In his last moments before the flood waters beat his campist in Kerville, Texas, Jeff Ramsey left goodbye messages for his children.
“My sister and I, we woke up with the worst voice mail you could imagine to climb a morning on July 4,” Jake Ramsey told ABC News Live. “It’s just that my dad tells us to love us … he said: ‘I think this is.'”
Jake Ramsey’s father, Jeff Ramsey, 61, and his stepmother, Tanya Ramsey, 46, died in floods, he said.
Tanya and Jeff Ramsey show their children.
Jake Ramsey
Jeff Ramsey “was always taking care of his family first,” said his son. “It was about helping their community, helping veterans. And he just loved his country and loved us more than anything. And he couldn’t have asked a better father.”
During the chaos of Friday morning, when the water rose around him, Jeff Ramsey also made sure to use those last minutes to warn his family about the imminent danger, said his son.
Tanya Ramsey’s brother and mother stayed in a cabin at 100 yards away, and Jeff Ramsey’s call gave them enough time to escape, said Jake Ramsey.
Tanya Ramsey’s brother looked for the couple, but could not find her.
Jeff Ramsey, 61 and Tanya Ramsey, 46
Jake Ramsey
However, he rescued Ramseys puppy, Chloe.
“We were ecstatic when he heard that Chloe was still alive and knowing that she would return home,” said Jake Ramsey.
“She is such a great part of my father’s heart and Tanya, so to have her back here with us, the world means for us,” he said.
The catastrophic floods on Friday morning have claimed the lives of at least 95 people in Kerr County, including 36 children, authorities said Wednesday.
The county said that 161 people remain missing.
An American flag is on a destroyed bridge over the Guadalupe River in Arcadia Loop and Bear Creek Road after floods in Kerville, Texas, on July 9, 2025.
Gerald Herbert/AP
As the questions revolve around the timeline of who was notified about the floods when, and if it had been done more, Jake Ramsey said: “I know I could have made much more to avoid this tragedy, and only stinks to see the political division in the whole matter.”
“But I have confidence, especially with today’s administration, that we are going to do things and that we will move forward in the right way in the future,” he said.
