TOPSHOT – A search and rescue team looks for people along the Guadalupe River near a damaged building at Camp Mystic in Hunt, Texas, on July 7, 2025, following severe flash flooding that occurred during the July 4 holiday weekend. Rescuers in Texas continue to race against time to find dozens of missing people, including children, swept away by flash floods that killed more than 80 people, with forecasters warning of new deluges. In a terrifying display of nature’s power, the rain-swollen waters of the Guadalupe River reached treetops and the roofs of cabins in Camp Mystic as girls slept overnight on Friday, July 4, washing away some of them and leaving a scene of devastation. (Photo by RONALDO SCHEMIDT / AFP) (Photo by RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)Getty Images

Year after July 4 flooding, responders say they left their hearts in Hill Country

Despite the emotional toll of their jobs, North Texas first responders agreed they find solace in their families and the firefighting community.

by · 5 NBCDFW

An oblong gray rock sits in the foyer of the Fort Worth Fire Department’s Station 2. Its only defining feature: words in thick black paint across the front. “Camp Mystic 7-4-25." A few rooms over, a sticker pasted across firefighter Shane Harmon’s helmet reads, “Cile.” A hand-drawn black heart hovers above the name.

Torn around the edges and slightly stained, the sticker has been on Harmon’s helmet since 8-year-old Cecilia “Cile” Steward’s parents gave it to him in August 2025. It was how she signed her letters to them from Camp Mystic. It’s how Harmon remembers working in the flood waters, desperately trying to find Cile and her friends.

A torrent of rain caused the Guadalupe River to rise more than 26 feet in just 45 minutes last July, killing more than 130 people across several counties, including 25 campers and two counselors at the all-girls camp. The camp’s longtime director also died.

A year after the flooding, Cile and Jeff Ramsey, 63, remain missing.

You can read more from our media partner, The Dallas Morning News.