Blakely McCrory was spending her first summer at the Christian girls’ summer camp, and she told mom, Lindsey McLeod McCrory, that it was “amazing.”
BELLAIRE, Texas — Blakely McCrory, an 8-year-old student at Memorial Lutheran in Houston, was a third-generation Camp Mystic camper who was spending her first summer there.
Her mother, Lindsey McLeod McCrory, told People that Blakely was a special little girl.
“People wanted to be around her. She was so funny, and she was a prankster,” McCrory told People, adding that Blakely once put her pet turtle in her mom’s purse.
Lindsey was on a trip to the UK with her sister when she learned that Blakely was missing after catastrophic July 4 flooding in the Texas Hill Country. They immediately flew back to Houston, where they waited and prayed for good news. Instead, the family learned on Monday, July 8, that Blakely’s body had been found. She was one of at least 27 Camp Mystic campers who died in the floods.
“And, while we find some comfort in the knowledge that Blakely is happy, safe, and secure in the arms of Jesus, we are beyond shattered and will miss her with every breath we take for the rest of our lives,” McCrory shared on Facebook. “Eight years on this earth is far too short a stay. Still, we know that Blakely was light and life, and she brightened the day of everyone fortunate enough to cross her path.”
McCrory thanked the searchers who spent countless hours searching massive piles of debris to find her daughter and other missing victims.
“Deepest thanks go to all the first responders, many of whom remained on station for days at a time, without sleep, sustenance, or comfort. You brought Blakely home, and for that, we will always be grateful,” she wrote. “Our thoughts and prayers remain with the many other families who have suffered unimaginable loss and trauma in this tragic event.”
After the flooding, McCrory received a sweet letter from Blakely that someone found while searching the little girl’s cabin.
“Dear Mom, How are you? I am good,” the letter reads. Blakely wrote that camp was “amazing,” and she played tennis that day and was going horseback riding the next. She also loved the food and sleeping.
McCrory said a counselor told her that Blakely was very brave and she told other campers not to be afraid as the water rose around them.
Blakely’s father, 59-year-old Blake McCrory, died in March after a brief battle with cancer. Her uncle, Lindsey’s brother Chanse, died in June, according to People.
