Additional Coverage:
- CNN’s Pamela Brown returns to childhood camp in Texas, overcome by tragic flood aftermath (irishstar.com)
CNN anchor Pamela Brown was visibly moved while reporting from the site of the devastating flood at Camp Mystic in Texas, a Christian girls’ camp she attended as a child. The weekend flooding, caused by torrential rains on Friday, has tragically claimed 80 lives statewide, including five young girls between the ages of eight and nine. Ten campers are still missing.
Reporting from the ravaged camp, Brown became emotional as she recounted how counselors bravely led campers hand-in-hand to higher ground, where they huddled together for safety and sang songs. “It just gives you chills,” she shared, pausing to compose herself.
Brown spoke of the surreal experience of returning to the camp three decades later. “I was a 10-year-old little camper here, full of so much hope and joy,” she recalled, describing Camp Mystic as a “magical place.” She noted the bittersweet irony of speaking with a parent who had just dropped off her daughters on Sunday, filled with the same excitement Brown remembered from her own childhood.
The CNN chief investigative correspondent, a familiar presence on The Situation Room, reminisced about carefree summers spent exploring dinosaur fossils and enjoying the river, including playful launches from “The Blob,” a large inflatable on the water. The river, once a source of happy memories, is now the site of an unimaginable tragedy.
“To think that that same river is the source of this devastation, it’s just hard to wrap my head around,” Brown admitted. The once magical place is now marked by loss and uncertainty. “So much innocence has now been lost,” she reflected, expressing her hopes and prayers for the missing campers and their families.