In the dead of night on July 4th, a father’s world was turned upside down in the blink of an eye. Amid the devastating floods that swept across Texas, RJ Harber—a Dallas lawyer and devoted dad—risked his life to evacuate neighboring families. But when he turned his attention back to saving his own daughters, Brooke (11) and Blair (13), it was too late.
At 3:30 a.m., as roaring waters engulfed the cabin community of Casa Bonita, RJ tried desperately to kayak through the torrent to reach his girls and his elderly parents. The river was furious, filled with debris, and unforgiving. Just halfway across, a powerful wave slammed him into a pillar. Looking around, he saw chaos—cars floating, cabins uprooted, trees crashing downstream. He knew if he pushed further, he wouldn’t make it out alive.
Heartbroken, he turned back.
When RJ finally checked his phone, he found a message from his daughter Brooke, miraculously sent during the storm—just three words that now echo in his soul:
“I love you.”
His wife Annie, huddled nearby with other rescued families, had received similar messages from both girls:
“I love you, Mom.”
Even the girls’ grandfather, hundreds of miles away in Michigan, received a final photo and the words:
“Love you, Grandpa.”
By sunrise, the floodwaters had pulled nearly every cabin from its foundation. The one where Brooke, Blair, and their grandparents were staying was gone—nothing left but concrete and heartbreak. The girls’ bodies were later found 20 kilometers away. As of July 8, their grandparents remain missing.
What once was a peaceful family retreat—filled with kayaking, fishing, and laughter—is now a haunting memory for the Harbers.
RJ later reflected, “All the beautiful memories we made in that cabin are now memories of loss.”
This unimaginable tragedy is just one story among many. The Texas floods have claimed at least 104 lives so far, and search crews are still scouring for the missing. But in the wreckage, the tender voices of two little girls live on—whispering love to the end.