Former San Francisco Giants pitcher Tyler Walker flew to Texas over the weekend with his wife and friends to search for his brother Mark, sister-in-law Sara and 14-year-old nephew Johnny, who are all missing after their vacation home was destroyed in the deadly Fourth of July floods in Texas.
“[Mark, Sara and Johnny are] missing and not identified yet, so we’re waiting on that,” Kathy Walker, Tyler and Mark’s mom, told the Marin Independent Journal from her home in San Rafael, Calif on Tuesday.
Walker, who played for the Giants from 2004-08, and his wife picked up their niece, 16-year-old Ellie, who survived flooding at Waldemar Camp — which is nearby the family’s vacation home, “River House,” along the Guadalupe River.
“All we can do is wait and pray for a miracle at this point. In a situation like that, waiting to find out if her dad and mom or brother, it’s just, it’s just dreadful,” Kathy said, adding that she spoke with Tyler on Sunday.
“They’re doing what they can to look on the river. He said there’s just so much devastation it’s impossible to comprehend. The debris piles everywhere, cars and trees and limbs. Just everything is piled up.”
Kathy added that some of Ellie’s friends from the summer camp are with her while Walker, Sara and their family friends continue searching for her parents and brother.
“She does have support, but not enough — there’s never enough,” Kathy said, adding that Ellie is “distraught” and praying hard. “In a situation like that — waiting to find out if her dad and mom or brother — it’s just, it’s just dreadful.”
Kathy told reporters she had been in regular contact with Mark last week, but hasn’t heard from him after the flash flooding early on the Fourth of July.
During a news conference on Monday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom confirmed that Mark, Sara and Johnny were missing and that their families are close.
“Mark, his wife, and his 14-year-old son who was very close with so many kids, including my own son, in the Marin County area, they’re missing,” Newsom said. “Thankfully, their 16-year-old daughter was found. It’s just another reminder of how devastating this tragedy is and obviously continues to unfold in just excruciating ways. Anyone with kids understands that.”
Ellie’s camp was separate from Camp Mystic, a girls’ summer camp in Kerr County where at least 27 campers and counselors died in the floods.
Kathy said someone sent her a photo of the remains of her son’s home.
“It’s crashed and gone,” she said.
Multiple vigils have been held for the Walkers.
At least 120 people have been confirmed dead after the flash floods hit Central Texas, according to local law enforcement and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
As of Thursday, first responders are searching for 170 people still missing, according to CBS.
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