Live updates: Texas flooding death toll rises to 32; search underway for Camp Mystic campers

Nick Sorter, a member of the United Cajun Navy, a volunteer rescue group from Louisiana, shared a grim update from the heart of the disaster with CNN on Saturday afternoon.

“The people have lost everything. If your house was even close to the riverbank, it’s gone, swept off the foundation,” Sorter said. “At this point, we don’t know how many people were even home when this happened. If you were home … you probably got swept down the river.”

Camp Mystic, a private Christian summer camp for girls in Hunt, is located close to the water and was trapped between a cliff and the quickly rising river. At least one girl is confirmed dead and 27 are reported missing at Camp Mystic.

“There was nowhere for these kids to go. The buildings were washed out, just carved out from the inside,” Sorter said.

The rescue operation is further complicated by a severe debris field, with downed trees blocking the path of riverboats, he added. Low-hanging clouds are also preventing helicopters from reaching the area, slowing down efforts.

Overnight, connectivity issues made the situation even worse. Search teams, working in pitch black darkness, were unable to communicate effectively because radios were down and cell phones didn’t work, Sorter said. However, some were able to regain contact using Starlink, a system now being deployed in every first responder vehicle across Kerr County to prevent future disruptions.

In one miraculous rescue, a young girl was found alive after being swept 12 miles downstream and surviving by clinging to a tree, according to Sorter.

“That is nothing short of a miracle,” he said. “It’s remarkable that she was able to survive, that she beat the odds.”

As each hour passes, Sorter says the outlook grows bleaker. The number of missing children has not dropped significantly, and the urgency of the search is still overwhelming.

“Time is precious right now, especially when we’re talking about the amount of missing children, these young girls, you see these pictures, and it’s horrifying to even think about,” Sorter said.