His optimism was fading. He paused along a Texas 39 grape orchard as friends searched across the highway in a massive field spanning half a mile. Trees once blocked the roadside view. Now, the still-swollen river, a mess of uprooted trees and scattering of volunteer searchers were visible from the road.

The flooding in Kerr County, Texas, has killed more than 50, while Camp Mystic on the banks of the Guadalupe River has dozens of girls unaccounted for.