Texas sisters, 11 and 13, who died together in flood found with their hands together holding rosaries

Two young sisters from Dallas, Brooke and Blair Harber, were found clinging to each other after catastrophic floods swept them away early Friday morning in Kerr County. The 11- and 13-year-old girls, described as inseparable, were discovered with rosaries in hand and fingers still locked together, according to their aunt, Jennifer Harber.

The Houston Chronicle reports that "Their bodies were found about 12 hours and 15 miles from where the wall of water washed them from the house in Hunt where they were staying with their grandparents."

“Their bodies were found yesterday afternoon, 15 miles away in Kerrville,” Harber said. “When they were found, their hands were locked together. My parents, Mike and Charlene Harber, have not been found as of now. Prayers are needed so we can bring them home.” 

“My parents were downstairs in the guest bedroom and my nieces were upstairs in the loft,” she continued. “My mom, dad and nieces stayed at that house because the house they owned was a one-bedroom, and the neighbors were kind enough to let them stay there since they were out of town.”

Jennifer says the storm woke up her family around 3:30 a.m., and that’s when Blair and Brooke’s father, R.J., went to check on the girls, whom they had tucked into bed at 11 p.m.

During the storm, R.J. noticed water rapidly rising around the property in the gated Casa Bonita community, but the noise of the rain made it difficult to hear the danger approaching. Realizing the urgency, the family broke a window to escape as floodwaters climbed at an alarming rate — reportedly about a foot each minute.

R.J. attempted to reach his relatives by borrowing a kayak from neighbors after waking them and helping save their lives, but the water was too high to get to the house where his parents, nieces, and their dogs were sheltering. Forced to turn back, he and several others fled through freezing water and narrowly avoided hypothermia.

Eventually, the group made it across a flooded highway to safety, where strangers took them in. Remarkably, one of the family’s dogs managed to escape through a window and later reunited with them on higher ground.

From their safe vantage point, R.J. and his wife saw homes, cars, and trees swept away, leaving only a few houses standing in their community.

Plans are underway for a joint funeral service for the two sisters in Dallas, while the family continues to search for missing loved ones and finalizes arrangements.