In his final moments before floodwaters overtook his camper in Kerrville, Texas, Jeff Ramsey left goodbye messages for his children.
“My sister and I, we woke up to the worst voicemail you could possibly imagine getting on a 4th of July morning,” Jake Ramsey told ABC News Live. “It’s just my dad telling us he loves us. … He pretty much said, ‘I think this is it.'”
Jake Ramsey’s dad, 61-year-old Jeff Ramsey, and his stepmom, 46-year-old Tanya Ramsey, both died in the floods, he said.
Tanya and Jeff Ramsey are shown with their children.
Jake Ramsey
Jeff Ramsey “was always looking out for his family first,” his son said. “He was just all about helping his community, helping veterans. And he just loved his country and loved us more than anything. And so I couldn’t have asked for a better dad.”
During the Friday morning chaos, as the water rose around him, Jeff Ramsey also made sure to use those last minutes to warn his family about the impending danger, his son said.
Tanya Ramsey’s brother and mother were staying in a cabin 100 yards away, and Jeff Ramsey’s call to them gave them enough time to escape, Jake Ramsey said.
Tanya Ramsey’s brother then searched for the couple, but couldn’t find them.
Jeff Ramsey, 61 and Tanya Ramsey, 46
Jake Ramsey
However, he did rescue the Ramseys’ puppy, Chloe.
“We were ecstatic to hear that Chloe was still alive and to know that she was coming back home,” Jake Ramsey said.
“She’s just such a huge part of my dad and Tanya’s heart, so to have her back here with us, it means the world to us,” he said.
Friday morning’s catastrophic flooding has claimed the lives of at least 95 people in Kerr County, including 36 children, officials said on Wednesday.
The county said 161 people remain missing.
An American flag sits on a destroyed bridge over the Guadalupe River at Arcadia Loop and Bear Creek Road after flooding in Kerrville, Texas, July 9, 2025.
Gerald Herbert/AP
As questions swirl surrounding the timeline of who was notified about the flooding when, and if more could have been done, Jake Ramsey said, “I know there could have been much more done to prevent this tragedy, and it just sucks to see political division over the whole thing.”
“But I do have confidence, especially with today’s administration, that we’re going to get stuff done and we’re going to move forward the right way in the future,” he said.
