July Hill Country flooding: Kerrville Police Department releasing 911 calls in their entirety

KERRVILLE, Texas – The Kerrville Police Department says it will release 911 calls from the July flooding in the Hill Country in their entirety.

The backstory:

At least 135 people died in the July 4th flooding along the Guadalupe River, with most of the deaths happening in Kerr County and Kerrville.

27 of those deaths were campers and staff at Camp Mystic, a popular Christian summer camp in the area.

What they’re saying:

Kerville PD says it’s releasing the 911 calls from the flooding in order to comply with Freedom of Information Act requests. Eight media outlets completed FOIA requests for the release of the calls.

Working closely with the Texas Attorney General’s Office, Kerrville PD says after extensive review, it was determined that the calls should be released in full without redaction directly to those media outlets. 

Officials say the decision to release is governed by federal law, and they say each call was reviewed for legal compliance and to protect caller privacy.

The recordings contain disturbing content which many, especially those in the Kerrville community, employees, and family and friends of loved ones lost, may find highly distressing. Listener and audience discretion is advised. 

What’s next:

FOX 7 Austin is submitting a request for copies of the 911 calls.

Kerrville PD says the request will receive a response within ten business days, most likely sooner.