In a discovery both miraculous and deeply unsettling, Texas authorities announced late Tuesday night that one of the 27 missing girls from Camp Mystic was found alive — clinging to the upper branches of a tree nearly 12 miles west of the original flood zone.
But what’s capturing the nation’s attention isn’t just her survival. It’s what she had with her.
Strapped to her wrist was a waterproof smartwatch — its camera still intact and recording. And according to investigators, it captured the entire moment the other 26 girls vanished.
“It’s the most critical piece of evidence we’ve recovered so far,” said Lt. Aaron Delgado, who has been leading the multi-agency search. “The footage shows the final moments before the group split up — and what may have caused it.”
The unnamed 11-year-old girl, found dehydrated and in shock but conscious, was immediately airlifted to a medical facility in Austin. She reportedly told rescuers, “I stayed where I was. I remembered what my mom said about trees in water.”
Authorities say the video was automatically backed up to a cloud server, but within an hour of its retrieval, it was remotely deleted — prompting serious questions about who had access to the girl's account and what someone might be trying to hide.
“We were able to watch the video before it was wiped,” said one source close to the investigation. “What we saw changed everything. There was movement in the woods. Someone was signaling. Then the screen shook violently — and the girls screamed.”
Federal investigators are now working to recover the full footage and trace the deletion. Cybercrime experts have been brought in to determine if the smartwatch was hacked — and by whom.
Meanwhile, the discovery of the girl has ignited new hope. Police and rescue teams are now refocusing their search in a broader radius around the tree’s location, combing through miles of dense woodland and debris left behind by the historic flood.
The girl’s identity is being withheld for her protection, but her parents released a statement Tuesday night saying: “She’s our miracle. We just want the others to come home too.”
This remains a developing story. Video excerpts may be released to the public pending forensic review.