After learning his two daughters went missing in the Texas floods, Michael, a 40-year-old father, became the face of every parent’s nightmare—until White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt stepped in and did something that restored hope to a broken heart. The search efforts finally brought a miracle.
In the devastating aftermath of the July 4, 2025, flash floods that ravaged Central Texas, Michael Thompson, a 40-year-old Houston father, became the anguished face of every parent’s nightmare when his two daughters, 9-year-old Hadley Hanna and 11-year-old Greta Toranzo, went missing at Camp Mystic, a Christian girls’ summer camp along the Guadalupe River in Kerr County. As the death toll climbed to 82, including 28 children, and 10 girls remained unaccounted for, Michael’s desperate search captured national attention (CNN, July 7, 2025). In an extraordinary turn, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt intervened, galvanizing federal resources and sparking hope in Michael’s broken heart. Days of relentless search efforts culminated in a miraculous reunion, a beacon of light amid one of Texas’ darkest tragedies.
The floods, triggered by a torrential downpour that saw the Guadalupe River surge 26 feet in under two hours, decimated Camp Mystic, leaving cabins submerged and dozens missing (NBC News, July 5, 2025). Michael, a high school math teacher, learned of the disaster through a cryptic email from the camp: “If your daughter is not accounted for, you have been notified” (The New York Times, July 6, 2025). With no word on Hadley or Greta, he raced from Houston to the reunification center at Ingram Elementary School, joining hundreds of frantic parents. His tearful plea on local news, “I just need my girls back,” went viral, shared by @HoustonDadX on X: “Michael’s pain is every parent’s fear. Pray for his daughters. #TexasFloods” (X, July 5, 2025).
As hope dwindled, Karoline Leavitt, the 27-year-old White House Press Secretary, took action. On July 6, Leavitt, moved by Michael’s story after seeing it on Fox News, coordinated with President Donald Trump to expedite federal support, including deploying additional Texas Air National Guard drones and FEMA resources to Kerr County (The Independent, July 6, 2025). Leavitt, a mother herself, called Michael personally, promising, “We’re turning every stone to find Hadley and Greta.” Her intervention, praised by @PatriotMomX as “a game-changer for those girls” (X, July 6, 2025), amplified search efforts, with helicopters and boats scouring the river’s debris-laden banks (CNN, July 7, 2025).
