Texas flood victims: from young campers to a father who saves his family, what we know about lost lives

The young campers at Camp Mestic and a dad saving their family were among the dead dozens in the historical sudden floods that were torn in the center of Texas during the festive weekend.

This is what we know about lost lives:

Chloe Childress

Chloe Childress, counselor at Camp Mystic, was ready to attend the University of Texas in Austin in autumn.

Jonathan Eades, the head of the Kinkoid school, of which he graduated earlier this year, remembered Childress as someone who had a “remarkable way to make people feel view” and “constant compassion that established a room.”

“Whether sharing their own challenges to relieve someone’s burden or encourage a teammate or classmate for a difficult day, Chloe made room for others to feel safe, valued and brave. He understood what meant being part of a community, and more than that, he helped build one,” Eades wrote in a letter to the school community.

Childress “lost his life defending this selfless and fierce commitment to others,” said Eades.

“A loyal and dear friend of all who knew her, Chloe led with empathy. Her honesty gave others the courage to speak. Her resistance helped others to move forward. Her joy, so present in all the little things, reminded them of all who knew her that they continued to appear with heart,” he said.

Jane Ragsdale

Jane Ragsdale was the director of The Heart or ‘The Hills Camp for Girls.

“We at the camp are stunned and deeply sad for Jane’s death,” said Heart or ‘The Hills Camp in a statement. “She embodied the spirit of the heart of the hills and was exactly the type of strong and cheerful woman that the camp aimed to develop with the girls confirmed to us every summer.”

Julian Ryan

Julian Ryan, 27, died after trying to help her family escape her trailer in Ingram, according to her sister, Connie Salas.

Ryan and his fiancee woke up early on Friday to the water to the ankles inside his house, and in a few moments, the water rose to the waist level, he said.

When their mattress began to float, the couple placed their children of 13 months and 6 years at the top of security, Salas said. The bedroom door, closed swollen of water pressure, would not open.

In a desperate attempt to escape, Ryan tried to break a window and suffered a severe cut on his arm, Salas said.

He began to bleed profusely, Salas said, and when the water rose to his chin, Ryan’s mother shouted for help.

Ryan lost consciousness before the aid could come, he said.

“I love you. I’m very sorry,” they were Ryan’s last words to his fiancee when he realized that he was not going to survive, the family said.

“He didn’t die in vain,” Salas told ABC News. “A hero died.”

Katheryn Eads

Katheryn Eads and her husband were camping in an RV when they separated in the waters of the floods, her daughter said.

“Dr. Katheryn Eads lived a full life, shortened too much,” said the EADS family in a statement. “It was an incredible wife, daughter, mother, grandmother and a person who spent her life helping children, from those in the parenting care system at the beginning of her career to those in school, both in early education and psychologist and in the university as a professor. Trying to discover our lives without it is a possibility that we have never planned to face and we will always miss her.”

Sarah Marsh

Sarah Marsh, 8, from Mountain Brook, Alabama, was a campist at Camp Mystic, said Mountain Brook mayor Stewart Welch.

“This is an unimaginable loss for his family, his school and our entire community. Sarah’s death is a pain shared by all of us, and our hearts are with those who knew and loved her,” said the mayor in a statement.

Alabama Senator Katie Britt wrote on social networks that “keeps her family in our thoughts and prayers during this unimaginable time.”

Camilla Alcini, Christopher Looft and Gabrielle Vinick of ABC News contributed to this report.