For three excruciating days, the family of Joyce Catherine Badon searched for their daughter after the Savannah College of Art and Design student went missing in the historic Texas floods, according to her mother’s social media posts.
She and three friends had been staying near the Guadalupe River in Hunt, Texas, when the floodwaters swept them away, Kellye Badon said.
Her family discovered her body days later.
Ty Badon had been searching for his 21-year-old daughter when he spoke to CNN in an emotional clip widely circulated on social media last weekend.
“We pray that all four of them are still alive,” he said in the teary interview. “Joyce Catherine said, ‘They all got washed away,’ and a few seconds later, the phone went dead.”
During his frantic search among the debris, he stumbled upon the body of a young boy who also died in the flooding, Ty Badon told CNN.
Joyce Catherine’s mother later confirmed on Facebook that the family had located the college student’s body Monday.
“God showed us the way we should go this morning! We found our lovely daughter, who blessed us for 21 years,” Kellye Badon posted on her public Facebook page. “Thanks to everyone for the prayers and support.”
Joyce Catherine Badon, who was from Beaumont, Texas, was a senior architecture student at SCAD, the university confirmed. She was one of the more than 115 people who died over the weekend during the tragic flooding. More than 160 people are believed to be missing, AP News reported Wednesday.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s attempts to reach the Badon family were unsuccessful Wednesday.
Kellye Badon first posted about her daughter Friday, asking for prayers as the family headed to search. She said Joyce Catherine went to Hunt for the July Fourth holiday with friends. She said they were staying at a home “on a hill along the river.”
A flash flood ripped through the area and washed away their cars early that morning, she said.
“It happened so quickly with so much water, they could not get in the attic,” Kellye Badon posted.
The property owner’s son, one of Joyce Catherine’s friends, called him before he and two others were washed away by debris. Kellye Badon said the owner recalled that “Joyce was the last person (he) spoke to before the phone went dead.”
In her final post, Kellye Badon said, “We pray to be able to find her three friends soon.”
SCAD said in a statement it was ”heartbroken" about the student’s death.
“A beloved daughter, friend and classmate, Joyce was passionate about using her artistry and talent to impact the world, and had recently helped redesign donation centers for Goodwill,” the statement said.
The university extended its condolences to the Badon family and her friends “during this immensely difficult time.” It said it is providing grief counseling for students “coping with this profound loss.”
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