Central Texas hero helps reunite flood survivor siblings amid rising waters; rain worsens flood recovery in Kerr County as search continues
For a second day in a row, rain has pounded Kerr County, creating more obstacles for search and recovery crews along the Guadalupe River. Officials say more than 160 remain missing and over 130 have been confirmed dead.
But as the water rises, so does the Kerr County community, especially one man who reunited a brother and sister, swept away in the flood.
"I just never really thought it would get this high," said Patrick Burrer, an Ingram native.
As the rain fell on Ingram Monday, it brought Burrer back to the morning of July Fourth.
"The river is right here because it's so loud and so powerful. But when it did start to recede, and the light daylight came about, then you could start to see RVs and just all this carnage," said Burrer.
That's when Burrer hurried to the rushing water and started helping the people coming to shore.
"A young man actually came right out of the woods over there. And he was about 15 years old. His name was Ethan," Burrer said. "Tried to get him a towel, bottle of water, anything I could do for him."
Burrer said that's when he heard what he thought sounded like people in the trees.
"Then that's when we can kind of hear the screams and I told the officers, 'Hey, there's people over here,'" Burrer said. "And so the game wardens were already right here, and they were able to rescue four people."
One of those four people was Ethan's sister, who hung on to that tree, while the rest of their family was swept away.
"I was able to just tell her, 'Your brother is alive' because she said, 'My whole family is gone. My whole family is gone,'" Burrer said with tears in his eyes. "She was hanging on. Because that's all she could do. No matter how turbulent and traumatic, tragic our life can be, and all you can do is hang on, and that's all you can do."
"I prayed earlier that day," Patrick said. "I just wanted to help people more. I did not realize [God] was going to make that happen so quickly."
Burrer said he's been living off the river since he was 12 years old and had never seen it rise to the level it did on July Fourth. Kerr County officials posted they expect 4-9" of rain to fall across the area by the end of Monday and a flood watch has been issued until Tuesday.
