Sheriff Gives Update On The Number Of Dead And Missing In Kerr County Area Following Texas Flooding

At a press briefing on Wednesday, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha spoke about how many people have died from the flooding in Texas.

Transcript

00:00Okay, here's our morning update for July 8th.

00:21Search efforts continue throughout Kirk County.

00:24As of 8 a.m. this morning, central time, there are 95 deceased.

00:29I'm going to kind of break down the numbers for you.

00:32On adults, there's 59, unidentified 14.

00:36Children, 36, unidentified 13.

00:40Camp Mystic currently still has missing five campers and one counselor.

00:47Officials report there are 161 missing people in Kirk County area.

00:52Community members are asked not to conduct the remanagement of their property until

00:58directed by law enforcement.

01:00There is also no burn ban in Kirk County at this time until further notice.

01:05Let me give you a visual.

01:07I know probably all of y'all have been in our community capturing the aftermath of this disaster.

01:13But with that said, also take note that Kirk County is 1,100 square miles of beautiful but complex hill country.

01:23There are rural areas that may experience extended response times.

01:28Areas where cell service is spotty.

01:30Where the area is single lane bridges and low water crossings.

01:34Sometimes evacuations is not the safest.

01:37Sometimes it's better to shelter in place.

01:39The hill country is not a one size fit all place.

01:43First responders from emergency services throughout Kirk County promptly responded to the recent emergency as the situation unfolded.

01:53As with other significant events that our emergency services encountered, this incident will be reviewed.

02:01You have my word.

02:02When or if necessary, if improvements need to be made, improvements will be made.

02:07What I'd like to do right now is kind of give you a breakdown.

02:10You know, I believe the latest report I had, we over have 2,100 people out here at some capacity on this incident.

02:18As far as Kirk County Sheriff's Office right now, what our office is currently doing, it's kind of a, it's an all hands on deck.

02:24Everybody we got are out here, but also we have additional 2,000 plus people helping us.

02:29But as far as our patrol division, you know, they're right now, they're involved in answering calls.

02:34Y'all have to remember, we still got day to day calls we have to handle.

02:37But they're also involved in different kinds of rescue and recovery efforts.

02:42My CID division, criminal investigation division, is assisting with operations at the funeral home.

02:49They're also assisting with the identification process.

02:52My SOD division, special operations division, is in searching through heavy debris with heavy equipment.

02:59They're distributing assets for the Texas game wardens.

03:02They're also involved in recovery operations.

03:05Also, they're working with DPS special agents on all recovery processes.

03:14And with the volunteer fire departments.

03:16Our communications is overseeing the communication operation liaison with DPS also.

03:22Our emergency management, Thomas, is in the EOC center.

03:25Also with my chiefs, they're both in the EOC center.

03:28Also with my chiefs, they're both in the EOC center.