How a Hopeful and Completely False Story About 2 Girls Rescued While Clinging to Tree in Texas Floods Spread Like Wildfire
(AP Photo/Eli Hartman)
A miraculous story about two young girls being saved from a tree during the Texas floods turned out to be a “classic tale of misinformation,” but that did not stop it from spreading nationally as the death toll from the floods increased.
Multiple counties in Texas were hit with extreme flooding over the weekend, and the death toll now stands at just over 100, dozens of those being children. As concern grew over the fate of young girls caught in the midst of the flooding at Camp Mystic in Kerr County, a hopeful story began to spread on social media and eventually made its way to local and national news outlets. According to initial reports, the girls were rescued from a tree after clinging to it 30 feet above the ground for dear life for a day.
Louis Amestoy, editor of The Kerr County Lead, was the first to run with a story about two young girls being rescued while clinging to a tree in Comfort, Texas. The Lead ran a story on July 6 after hearing corroboration of the story from a multiple eyewitnesses, including a volunteer. They would later retract the story, acknowledging it was 100% false.
“Like everyone, we wanted this story to be true, but it’s a classic tale of misinformation that consumes all of us during a natural disaster. Unfortunately, the story is not true and we are retracting it,” Amestoy wrote in the retraction.
Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha called the reports “100% false” after they began spreading and cautioned against pushing unverified information. Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) also took to X to shoot down the story of the miracle rescue.
“The false reports highlight the challenges of information flow during major disasters, when emotions run high and communities desperately seek positive developments amid tragedy. Social media and word-of-mouth can amplify unverified claims, creating false hope for families already enduring unimaginable stress,” The Lead wrote in their explanation.
The story made its way to numerous outlets, standing out as a story of hope as the flooding death toll rose and concern swelled for the dozens of missing children.
According to Amestoy, a reporter talked to dozens of people on the ground who shared versions of the story of the girls being rescued.
He said he did not confirm the story with officials, anticipating they would not confirm until they gave an official press conference. The original story is archived here, which cited “multiple sources.” A few hours after the initial report was published, the Kerr County sheriff shot it down as false.
A live video was shared to social media by a volunteer who recounted the story, and it appears to be one of the original videos sharing the tale. The volunteer later apologized for posting the original video, claiming he heard the story from multiple officials. That video combined with others telling the same story was the reason numerous outlets ran with the reports.
“You had so much enthusiasm in that community for that story. So many people were telling us that they saw the situation,” Amestoy told Politifact. “We literally had eyewitnesses.”
