‘We’re Running Out Of Breathing Room!’: 911 Call Made Before Seven People Die In Flooded Texas Home

Laura McComb was on vacation with her husband, Jonathan McComb, and their two children, 6-year-old Andrew and 4-year-old Leighton, when the home they were staying in along the Blanco River in Wimberley began to flood. The McComb family was staying with 71-year-old Sue Carey and her husband, Ralph High Carey, 73. The couple was also welcoming their daughter, Michelle Carey-Charba, 43, son-in-law, William Randall Charba, 42, and their 6-year-old grandson, William. All nine were present in the home when the flash flooding began. Newly released 911 calls detail the horrifying moments before the home was swept from its foundation as the frantic callers inform dispatch that they are “running out of breathing room.” Six people in the home died in the flooding, with two of the young children, Leighton and William, still missing. The only survivor was Jonathan McComb.

The Austin American-Statesman reports that Hays County, Texas, released over 12-hours of 911 call footage on Tuesday. Among the released calls were several from the Wimberley home that the McComb family was staying in. The first call from the family was received at 11:11 p.m. and was made by Laura McComb. The call noted that the water was up to the second story of the home and that the family had no way out.

“We are on the Blanco River in Wimberley, and the water is up to the second story into the house. It’s coming up to the second floor. I mean it’s so high up. And we have no exit out.”

Unfortunately, that night this was not an unusual call. The dispatchers were receiving many calls of a similar nature. However, what they didn’t know was that Laura was in the home with eight other people, including three children. Therefore, emergency responders added the home to their list and the family was told to go as high in the home as possible.

About 15 minutes after the first call was made, a second call was made from the same home by a male. The man explained that they were “running out of breathing room” in the home. The man started the call by saying, “We need emergency rescue. The river has flooded around the house. We’re at the bottom of Deer Crossing Road.” However, the dispatcher noted that a call from the home was already made and wanted to know if anything had changed.

“Well, I mean we’re running out of breathing room.”

The dispatcher informed the man that help was on its way but they were responding to numerous calls in the area. Sadly, it was too late for the family, just five minutes later a frantic last call was made from the home by an unidentifiable woman. The call was hard to understand, as the connection cut in and out. Therefore, it seems that the dispatcher did not hear the woman’s final pleas as their home was floating down the river.

“Hello! Our house is down! We’re floating! Our house is off the thing, and we’re floating!”

The phone disconnected and that was the last call made from within the terror-stricken vacation home in Wimberley. Other calls would come in about a house floating down the river with people on top, but rescuers are too late, and the house smashes into a bridge. Jonathan McComb would be the only adult to survive, with two of the children still missing following the horrific Texas floods.

The Hays County dispatchers say they have two other calls that have not been released. However, there is no word if those calls came from the Deer Crossing Lane home or other homes in the area.

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