KERR COUNTY, Texas – Heavy rain put search efforts on pause as crews continue to look for dozens of people who went missing after floods on Fourth of July weekend.

Some officials say they believe the search will last for months.

Kerr County searches

KERRVILLE, TEXAS – JULY 14: Search and rescue operations are performed in the Guadalupe River on July 14, 2025 in Kerrville, Texas. More than 160 people are still missing after storm cells halted over the area, dumping nearly 15 inches of rain and ca

By the numbers:

In Kerr County, the hardest hit area, state officials are still looking for 97 people.

The Kerr County sheriff said on Monday he believes it could take as long as six months to find some of the missing.

What they’re saying:

Sometimes recovering a body is just the beginning.

Gov. Greg Abbott says once a body is recovered it can take several days to identify.

“Sometimes it does require using DNA testing to identify who they are and identify who their family is,” he said on Monday.

Rainy weekend slows search efforts

Texas flooding death toll rises with recovery efforts

Gov. Greg Abbott gave an update today on the recovery efforts in Central Texas, saying there are now 131 people confirmed dead across the state. He shared those details after touring more areas impacted by flooding this weekend.

Search efforts were put on pause starting on Sunday because of rain and water coming down the Guadalupe River.

What they’re saying:

Texas Department of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd said the rainfall could make the situation dangerous for search crews.

“We cannot afford to have people in that water and right next to the water that are not swift rescue trained and capable of at least saving themselves from being near that water because of the amount of rainfall that we’re getting,” he said.

Help for those affected

The Texas Division of Emergency Management says 13,000 volunteers are assisting with flood-related recovery.

TDEM is establishing volunteer reception centers to match capabilities and skills with what the communities need.

What they’re saying:

Daniel Olivas is one of several Kerrville residents who had their homes significantly damaged in the floods.

On Sunday, he says dozens of volunteer “angels” came to his home to help.

“We had up to 30 people on Sunday,” Oliveras said. 

Others say volunteer help is needed now, more than ever.

“It’s really emotional. It’s been a blessing. God has watched over us for this whole ordeal and I cannot express how much I appreciate everything that they have done for us,” said Colleen Lucas.

Kerrville extends disaster declaration

Local perspective:

On Monday, Kerrville City Council voted to indefinitely extend the mayor’s disaster declaration.

City officials have faced questions about what some believe was a lack of preparedness.

At Monday’s meeting, Councilwoman Brenda Hughes called for extra security, claiming “targeted threats” were being made to city staff.

What they’re saying:

The city is asking people to stop donating physical items.

“No more donations. We are at capacity, we appreciate all of the donations but we literally just don’t have the time, space and people to manage it,” said Councilwoman Delayne Sigerman.

Since the tragic floods in Central Texas, hundreds of volunteers have made their way to Kerr County to help with the flood aftermath. But for many, the Hill Country flood aftermath is hard to process.

“It’s the kids’ shoes. Every time I see one, it pulls at your heartstrings,” said Jared Ronning, who came to Kerrville from Orange, Texas. “Yesterday, I found a baby purple Croc and, like, a baby life jacket next to it, and you don’t know until you look.”

Ronning is one of hundreds of volunteers who have inundated Kerr County to help with flood clean-up. Ronning found out the Children’s Association for Maximum Potential, also known as Camp CAMP, needed help rebuilding. The camp serves children with disabilities.

“It’s easy to sit and look at your phone and think, ‘man that’s sad.’ It’s a lot harder to put it down and come out here,” Ronning said. “I feel like if I was able to help, I might as well anyway I could. I know there are a lot of families going through a lot worse than I am.”

Approximately 6-8 acres of land at Camp CAMP were damaged. On Saturday, the Texas Division of Emergency Management began requiring volunteers to register to better coordinate efforts.  

“Compared to the losses at some other camps, and what communities have faced, we’re blessed because our campers weren’t here when the flooding event happened,” said Brandon Briery, the chief operating officer. “The flooding, the debris, has just completely changed the landscape of this.”

Briery said many families who attend the camp were worried it would close for the remainder of the summer because of the damage at the grounds and in the county.

“We have been inundated with calls from camper families saying, ‘When are you going to reopen? We want to make sure we get to come,’” Briery said.

He added that the camp has received criticism for trying to reopen too soon.

“For our campers and families who don’t have opportunities to go to camp anywhere else, because of the severity of their disabilities or their illnesses, for the families to be able to get a break from caregiving,” said Briery. “Because of the special nature of who we serve and the limited opportunities that they have to have this type of experience, when we look at all of the needs, there’s no way we could keep from opening.”

The camp hoped to reopen its doors Sunday, but because of another flash flood warning in the area, they pushed it back until Monday. While Briery said he understands the concerns of the community, it’s a moment of normalcy for their families, a moment to recover and rebuild together.

“There is also hope, that hope that tomorrow can be better because there are people who are willing to come together to make things like this happen,” he said.

President Donald Trump suggested the tragic loss of life that occurred in Texas as a result of historic flooding could have been mitigated if the county had “bells… or something, go off.”

In an interview with his daughter-in-law Lara Trump on her Fox News show, My View with Lara Trump, the president spoke about the floods that have killed at least 129 people. On Friday, he visited Kerrville, Texas, where he met with officials and spoke to the media alongside wife Melania.

The president replied, ”There can be nothing worse than losing a child, and the way this happened… there was very early warning, they warned the day before, they warned even two days before, they warned four hours before…”

He added, ”Maybe they should have had bells… or something, go off. But it’s pretty dangerous territory when you think of all the times they’ve had this problem.”

Local officials have come under scrutiny in the aftermath of the floods, with many questioning why—unlike other flood-prone counties—Kerr County did not have an alert system in place.

Camp Mystic, which lost 27 campers and counselors in the floods, is located in a high-risk flood zone, and a hazard mitigation report sent to FEMA by Kerr County in October 2024 said that a flood that might. exceed historical records was likely within a year, The New York Times reported.

County officials said in a statement to The Times, “Our city and county leadership are committed to a transparent and full review of past actions.”

On at least three occasions between 2017 and 2024, Kerr County officials applied for funding for an alarm-based flood warning system, but their requests were denied by the state, the report added.

Following the devastating floods, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said there “should have been sirens” in Kerr County, and that if local officials could not afford them, “the state will step up.”

While Gov. Greg Abbott said that the state legislature would investigate the floods, he hit back at attempts to assign blame earlier this week, arguing that ”every team makes mistakes” and that blame was ”the word choice of losers.”

Trump echoed these sentiments at his press conference in Kerrville on Friday, lashing out at a CBS News reporter who asked what the president would say to families who were upset about not receiving alerts in time.

“Well, I think everyone did an incredible job under the circumstances,” Trump responded, before adding, “only a bad person would ask a question like that, to be honest with you.”