The mission proved to be much more arduous than expected for her and her small crew of four, all of whom are first tour aviators.

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.

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.