Two sisters killed in the Texas flooding were found holding hands, according to their relatives.
The bodies of Blair and Brooke Harber, aged 13 and 11, were recovered on Friday, about 12 hours after devastating flooding hit the cabin community where they were staying with their family.
They are among at least 104 people killed after heavy rain on Friday morning caused the banks of the Guadalupe River to burst, sweeping homes and vehicles away.
Their aunt, Jennifer Harber, wrote in a detailed statement on a GoFundMe page for the family that the sisters’ “hands were locked together” when rescuers found them about 15 miles downstream.
She said they had been staying in a cabin with their grandparents along the river, while their mother and father, Annie and RJ, were lodged farther up the hill, away from the water.
On the GoFundMe page, which was set up on Saturday, Ms Harber said the girls’ parents were safe, but their grandparents Mike and Charlene had still not been found. There are fears the death toll could rise further.
In the statement, Ms Harber wrote: “Brooke texted my brother, her grandmother and grandfather on Annie’s side saying ‘I love you’ at 3.30am.
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“My nieces were upstairs in the loft. They were believers and one of their favourite classes was religion.
“Blair and I had a conversation about God and heaven two weeks earlier. They had their rosaries with them. Their bodies were found yesterday afternoon 15 miles away in Kerrville. When they were found their hands were locked together.”
Later in the statement, she added: “We are beyond devastated and so heartbroken. Prayers are much appreciated and what we needed [sic] at this time.”
Their father spoke to CNN on Sunday, saying Blair “was a gifted student and had a generous kind heart,” while Brooke “was like a light in any room, people gravitated to her and she made them laugh and enjoy the moment”.
The GoFundMe has already raised nearly $300,000.
The sisters are among at least 28 children who have died during the flooding, many of whom were staying at a girls’ Christian camp along the river.
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They include twin sisters Hanna and Rebecca Lawrence, both eight, who had just finished second grade.
Their parents John and Lacy Lawrence shared a statement saying: “Hanna and Rebecca brought so much joy to us, to their big sister Harper, and to so many others.
“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.”
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As much as 10ins (25cm) of heavy rain fell in just a few hours overnight in central Kerr County on Friday, causing the banks of the Guadalupe River to burst at around 4am local time.
Homes and vehicles were swept away by the downpour – equivalent to months’ worth of rain, while 27 girls staying at Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp along the river, went missing when the fast-rising floodwaters hit.
Search parties are continuing to look for those still unaccounted for, which includes 10 children from the girls’ camp.
