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After losing their mother to the floods, Central Texas sisters look for answers on their brothers
With 12 people still missing in Travis County, many families are anxiously waiting for updates.
LEANDER, Texas — Due to catastrophic flooding over the weekend, at least 13 people have been found dead in Travis, Burnet and Williamson counties, and at least 12 people are still missing, leaving many families anxious for updates.
Two sisters, Sherry McCutcheon and Terry Traugott, are remembering their mom, Betty West, who lived with their two brothers, Doug West and Gary Traugott, at a home on Windy Valley Road. McCutcheon would often wonder about the three of them.
“‘Why don’t you all try to move out?’ ‘We can’t. We’re taking care of my mama.’ So they stayed with her till the end, even if it meant their life,” McCutcheon said.
After midnight on Saturday morning, Terry Traugott said their mom called just as flooding hit their home. They saved a voicemail with their mom saying to “quit panicking.”
“Then Doug sent a text and said the house is cracking apart and if we live through this is going to be a blessing. If we survive this, it’s going to be a blessing because the house will be gone,” McCutcheon said.
Their mother’s house is now in a state of total loss. When they found a car standing up straight next to a tree, they hoped they would find their family. McCutcheon screamed out for them.
“‘Mama, Gary, Doug, where are y’all? Wake up!’ But nobody answered, and then we found that they were not there,” she said.
On Sunday night, McCutcheon said her mother’s remains were identified through her fingerprints.
“She didn’t make it. And they have nothing on the boys. Yeah, they said, ‘We’re still looking for your brothers. We’re not giving up,'” the sisters said. “I know they’re in heaven, but they’re not here.”
The two said they have little hope left to hold onto.
“What we’re doing is going to sleep crying, waking up in the middle of the night crying, no matter what,” McCutcheon said.
The little that is left is the hope that their brothers will be found.
“They have to come home. Please bring my brothers home, please,” Terry Traugott said.
The sisters said this pain feels all too familiar since they lost their uncle in the Jarrell tornado 28 years ago. Their little sister also died in December of cancer.