A Texas father left a devastating voicemail for his children just moments before losing his life in severe flooding. Jeff Ramsey, 61, received a late emergency text while staying at the Carville RV camp with his wife and dog, suggesting he evacuate the area at 4:49 a.m. on July 4th.
The alert informed guests that they needed to leave due to dangerous river flooding and suggested gathering belongings before heading to a nearby church parking lot for further instructions.
Sadly, this notice came too late for Ramsey and his 46-year-old wife, Tanya. In what would be one of his last moments, he spoke with his son and daughter, saying goodbye before their tragic end. “He got that text while they were floating,” said their 24-year-old son, Jake. “It’s your worst nightmare.”
He continued, highlighting the timing of the alert: “Right when he left that voicemail, they were being swept away.” Many have questioned the responsiveness of local authorities, especially as floodwaters rose unexpectedly that morning.
Though a sharp flood warning was issued to officials just after 1 a.m., the mayor of Kerrville claimed he wasn’t aware of the crisis until around 5:30 a.m.—after Ramsey had already perished. An emergency alert reached local numbers at about 6 a.m., but it appears many didn’t receive timely updates.
Ramsey’s voicemail captured the chaos, with his wife’s frantic voice in the background exclaiming, “We are dying, we are dying!” Jake recalled hearing panic in his father’s voice like never before. “He called me when he realized there was no hope,” Jake recounted, sharing his father’s last words: “Buddy. I love you so much. We don’t look like we’re going to make it.”
Kerr County was hard-hit by the disaster, which claimed at least 119 lives, including 95 in Kerr County alone, of which 36 were children. More than 150 individuals still remain unaccounted for.
Unexpectedly, Ramsey’s dog, Chloe, a whippet, survived the flood and was later reunited with the family. Yet, lingering questions remain about the local warning systems and why more residents were not alerted to the dangers they faced one night before the catastrophe.
Jake voiced concerns about the inadequacy of the evacuation efforts, suggesting that better preparations could have mitigated the tragedy. “All I know is that my dad was texted after it was already too late. He had already said goodbye to me and my sister.”
