A dad who died in the devastating floods in Texas was determined to protect his children. The owner of a Texas Hill Country RV park that the father, John Burgess, and his family were staying at told Fox News that he was “holding tight to his babies” when flood waters swept him away. The 39-year-old dad and his wife, Julia Anderson Burgess, were reportedly at the Blue Oak RV Park with their two sons.
Per KWTX, the family was staying in the Hill Country to pick up their daughter from a camp. Their daughter is reportedly safe, but the couple’s two sons, ages 1 and 5, remain missing.
Lorena Guillen, who owns Blue Oak RV Park, told Fox News that the flooding happened “so fast.” It was the middle of the night and “pitch black.” Her husband reportedly got in the water to try to rescue people.
She recalled the moment in which her husband tried to rescue Burgess’ kids. “My husband was in the water trying to ask them, ‘Please throw me your baby,'” she said, per the Houston Chronicle. “The man was holding tight to his babies, and he just got swept away.”
Relatives of the family had not heard from them since the flooding started. Burgess’ sister-in-law, Jennifer Tindall Anderson, confirmed his tragic death in a July 7 Facebook post. She also confirmed that rescuers found his wife’s body.
“These past few days have been devastating for the Burgess and Anderson families as we continue to mourn the loss of my brother-in-law, John Burgess, and have been praying for Julia Anderson Burgess and their two sweet boys,” she wrote. “We were deeply saddened to learn this morning that my sister-in-law, Julia Anderson Burgess’s, body has now been found. We continue to pray for their two boys who are still missing at this time. As we continue to process everything, we’d ask that everyone please continue to respect the Burgess and Anderson families’ privacy.”
Julia Anderson’s former coworker, Laura Taylor-McGuire, described the family as “the sweetest and kindest family.” She said they “would do anything for anyone,” when speaking to KWTX.
