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Remembering some of those lost in the deadly central Texas flash floods

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

One hundred and four - that's the number of confirmed deaths as of this hour in central Texas, lives swept away in flash floods, many of them children. There are dozens more unaccounted for. And for the next couple minutes, we want to tell you about the lives lost and the ongoing search for the missing, starting with Bill Govani Venus. He's a veteran who served in the military for 33 years, and he's missing. His son, William Venus Jr., flew to Texas to search for him when his aunt called to say she couldn't find him.

WILLIAM VENUS JR: He doesn't think twice about helping people. I'm hoping that's the situation that happened. If there's a line of people that are in need of services, he's going to put himself last. That's what he's always done.

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

William told us he'd located his dad's car on a bridge, and he planned to head there after he finished speaking with us. He said he's praying that Bill is out there doing what he does, using his skills as a mechanic to help people in this moment of crisis.

VENUS: He used that skill set to help people all throughout his life. So if he saw you pulled over on the side of the road by him, it doesn't matter what time of day or night.

FADEL: Ty Badon of Beaumont, Texas, went on CNN to tell the country about his missing 21-year-old daughter, Joyce Catherine Badon. She'd been staying at a house in Hunt, Texas, along the Guadalupe River with three friends - a house that's no longer standing.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

TY BADON: We waited around at a center, the place where all the survivors are brought. And we were hoping that we would hear our daughter and friends' names called, but they never did call.

FADEL: So they stopped waiting and they started searching.

MARTIN: They found Joyce, but she did not survive. On Monday, her mother, Kellye Badon, shared these words on Facebook. (Reading) We found our lovely daughter, who blessed us for 21 years. We pray to be able to find her three friends soon.

There are pictures of a smiling, beautiful Joyce.

FADEL: Also lost in the floods was 68-year-old Cynthie Ragsdale, who went by Jane. She was camp director and co-owner of Heart O' the Hills Camp near Hunt. This is how Ragsdale's pastor, Jasiel Hernandez Garcia of First Presbyterian Church in Kerrville, remembers her.

JASIEL HERNANDEZ GARCIA: A light who shone really brightly, who provided spaces for young kids, for young women to be in God's nature - as someone who was committed to mission work, especially at our church.

MARTIN: Those are just a few of the names and the stories of the loved ones lost and missing in central Texas. We remember them this morning.

(SOUNDBITE OF THE SIX PARTS SEVEN'S "WHAT YOU LOVE YOU MUST LOVE NOW") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

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