Tragedy struck Texas over the Fourth of July weekend as flash floods claimed more than 100 lives, including 28 children. Among them were sisters Blair, 13, and Brooke Harber, 11, who were swept away near Hunt while staying in a riverside cabin with their grandparents.

The girls’ parents, RJ and Annie, were in a nearby cabin and awoke at 3:30 a.m. to rising water. They escaped through a window as floodwaters reached neck level. RJ attempted to kayak to his daughters but was forced back by dangerous debris and rapids. “If I took even one stroke further, it was gonna be a death sentence,” he told The Wall Street Journal.

At the same time, Blair and Brooke sent heartbreaking texts saying “I love you” to their parents and grandfather.

Twelve hours later, their bodies were found holding hands, 15 miles downstream. Their grandparents remain missing. Authorities now face questions about the lack of early warnings, with local Judge Rob Kelly admitting, “We had no reason to believe this was gonna be anything like what’s happened.”