The grueling, desperate search for 27 missing girls stretched into a third day on Sunday after raging floodwaters surged into a summer camp as rescuers maneuvered through challenging terrain, while Texans were asked to pray that any survivors would be found. At least 51 people, including 15 children, were killed, with most of the deaths coming in Kerr County in the state’s Hill Country. Besides the 43 dead in Kerr County, four deaths were reported in Travis, three in Burnet and 1 in Kendall. Rescuers dealt with broken trees, overturned cars and muck-filled debris in a difficult task to find survivors. Authorities still have not said how many people were missing beyond the children from Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp along the Guadalupe River in Kerr County where most of the dead were recovered. The destructive, fast-moving waters rose 26 feet (8 meters) on the river in only 45 minutes before daybreak Friday, washing away homes and vehicles. The danger was not over as at least one flash flood warning remained in effect in central Texas on Sunday. Searchers used helicopters, boats and drones to look for victims and to rescue people stranded in trees and from camps isolated by washed-out roads. Gov. Greg Abbott vowed that authorities will work around the clock and said new areas were being searched as the water receded. He declared Sunday a day of prayer for the state. “I urge every Texan to join me in prayer this Sunday — for the lives lost, for those still missing, for the recovery of our communities, and for the safety of those on the front lines,” he said in a statement. Pope Leo XIV offered special prayers for those touched by the disaster. History’s first American pope spoke in English at the end of his Sunday noon blessing, “I would like to express sincere condolences to all the families who have lost loved ones, in particular their daughters who were in summer camp, in the disaster caused by the flooding of the Guadalupe River in Texas in the United States. We pray for them.” Authorities were coming under scrutiny over whether the camps and residents in places long vulnerable to flooding received proper warning and whether enough preparations were made. The hills along the Guadalupe River are dotted with century-old youth camps and campgrounds where generations of families have come to swim and enjoy the outdoors. The area is especially popular around the Independence Day holiday, making it more difficult to know how many are missing. “We don’t even want to begin to estimate at this time,” Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said earlier. Raging storm hit the camp in the middle of the night “The camp was completely destroyed,” said Elinor Lester, 13, one of hundreds of campers. “A helicopter landed and started taking people away. It was really scary.” The raging storm, fueled by massive amounts of moisture, woke up her cabin just after midnight Friday. When rescuers arrived, they tied a rope for the girls to hold as they walked across a bridge with water whipping around their legs, she said. Frantic parents and families posted photos of missing loved ones and pleas for information. Among those confirmed dead were an 8-year-old girl from Mountain Brook, Alabama, who was at Camp Mystic, and the director of another camp up the road. […]