URGENT SEARCH ASSISTANCE: One hour ago, Alan Jackson arrived in Texas to join flood relief efforts. There, he encountered a desperate man whose young son, around 8–10 years old, had passed away, and whose daughter, Joyce Badon, is still missing after the flood. Alan is calling on everyone to stay alert and help in the search for Mr. Badon’s daughter.

Distraught Father Discovers Child’s Body While Searching for Missing Daughter in Texas Floods

Hunt, TX — As desperate families continue to search for loved ones swept away by the catastrophic floods in central Texas, one father’s personal tragedy took an even more heartbreaking turn. Ty Badon, whose 21-year-old daughter Joyce is among the missing, said he found the body of a young boy while calling out for her near the banks of the Guadalupe River.

“It was a little boy, 8 or 10 years old, and he was dead,” Badon told CNN on July 5, visibly shaken as he described the moment he and his son stumbled upon the child’s body during a search in Hunt, Texas.

Badon’s daughter, Joyce Badon, was one of four college friends believed to have been swept away by fast-moving waters on the night of July 3. The group, which included Ella Cahill, Aidan Heartfield, and Reese Manchaca, had been staying at a cabin along the river when the flood struck.

“The house is no longer there,” Badon said, adding that his last known update came through a frantic phone call with Aidan Heartfield’s father. “Aidan said, ‘Hey, I’ve got to go, I’ve got to help Ella and Reese … they just got washed away,’ and then a few seconds later the phone just went dead. That’s all we know.”

Authorities have not yet confirmed the fate of the four young adults, though they are presumed missing in the flood. “We pray that all four of them are still alive,” said Badon. “All four are missing. They’re still missing.”

Flash flooding in Kerr County caused the Guadalupe River to surge to its second-highest recorded level. According to local officials and CNN, the region was hit by over 10 inches of rain—more than a season’s worth—in just a few hours. Hunt, a small town in Kerr County, received six inches of rain in three hours, an event meteorologists are calling a “1-in-100-year” storm.

As of Sunday morning, the death toll across affected counties—including Kerr, Travis, Burnet, and Kendall—had risen to at least 79. Rescue teams continue their work amid treacherous conditions, as more families join the ranks of those still waiting for news.

Meanwhile, Ty Badon’s search continues—through debris, rising water, and silence—clinging to hope, even as heartbreak mounts.

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