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Austin, TX

Here’s what we know about the flood victims from the Austin area

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Here’s what we know about the flood victims from the Austin area


More than 100 people died in Central Texas after historic flooding over the July Fourth weekend.

Most of the deaths were in Kerr County, two hours west of Austin. That includes roughly two dozen campers attending an all-girls’ Christian camp along the Guadalupe River. At least two of these girls were from Austin.

The Austin area also experienced catastrophic flooding, claiming at least 14 lives. Here’s what we know about the flood victims from Austin and the surrounding towns:

Braxton Jarmon, 15, was a rising sophomore at Glenn High School in Leander and a member of the school’s marching band.

Braxton Jarmon

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Braxton Jarmon, 15, was a rising sophomore at Glenn High School in Leander, just north of Austin. The school principal confirmed his death in an email to students and families.

“The void he leaves behind is immense, and he will be deeply missed,” reads an Instagram post on the school’s marching band account.

Linnie McCown

Linnie McCown, 8, was among the 27 campers and counselors at Camp Mystic who died in the Kerrville floods. Her father, Michael McCown, confirmed her death to the Austin American-Statesman. According to the Statesman, he wrote on Instagram that Linnie “filled our hearts with so much joy we cannot begin to explain.”

Linnie had been a student at Casis Elementary. Hundreds of people attended a vigil at the Austin ISD campus Sunday to pray for the flood victims and their families.

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Mary Stevens

Eight-year-old Mary Stevens, a camper at Camp Mystic, attended Highland Park Elementary, according to KXAN.

The station reported that Mary’s mother confirmed her death in a social media post.

“Our world is shattered, but I have peace getting your letters and knowing you were having the time of your life at camp and had a dance party with all of your friends before the Lord decided to take you from us,” Stacy Stevens wrote.

Sherry Richardson 

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Sherry Richardson, 64, was considered the "office mom" at Hope House, a long-term residential home for children and adults with disabilities in Liberty Hill.
Sherry Richardson, 64, was considered the “office mom” at Hope House, a long-term residential home for children and adults with disabilities in Liberty Hill.

Sherry Richardson, 64, was the office manager and human resources director for Hope House, a long-term residential home for children and adults with profound intellectual disabilities in Liberty Hill.

David Gould, the executive director of Hope House, said Richardson “was the glue that kind of held everybody together.” He described her as the “office mom.”

“She was lit up with being able to work on this mission of taking care of kids and giving them the best life ever,” he said.

Gould said Richardson was living in a cabin on the property when it flooded. He said first responders were able to evacuate 12 children and two staff members on the main campus, which is farther from the creek.

He said Richardson’s death is a huge loss for the organization.

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“She was the one that set the tone as far as how we’re going to take care of each other and how we are going to be kind and how collectively we’re going to take care of this mission together by taking care of each other,” he said.

Courtesy Betty West family

Betty West, seen here in the mid-80s.

Betty West

Betty West, 84, was “hilarious and blunt,” two of her children said by phone Tuesday. Sherry McCutcheon said it often took her mom hours just to leave the grocery store because the Austin-area native had friends constantly stopping to chat.

West was living in Sandy Creek, a neighborhood in northwest Travis County that was ravaged by floodwaters early Saturday morning. She was living with her sons, Doug West and Gary Traugott, both of whom are still missing. West did not survive the floods and was found early Saturday, her daughters said.

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West had been retired from Texas Instruments for 20 years.

Malaya Hammond

Malaya Hammond was a student at One Day Academy in Marble Falls. Her school confirmed her death in an Instagram post on Monday.

This story will be updated.

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Austin, TX

Southwest Airlines establishing new crew base in Austin

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Southwest Airlines establishing new crew base in Austin


AUSTIN, Texas (KVIA) — Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced that Southwest Airlines will establish a new pilot and flight attendant crew base in Austin.

Abbott joined the Austin mayor at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport to make the announcement today.

The expansion to Austin will lay the groundwork for future operational growth in Texas. It is expected to generate 2,000 jobs in Austin by mid-2027. In addition to the pilots and flight attendants, Austin will now also be home to managerial and support staff. The new crew base will have an average salary of $180,000 a year, the Governor’s Office says.

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The state is extending a $14 million Texas Enterprise Fund to the airline, as well as a $375,000 Veteran Created Job Bonus.

“Southwest Airlines was born and raised in Texas and has been a core element of the economic growth we have seen in our state,” said Governor Abbott. “We are excited to announce that today Southwest Airlines will add over 2,000 high paying jobs right here in Texas. We are the home of economic opportunity for our fellow Texans more than any other state in the United States, and we know a key reason for that is because of everything Southwest Airlines provides. We are proud to partner with everybody connected with Southwest as well as the City of Austin on such a huge announcement for our state.”



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Austin, TX

Fire destroys abandoned E Austin auto shop

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Fire destroys abandoned E Austin auto shop


Austin firefighters battled their second major fire Thursday afternoon, responding to an abandoned East Austin auto shop engulfed in flames.

Crews responded to 3100 Manor Road around 4 p.m., AFD said.

No injuries were reported and no one was inside the building.

ALSO | 40+ residents displaced in North Austin third-alarm apartment fire, no injuries reported

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The incident was called in as a first alarm. The building is a total loss, according to officials.

CBS Austin has a crew on the way to the scene.

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Earlier in the afternoon, firefighters extinguished a three-alarm fire in north Austin.

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Austin, TX

Austin road rage suspect identified, charged with criminal mischief: affidavit

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Austin road rage suspect identified, charged with criminal mischief: affidavit


The suspect in a violent road rage incident on the Capital of Texas Highway has been identified and charged, according to court paperwork.

The altercation was caught on camera.

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What we know:

34-year-old Ian Kevin Brinkmeyer has been charged with criminal mischief, a Class B misdemeanor, in connection with the Dec. 5 incident.

At around 2 p.m. that day, officers responded to a call for service on Capital of Texas Highway, where they spoke with Brinkmeyer and another man.

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The affidavit says Brinkmeyer “engaged in a road rage” with the other man while traveling north on Capital of Texas Highway. Brinkmeyer drove around the other man, changed lanes in front of him and cut him off before stopping his car.

Brinkmeyer then allegedly got out of his vehicle holding a “steel knife sharpening rod”, walked over to the other man’s car and struck the driver’s side door window with the rod, shattering the entire window.

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The affidavit says Brinkmeyer then quickly walked back to his car and drove off.

The entire incident was caught on video by other drivers and posted on social media.

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The affidavit says that the repairs to the shattered window cost about $480, making this a case of criminal mischief with a value between $100 and $750.

What’s next:

A warrant has been issued for Brinkmeyer’s arrest. As of 12 p.m. Dec. 11, he is not in custody.

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The Source: Information in this report comes from court paperwork and previous reporting.

Crime and Public SafetyAustin



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