Byline: Red River County, Texas — July 2025
In a discovery that has stunned first responders and ignited hope across the country, a 13-year-old girl believed to be one of the 27 missing from the Camp Wrenwood disaster has been found alive — clinging to a tree in waist-high floodwater nearly 17 miles downstream from the original site.
Rescue teams spotted the girl from a National Guard drone late Tuesday evening. She was barefoot, covered in bruises and mud, and had been trapped for more than 48 hours, sustained only by rainfall and water from tree leaves.
But it’s what she said after being pulled to safety that is now changing everything about the case.
“They’re still there,” she whispered. “But not where anyone’s been looking.”
🆘 Survivor Identified
Authorities have confirmed the girl is Eva Salgado, a camper from El Paso who disappeared with her group during the flash flood that destroyed most of Camp Wrenwood's lower cabins.
Eva is currently in stable condition at a nearby hospital and has begun giving limited but critical details about the night of the flood — and where the others may have ended up.
📍 Her Testimony: “We Ran Toward the Forest, Not Away”
According to Eva’s initial statement — shared through a child advocate — the flood hit much earlier than campers were told it would. As the water surged through the main cabins, a counselor reportedly told a group of girls to “head uphill toward the forest tunnels,” not toward the designated evacuation point.
“We didn’t go where they think we did,” Eva said. “We found a place to hide… and someone told us to stay quiet.”
This conflicts with earlier official accounts, which claimed all campers were directed toward higher ground behind the mess hall.
🚨 New Search Zone Revealed
As a result of Eva’s statement, law enforcement has designated a new 3-mile radius deep in the wooded hills northwest of Camp Wrenwood as a priority search zone.
Already, search dogs and thermal imaging drones have been deployed. Early thermal scans reportedly picked up unconfirmed heat signatures near a collapsed ranger station — believed to be abandoned since 2017.
💬 Emotional Reaction from Families
Dozens of families gathered near the field hospital in stunned silence as Eva was brought in by medevac. Some collapsed into tears; others formed a prayer circle nearby.
“She’s alive,” said one mother. “That means our daughters might be too.”
#EvaSurvived and #FindThe26 are now trending on social media, sparking nationwide calls to triple the resources for the search.
👁️ What Happens Next
FBI and Texas Rangers are now treating the case as a possible multi-phase event, not just a flood-related tragedy — but potentially involving negligence or intentional misdirection.
Eva’s full debrief will be recorded in the next 48 hours after trauma specialists clear her for extended interviews.
🔚 Bottom Line
One girl has been found.
She is alive.
And what she said may bring 26 others home.