Search resumes for remaining 2 swept away in Texas floods

Crews searched along a West Texas river Friday for two people who were swept away from an RV park by crushing floodwaters, after the bodies of two of their companions were found a day earlier.

Texas A&M Forest Service spokeswoman Christi Powers said that while “we never lose hope,” the search has turned from rescue to recovery.

Three men and a woman had been missing since early Monday . They were staying at the park in Junction alongside the South Llano River when the entire site, including RVs and the park office, were washed away.

Rains beginning Sunday night dropped some 12 inches of rain on the area about 140 miles (225 kilometers) west of Austin, causing the river to rise. Rescuers performed dramatic air and water rescues of dozens of other people.

Crews have been searching a 35-mile (56-kilometer) stretch of the river. The South Llano River becomes the Llano River near Junction. Powers said the bodies were found on the Llano River, about 9 miles (14 kilometers) downriver from the RV park.

Powers said relatives of those missing have been among the search crews and that the identities of the two found dead won’t be released until autopsies have been completed.

Searchers have been using a plane, helicopter, drone and crews in boats and walking the riverbanks with rescue dogs.