Texas High School Coach and Family Missing After Washed Away in Friday Flood

Family asks for help finding Texas high school coach and his family, who went missing after their home was swept away during devastating Kerr County flood

Kerrville Tivy mathematics teacher and soccer coach Reece Zunker and his family have been missing since Friday after their home was swept away in the early morning hours due to massive flooding in Texas Hill Country. / Courtesy, Zunker family from Facebook

The words posted to Facebook on Friday by Leslie Zunker Been, the sister of Kerrville's Tivy High School soccer coach Reece Zunker, were devastating.

“Please help me find my Brother, his wife and their 2 kids,” she said. “They were last seen in their house on hwy 39 in Hunt on the Guadalupe River. The house is no longer there. It was seen floating down the River.”

As of Saturday morning, Zunker and his family were still missing after the early Friday flood swept through Texas Hill Country. Zunker is a longtime teacher and soccer coach at Tivy, where he guided the Antlers to 10 wins this past winter.

Sadly, Zunker and his family aren’t the only ones missing. According to the Associated Press, officials have confirmed 27 deaths from the flooding with many more still missing. By Saturday at 3:40 p.m. local time, the death toll had reached 43 (28 adults, 15 children).

Tributes and well-wishes continue to pour in on social media as searchers continue to look for Tivy High School soccer coach Reece Zunker and his family. / From Facebook

It appears there was seemingly little time for many people to understand or react to the incoming floods, as waters along the Guadalupe reportedly rose some 26 feet within 45 minutes – all before daybreak and while many people were still sleeping.

Officials admit it’s difficult to know exactly who and how many people are still missing.

“We don’t even want to begin to estimate at this time,” Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice told the AP on Saturday morning.

Images of the destruction left in the wake of the storms and subsequent flooding continued to pour in on Saturday, as law enforcement joined search crews in dispatching foot searches while also utilizing boats, drones and helicopters in their search.

The message from Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring, Jr. on Saturday morning was sobering.

“People need to know today will be a hard day,” he told the AP. “Please pray for our community.”  

Zunker had been with Kerrville ISD as a mathematics teacher and coach since 2012, per his LinkedIn. Prior to Tivy, Zunker taught mathematics at Lake Worth ISD in early 2012.

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