Byline: Bastrop County, Texas — July 2025
In a dramatic turn in the search for 27 missing girls swept away by floodwaters at a Texas summer camp, police have released exclusive CCTV footage showing a group of girls running toward a riverbank nearly 1 kilometer from Camp Wrenwood — a previously unexplored direction.
But it’s what one girl did seconds later that forced rescue teams to urgently reroute the entire operation.
🎥 The Video: A Sudden Turn Toward Danger
The footage, retrieved from a county-owned trail camera mounted on a utility post near the Cedar Hollow wildlife zone, was recorded at 5:42 p.m., just minutes before floodwaters overwhelmed the area.
It shows seven girls — their clothes soaked, some barefoot — sprinting along a narrow trail. As the others veer away from the rising creek, one girl suddenly stops, looks back at the group, then turns sharply toward a heavily wooded slope leading down to the river.
She appears to yell something, points, and then disappears into the underbrush.
“It wasn’t panic — it was determination,” said Police Captain Marie Ellison. “She made a choice to go somewhere. And the others may have followed.”
📍 Why This Changes Everything
Until now, the main theory held that the girls had been pushed downstream in the direction of the camp’s main access road. But the girl’s deliberate movement suggests a northwest escape attempt, toward what authorities now suspect may be a natural rock outcrop or hollow that provided partial shelter.
“This 11-second video gave us a new vector — one we hadn’t even considered,” said FEMA search lead Lt. Ross Delaney. “We’re shifting personnel and drones into that forest basin now.”
👧 Identity Still Unknown — But Bracelet Offers Clue
While the girl’s identity has not been confirmed, analysts have zoomed in on the footage and spotted what appears to be a bright blue bracelet on her wrist — a style known to have been crafted during the camp’s arts-and-crafts hour earlier that day.
Multiple parents have already come forward claiming it may belong to 10-year-old Zoe Franklin, whose best friend’s family confirmed the two were inseparable.
🧭 Updated Search Plan Underway
As of this morning, over 40 rescue workers, 6 canine units, and aerial thermal drones have been redirected to sweep the new coordinates — a wooded floodplain rarely explored due to unstable terrain and fallen trees from last year’s storm season.
“We’re treating this lead like it’s the one. Because in a case like this, one decision by a brave little girl may have saved lives,” said Sheriff Wayne Pollard.
🇺🇸 Public Reaction
The footage, which has now aired across major news networks and social media, has drawn emotional reactions nationwide:
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“That little girl was thinking beyond herself.”
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“She didn’t run with the rest — she led.”
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#FindZoe and #BlueBraceletHero are now trending across platforms.
🔚 Final Word
A turn in the trail.
A flash of blue.
And a choice that just may rewrite the story of the Texas 27.
As search teams now dig into a new path — America watches, hoping that what was once a desperate sprint may become the beginning of a rescue.