Texas dad leaves final voicemail to kids before deadly flood sweeps him and wife away
Jeff Ramsey’s voicemail captures his final moments amid central Texas flooding; delayed evacuation alert under scrutiny
A Texas father’s final voicemail to his children, recorded moments before floodwaters swept him and his wife away, has emerged as authorities face criticism over delayed evacuation warnings.
Jeff Ramsey, 61, and his wife Tanya, 46, were sleeping in their Airstream trailer at the HTR RV Park in Kerrville when the Guadalupe River rapidly overflowed, sending a torrent of water crashing through the campground. The couple had no warning before the floodwaters reached them.
Realizing the severity of the situation, Jeff called his son Jake, leaving a voicemail filled with urgency and fear:
“Buddy, I love you so much. It doesn’t look like we are going to make it. Tell Rachey I love her.”
In a second voicemail, left moments later for his daughter Rachel, Jeff’s words are interrupted by the sound of rushing water and Tanya’s frantic screams:
“We’re dying, we’re dying!”
These messages were the last anyone heard from the couple.
Too little, too late
Adding to the anguish, Jeff received an evacuation text alert from the RV park—but it arrived only after he had already been swept away. Jake described his frustration to the New York Post, calling the delayed alert unacceptable:
“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.”
Despite being unable to save himself or Tanya, Jeff managed to alert Tanya’s brother and mother, who were staying nearby. His call woke them just in time; their cabin was later found completely destroyed.
“He rescued them because they would have slept in and they would have washed away,” Jake said. “He saved their lives.”
Community mourns loss
Tanya’s body was later recovered by rescue crews, identified by her distinctive tattoos. Jeff remains missing.
The couple was deeply loved in their community. Tanya, a breast cancer survivor, managed a wig shop in Dallas and was known affectionately as a mother figure to Jeff’s children. Jeff worked in insurance and volunteered at the Adaptive Training Foundation, supporting amputees and others with physical disabilities.
A friend, Morris Brossette, honored Jeff’s memory in a heartfelt Facebook post:
“You will be hard pressed to find a man with a bigger servant’s heart than this man. Thank you, brother, for your unwavering and endless support.”
In a moment of relief amid devastation, the couple’s dog, Chloe—a whippet they had previously rescued—was found alive at a local animal shelter.
At a memorial service, Jake expressed his concerns to Texas state Sen. Tan Parker, who promised improvements to the alert system. For Jake, however, the response remains insufficient.
As central Texas recovers from the devastating floods, Jeff Ramsey’s final voicemail remains a painful reminder of the urgency for better emergency warning systems—and how swiftly life can change when nature strikes without warning.
