“She Wrote Us a Letter… Then She Was Gone”

Camp Mystic Parents Begin Receiving Heartbreaking Notes from Daughters Lost in Texas Floods — And Patrick Mahomes’ Response Leaves the Nation in Tears

Kerr County, Texas — They never got to come home. But their words did.

One week after flash floods swept through Camp Mystic, killing at least 27 young girls and camp staff, something unthinkably tender has begun arriving at the homes of grieving families across Texas: letters from the girls, written just days — or hours — before the flood took them.

Handwritten notes sealed in joy, innocence, and sunshine. Now forever stained by tears.

“Dear Mommy,
I made a new friend. We’re painting flags today and I want to learn a song to sing to you when I come back…”

That letter arrived two days after its author drowned.

A Child’s Final Words, Postmarked From Heaven

Among those letters was one from Blakely McRory, age 8 — described by her mother Lindsey as a child who “made her little corner of the world better just by being in it.” Her grandfather Douglas received her final message in the mail this week.
The grandfather of Blakely McRory, 8, one of the girls lost to the floods, said he was sent a note by her after she arrived at the summer camp
Another grieving mother, Stacy Stevens, begged rescue workers and volunteers to help locate her daughter Mary’s favorite stuffed monkey — a constant companion she brought to camp. It hasn’t been found. But the country is looking.
The mother of Mary Stevens, who also died in the floods at Camp Mystic, said she is hoping to find her daughter’s favorite stuffed monkey in the debris
Mary’s stricken mother Stacy wrote that she was hoping to find the stuffed animal, as ‘We lost my daughter and would love to have it back as it was her most prized possession’
The death toll from the Texas flood disaster now exceeds 120, with over 170 still missing. Officials confirm that at least 36 children are among the dead. Yet, it’s the quietest things — the letters, the drawings, the stuffed animals — that are breaking hearts across the country.
A first responder appears emotional amid the ongoing searched, with over 100 bodies found in flood waters including at least 36 children

Then Patrick Mahomes Read One

He was scrolling news late one night when Patrick Mahomes, the Kansas City Chiefs star quarterback and Texas native, stumbled upon an article. It was about the letters. He stopped cold.

And then he called his team.

“I saw their handwriting,” Mahomes said, his voice shaking. “I saw those dreams… the things they wanted to do next week. And I realized — they’ll never get that chance.”

Patrick Mahomes announced today the creation of “Letters Left Behind,” a nationwide initiative in partnership with the Texas relief fund to preserve, honor, and publish the letters sent home by the girls of Camp Mystic.

But that wasn’t all.

He also pledged to personally fund scholarships in the names of all 27 girls — so that their dreams wouldn’t die in the floodwaters.

“If a child took the time to write to the world, the least we can do is write their names into history,” Mahomes said. “They’re gone, but their voices aren’t. And I promise you this: I will not let anyone forget them.”

A Nation Mourns Together

First responders are still combing the Guadalupe River, where many children were swept away. Survivors say they clung to trees for hours, praying for rescue. Some parents are still waiting for confirmation. Some already know.

President Trump, joined by First Lady Melania, visited Kerr County on Friday to meet families and first responders. Flags across Texas remain at half-staff, and blue porch lights flicker on in memory of lives lost.

“It’s the worst inland flood disaster in the U.S. since 1976,” said Yale meteorologist Bob Henson. “But it’s the children’s faces we’ll remember — not the numbers.”

And the Letters Keep Coming…

The U.S. Postal Service has now begun organizing a special project to digitally archive letters recovered from Camp Mystic. Many families say they plan to frame them. Others say they can’t bear to read them just yet.

One unopened letter, addressed simply to “Mom,” sits on a windowsill, sealed and sun-warmed.

The girl who wrote it didn’t make it.
But the love she sent… did.