A CNN reporter revealed a personal and painful connection to Camp Mystic, ground zero for devastating flooding in Texas over the past weekend. She described the scene as surreal, revealing she went to the camp herself when she was young.
Pamela Brown, CNN's chief investigative correspondent, reflected on her own experience at Camp Mystic. In a rare moment of emotion and vulnerability, she said she remembered being 10 years old there.
"It's surreal coming back here 30 years later. I was a 10-year-old little camper here filled with so much hope and joy," Brown said. "I remember the excitement and anticipation of coming to Camp Mystic."
Given her personal experience with Camp Mystic, it's very difficult for her to report on the tragedy at the camp and the devastation. "It's such a magical place, now all these girls — these sweet young campers — who had to evacuate and their families," she said. "So much innocence has now been lost."
It's not the homecoming that she probably expected in regards to the camp.
Camp Mystic Tragedy
"For me coming back, I'm overwhelmed with emotion and I'm overwhelmed with memories," Brown said. "I can't get over looking at those cabins right next to the Guadalupe River. That river was the source of so much joy."
The same river that she enjoyed playing games on as a kid turned deadly and killed many people.
"There was this thing called The Blob. Which was like this inflated balloon-type thing that we would jump on. And then the person at the end would jump off into the water. And it was so much fun," she reminisced.
It's hard for her to wrap her mind around.
"That's what we loved. And to think that that same river is the source of this devastation," she added.
Meanwhile, one Camp Mystic camper named Callie reflected on barely surviving the flooding.
"We went to bed thinking it was just a normal thunderstorm. One minute you see lightning strike and the next you hear 'water's coming up' and you have kids running just trying to get to other cabins, trying to get to safety," Callie recalled.
"I put on my name tag because I was scared that if water was coming out of other cabins that ours might be next, and I just put it on for safe keeping," she revealed. "In my head I was saying, 'If something does happen and I do get swept away, at least I'll have my name on my body.'"
