E-Paper
Former SF Giants pitcher, Tyler Walker's family is still missing after Texas flash floods
Three members of a Bay Area family, including a former Giants pitcher’s brother, are missing after a flash flood in Texas.
Following a stampeding flash flood during the Fourth of July weekend, three members of a Bay Area family, including the brother of a former San Francisco Giants pitcher, are still unaccounted for in Texas.
Mark Walker, his wife Sara, and their 14-year-old son Johnny disappeared when the heavy rains flooded the neighbourhood around their second home in Hunt, Texas. The family was visiting the place when their 16-year-old girl, Ellie, was attending a local summer camp, which was fortunately spared.
Kathy Walker, Mark’s mother, told the San Francisco Chronicle that the family’s house was washed away in the flooding. The Walkers’ daughter Ellie, who was at camp during the storm, is now being cared for by her uncle Tyler Walker, a former San Francisco Giants pitcher, and his wife, who flew in from California to be with her during this unimaginable time.
ALSO READ| Texas floods: How you can help victims and support affected families
Tyler played for the Giants between 2004 and 2008, briefly serving as the team’s closer in 2005
Community mourns Walker family after Texas floods
The Texas authorities have already confirmed 89 deaths, and there are only about 40 missing persons. The storm unleashed close to an inch of rain within just a few hours, and the river, known as the Guadalupe River, rose 26 feet in just 45 minutes, which is scary.
Back in Kentfield, the Walkers’ hometown, hundreds of friends and neighbours gathered for a vigil Sunday night at Bacich Elementary School.
Johnny was set to start high school at Marin Catholic in the fall, which has also planned a prayer service for Tuesday night. “In heartbreaking times like this, we turn to God and to prayer for the Walker family and all the victims of the devastating floods in Texas,” the school said in a statement shared with KGO-TV.
“We are still praying for a miracle in hopes that Ellie will be reunited with her mom, dad and brother.”
ALSO READ| NFL, Dallas Cowboys, and Houston Texans donate $1.5 million to Texas flood victims
“It’s just really, really, tragic. My kids went to the same school as their kids," said Kentfield resident Pete Johnson to KTVU-TV. “I know a lot of people are just in shock from it, you know, what a tragedy, and I know they’re still searching and whatnot, but it’s just really, really hard to take.”
