As the Texas center dealt with one of its worst flood disasters, which has gained at least 110 lives and left 170 missing people, courage acts shine through darkness. Among them is Matthew Crowder, who hastened the furious waters to rescue a sleeping family before dawn on July 4.
Crowder, Texas Paintball manager, said he was going to work around 3 in the morning, local time, when he noticed the floods that grew rapidly. It was then that he saw a house in danger, with people still asleep inside.
“I started shouting to wake them up,” Crowder recalled ABC News. “The first to leave was the eldest son, Benny. He saw his front courtyard become a furious river.”
A volunteer helps in search and rescue operations near the Guadalupe River after a sudden flood swept the area, on July 7, 2025, in Ingram, Texas.
HARTMAN/AP
Despite the emergency dispatators, advising the family to stay, Crowder knew they needed to evacuate immediately.
“The house was making noise, the trees went down and the water rushed under the house,” he explained. “I told Dispatch: ‘Send help or not, I have a job to do'”.
The rescue came at a crucial moment. Only a few hours earlier, at 1:14 am, the officials had improved the Flash Flood clock to a warning for Kerr county parts. At 4:03 am, they had declared an emergency of sudden flood. The region would finally receive 15 inches of rain, more than double what meteorologists had predicted.
The damage is seen next to the Guadalupe River, on July 8, 2025, after a sudden flood swept the area near Ingram, Texas.
Ashley Landis/AP
For the family that Crowder was saved, he said that the losses are amazing.
“They lost everything: their car, their house. When I saw them yesterday, they were working with what they could save in garbage bags,” Crowder said.
Crowder said that he is now voluntary in the community to help the needy families after the flood. He told ABC News that the community’s response has been overwhelming. Crowder’s workplace, one of the largest companies in the Dovown area, has flooded with help offers.
A Gofundme campaign for the rescued family is “good”, according to Crowder, and similar stories of neighbors that help neighbors continue to emerge.
“It’s really great to see people take a step forward to help others, both during floods and later,” said Crowder, speaking from a cleaning site where he continues to be voluntary.