In early July 2025, devastating flash floods swept central Texas, particularly in Kerr County, resulting in the deadliest inland rainfall flood in the U.S. since 1976. At least 136 people died — including 108 in Kerr County.
In the days immediately following the July 4 flooding, officials reported dozens of people missing and put out a call to the public to assist in identifying each missing person.
The numbers fluctuated in the aftermath of the flood. On July 8, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced that 161 people were missing. On July 9, officials said more than 170 people were still unaccounted for. In a news conference on July 10, police from Kerrville — a Kerr County city intensely affected by the flooding — confirmed that the locale's number of missing individuals remained at 161. By July 14, Abbott said in a news conference that the number of those missing was 97.
"In the aftermath of the devastating flood that swept through Kerr County July 4, officials urged the public to report any unaccounted-for individuals through a dedicated hotline and email. In the initial days, hundreds were reported missing," a Kerr County spokesperson wrote to Snopes via email.
However, by July 19, dozens of posts across multiple platforms (archived, archived, archived) claimed the number of missing individuals in Kerr County had dropped to just three.
Kerr County corroborated these claims via email, writing:
In coordination with the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), investigators began an exhaustive effort to verify the status of each individual who was reported missing. Through tireless work and continuous communication with families, local agencies, and impacted communities, the number of law-enforcement confirmed missing individuals has now declined to three.
Both the city of Kerrville and the Kerr County Sheriff's Office confirmed the reports via their social media accounts on July 19, noting that "many individuals who were initially reported as missing have been verified as safe and removed from the list."
"We are profoundly grateful to the more than 1,000 local, state, and federal authorities who have worked tirelessly in the wake of the devastating flood that struck our community," Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said in the statement. "Thanks to their extraordinary efforts, the number of individuals previously listed as missing has dropped from over 160 to three."
On July 22, a search task force recovered the body of one of the three missing people, dropping the number of those missing to two and increasing the death toll to at least 136. In an X post on July 22, Abbott wrote, "We are still missing one adult male and a little girl from Camp Mystic."
We will update this story if we receive any further information regarding the number of people found as the rescue effort in Kerr County continues. Officials have not publicly confirmed the identities of those missing.
We've broken down a number of claims related to the July 2025 Texas floods, including the rumor that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum sent rescue teams to Texas and a claim that Rainmaker Technology Corp.'s cloud seeding mission caused flooding.