His optimism was fading. He paused along a Texas 39 grape orchard as friends searched across the highway in a massive field spanning half a mile. Trees once blocked the roadside view. Now, the still-swollen river, a mess of uprooted trees and scattering of volunteer searchers were visible from the road.

As the floodwaters recede from Camp Mystic, a torrent of grief remains for the families of the children who died and those who went missing when flash floods tore through central Texas earlier this week.

At least 67 people are dead following flooding that slammed central Texas over the weekend, while a desperate search for 11 missing girls continues.