Members of the U.S. Coast Guard are sharing powerful stories from recent flood rescues in Central Texas. One rescuer recalled spotting a young girl in the back of a rescue vehicle, tears streaming down her face.

Coast Guard officers heroically rescued nearly 200 people during the Texas Hill Country floods.

It was Scott Ruskan’s first mission as a rescue swimmer for the U.S. Coast Guard on the Fourth of July along the Guadalupe River.

The team deployed around 7 a.m. Friday from Corpus Christi, about 200 miles south of where the Guadalupe River in Kerr County, Texas, had risen from about 3 feet to nearly 30 feet. Floodwaters in the area had swept through and battered several youth camps on the river banks — including Camp Mystic, the summer camp where they were headed.

Coast Guard Petty Officer Scott Ruskan rescued nearly 200 people including children from Camp Mystic during catastrophic Texas floods that have claimed 68 lives in Kerr County.

An urgent alert was issued, and a Coast Guard helicopter and 45-foot response boat were deployed to search for the missing boat, the release said. After arriving at the search area, the Coast Guard boat crew spotted a flare burning in the distance — it was the missing vessel, officials say.

A New Jersey man with the U.S. Coast Guard is being hailed as a hero for helping rescue more than 165 people from the deadly Texas floods.

The Odessa American is the leading source of local news, information, entertainment and sports for the Permian Basin.

A 26-year-old New Jersey native is being hailed as a hero for his part in saving at least 165 people from Friday’s devastating floods in Texas, most of them girls from Camp Mystic.