David Lawrence Jr.’s three grandchildren were at Camp Mystic when the Guadalupe River overflowed, devastating the girls’ summer retreat
NEED TO KNOW
- Two victims of the horrific Texas floods have been identified as the 8-year-old twin granddaughters of former Miami Herald publisher David Lawrence Jr.
- Lawrence confirmed to the Herald that Hanna and Rebecca had died at Camp Mystic; Their sister Harper, 14, was also at the camp but survived
- Twenty-seven campers and counselors from Camp Mystic died when the Guadalupe River suddenly overflowed due to unprecedented rain over the July 4 weekend, and eleven are still missing
The 8-year-old twin granddaughters of newspaper publisher David Lawrence Jr. were among those who died during the devastating flash floods that struck central Texas over the July 4 weekend.
Lawrence, the former publisher of the Miami Herald and Detroit Free Press, confirmed to the Herald that his twin granddaughters, Hanna and Rebecca, and their 14-year-old sister, Harper, had been at Camp Mystic when the Guadalupe River overflowed, suddenly overwhelming the Christian girls’ summer camp. The twins, he confirmed, had died in the floods; He’d previously shared that Harper was “safe,” per a report from CBS News.
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“It has been an unimaginable time for all of us. Hanna and Rebecca gave their parents John and Lacy and sister Harper, and all in our family, so much joy,” Lawrence told the Herald in a statement. “They and that joy can never be forgotten.”
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His son, John, is one of Lawrence’s five children with wife Roberta. Per the Herald, John and Lacy are attorneys and live in Dallas. Under Lawrence’s tenure as the Miami Herald’s publisher, the paper won five Pulitzers. He retired in 1999 and founded The Children’s Movement of Florida, an education advocacy group.
In a statement to NBC News Texas, their parents confirmed the girls had recently completed 2nd grade at University Park Elementary School.
“Hanna and Rebecca brought so much joy to us, to their big sister Harper, and to so many others,” the parents wrote. “We will find ways to keep that joy, and to continue to spread it for them. But we are devastated that the bond we shared with them, and that they shared with each other, is now frozen in time. Thank you for the love and support.”
PEOPLE has reached out to Lawrence via The Children’s Movement of Florida for further comment.
The death toll from the sudden, catastrophic floods continues to climb, and as of Monday, July 7, over 100 have died. In a statement on its website, Camp Mystic confirmed that 27 of those dead were campers and counselors at the summertime retreat, which is nestled along the Guadalupe River.
Ten of the campers and one counselor are still missing, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said, according to CNN. The camp’s owner, Richard “Dick” Eastland, also died.
“Our hearts are broken alongside our families that are enduring this unimaginable tragedy,” the camp said in a statement. “We are praying for them constantly. We have been in communication with local and state authorities who are tirelessly deploying extensive resources to search for our missing girls.”
