Video shows rescue of woman clinging to tree after dodging fridges, RVs in Texas flood
A 22-year-old woman, who was reportedly dragged from her campsite by floodwaters in central Texas, was rescued from a tree more than 30 kilometres away.
By the time a nearby resident heard her screams for help on July 4, the woman, who has not been identified publicly, had been clinging to a cypress tree for several hours, according to local news outlet KENS 5.
She survived being pulled by the current over four dams, dodging refrigerators and recreational vehicles in the water.
The woman had been at a campsite with her family in Ingram and ended up in Center Point, KENS 5 reported. To drive from Ingram to Center Point, it would take roughly 30 minutes by car.
When floodwaters hit the woman’s tent, around 4 a.m., she and her family tried to get away in their car. But they were swept into the waters and separated.
Carl Jeter was standing on his deck as the waters began to recede on Friday when he spotted the woman, he told Fox News .
“At first, I couldn’t… locate her. I thought she was in the river itself going downstream, and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh,’ and then I finally was able to look across the river at the end of the tree and I spotted her, so I began to call out to her and tell her that I see her… ‘I got you. We’re going to get you some help. It’s going to be okay. Just hang on,'” he said.
Rescue teams arrived and were able to bring the woman to safety by boat.
“She was cut and bruised and banged up from the trek and cold,” said Jeter. “So we wrapped her in blankets and towels and got her into the house, the dry spot because it was raining outside at the time, pretty good.”
He said she was “upset” and “concerned.”
According to KENS 5, the woman told Jeter’s son Josh that, at first when floodwaters approached, she was able to stay with her parents. They attempted to drive away in their car, but they ended up crawling out of the sunroof after it “stalled out.”
“She said they were able to get on a tree and her mom and her were clinging to each other. The dad was behind holding onto them. The water kept overtaking them and eventually they got swept away,” she told Josh. Her father was lost almost immediately while the woman and her mother hung onto each other “for awhile” because “some sort of a rapid” forced them to separate, Josh said.
Rescue and recovery efforts continue in full force in Kerr County. DPS along with partners from several agencies including @TPWDnews are combing through debris and damage as the mission is ongoing. #protectandserve pic.twitter.com/vOJQwUfnjd
— Texas DPS (@TxDPS) July 7, 2025
He said that they were “screaming back and forth, coming down the river for a period of time” before she lost contact with her mother.
The woman had also been travelling with an aunt, uncle and cousin. KENS 5 reported that, at the time of her rescue, the fate of her family was not clear.
Search and rescue operations are still underway in Kerr County after a deadly surge of water flooded from the Guadalupe River over the weekend. According to a Facebook post by the sheriff’s office, as of 8:30 a.m. on Monday, 75 people have been found dead, including 48 adults and 27 children. Fifteen adults and nine children are pending identification, the sheriff’s office said.
In a statement on Monday, a summer camp along the Guadalupe River, Camp Mystic, confirmed that 27 campers and counsellors had died over the weekend, with 10 campers and one counsellor still unaccounted for, according to CNN .
At least 90 people in total have died, CNN reported on Monday afternoon.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Texas Department of Public Safety troopers have been working “day and night,” in a post on X on Monday.
“We will not stop until every missing person is found,” he said.
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