instagram Stories on July 6. “As a mother, this kind of tragedy hits in a place words can’t reach. The loss of those sweet, innocent children is something I can’t fully process. There are just no words for this.”
Kris Jenner
The Kardashian-Jenner matriarch shared that she was struggling to come to terms with the destructive aftermath of the natural disaster.
“My heart is absolutely shattered by the devastating floods in Texas and the unimaginable loss of those precious children,” she wrote on her Instagram Stories. “It’s a tragedy that’s impossible to comprehend and heartbreaking beyond measure.”
“Life is so fragile, and at times unbearably unfair,” she continued. “To the families living this nightmare, we are holding you in our hearts, praying for strength, and grieving alongside you.”
Christy Carlson Romano
The Even Stevens alum revealed that she and her husband, Brendan Rooney, considered sending their 7-year-old daughter, Isabella, to Camp Mystic.
She added in her July 6 Instagram Stories, “A lot of people I know send their kids there and a few of them don’t know where their kids are or they were just recently reunited with them.”
Mandy Moore
The This Is Us actress shared a video of the missing girls from Camp Mystic on her Instagram Stories July 6, writing, “Thinking of everyone affected by the horrific flooding in Texas..keeping these families in my heart. Unfathomable.
Maria Shriver
The journalist shared that her prayers are with the families in Texas, emphasizing on Instagram July 6, “Right now they need us all to hold them in a circle of love.”
“Let’s unite to hold them, pray for them,” she said of the Camp Mystic attendees and counselors. “As a parent myself, my heart is with absolutely everyone who is feeling this loss.”
