KERRVILLE, Texas — A Texas father left heartbreaking goodbye voicemails for his kids just moments before he and his wife were swept away by raging floodwaters, according to the couple’s son.
Jeff Ramsey, 61, an insurance salesman from Lewisville, is still missing after the deadly torrent struck his Airstream camper at the HTR RV Park in Kerrville, where he was staying with his wife, Tanya, 46, and the couple’s whippet dog, Chloe.
Jeff and Tanya Ramsey with their dog before their deaths in the floods Obtained by the NY Post
Text messages showing the campsite being evacuated due to floods. Obtained by the NY Post
“Once they realized there was nothing they could do, my stepmom was on the phone with her mom while my dad made a call to me and my sister. We were asleep. He left us a message saying he was not going to make it and that he loved us so much, telling us goodbye,” the couple’s son, Jake, told The Post.
“He called me once he realized there was no hope. It was a short voicemail. He just left me a voicemail. He said, ‘Buddy. I love you so much. It doesn’t look like we are going to make it. Tell Rachey I love her,’” Jake recalled, noting how unusual it was to hear his father sounding fearful.
“You never heard this guy panic but we heard panic and fear in his voice,” he said.
The sound of rushing water could be heard in the voicemail left for his sister a few minutes later as his step-mom screamed in the background, “We’re dying, we’re dying!”
Jeff also used some of his final moments before the water overtook him to warn Tanya’s brother and her mother, who were staying at another cabin about 150 yards up from the river, of the impending danger, calling them at 4:30 that morning.
Jeff used his last moments to warn his brother-in-law and mother-in-law about the floods. Obtained by the NY Post
“He rescued them because they would have slept in and they would have washed away. That cabin was destroyed, completely underwater. He saved their lives,” said Jake.
Jeff, who was involved in the Adaptive Training Foundation — a gym for amputees and people in wheelchairs — leaves behind children Jake, 24, and Rachel, 23.
“There are miracles happening in that gym all the time. People walking that haven’t walked in years or since their accident. My dad always told me that was his calling,” he said, recalling he was often there with Chloe.
“Tanya was full of love too. We were her kids. Obviously we have a mom as well but we were her babies.”
The couple were most recently staying at the HTR RV Park in Kerrville, Texas, before the floods occurred. Obtained by the NY Post
Rescuers later found Tanya’s body, identifying her by her distinctive tattoos. A breast cancer survivor, Tanya worked as a manager at a wig shop in Dallas.
Miraculously, the family found the pup Chloe at a local animal shelter because she had been microchipped.
“That was the only good news that we’ve gotten all weekend. My sister and I were overjoyed because that is such a huge piece of my dad’s heart and my step-mom’s heart,” said Jake.
Jeff’s wife, Tanya Ramsey, however, was later discovered by her distinctive tattoos, but their dog miraculously survived and was found at a local animal shelter. LP Media
“We were so excited to figure out that she was coming home.”
Tragically, as Jake was poring over his father’s computer, he saw an alert text message sent from the RV park far too late to be of any use.
Jeff still remains missing after the devastating floods have already caused mass casualties in the area. Obtained by the NY Post
“Right, literally, the same time he left her that voicemail as they were getting swept away, they received an evacuation text from their RV park saying ‘gather your belongings and head out as soon as possible.’ It was ridiculous,” the distraught son said.
“I saw that he got that text as they were floating away. Literally right as he left my sister that goodbye message,” he added.
“It’s your worst nightmare.”
Asked if he felt enough was done at the county and state level to alert those in the path of the flood, he characterized the effort to evacuate as “lousy.”
He said he met state Sen. Tan Parker at a memorial service on Monday, who assured him lawmakers are going to have the alert system fixed, and called the status quo “unacceptable.”
But the senator’s answer was cold comfort for Jeff.
“There should have been more that was done. The only thing I’m aware of that was done was my dad was sent a text after it was already too late. He already said goodbye to me and my sister,” he said.
