Terrell County Flood 1965

June 11, 1965

A Common Grave of those Disinterred by Flood Waters of June 11, 1965

SANDERSON. Texas (AP) - Capt. Ray Butler of the Department of Public Safety issued this list of 15 persons known dead and missing in the Sanderson flood Friday:

The Victims                                                          The Missing

Mrs. Ethel Johnson, 31.                                 John Wesley Johnson, 35.
Paul Daniel Johnson, 5.                                 Eloisa Falcon, 41.
Lou Ann Johnson, 10.                                    Mario- Falcon, 12.
Rose Ann Johnson, 8.                                    Francisco Falcon, 1.
Jo Anne Johnson, 9.                                      Jose Falcon, 8.
David Neil Johnson, 14.                                Jesus Marquez, about 35.
Jerry Sellers, 6.                                               Maria Lopez, 35.
Frankie Sellers, 3.                                          Tomas Lopez, 8.
Debra Sellers, 5.                                            Kenney Sellers, about 5,
George Wood, about 75.                               Nicolas Flores, 70.
Elida Berrera.                                                  Nicolas Flores, 70.
Ricardo Falcon, 6.                                          Two unidentified Negroes.
Manuel Falcon, 7.
Francisco Lopez Jr., 35.
Jaime Lopez, 6

June 13, 1964

Sanderson Identifies 19th Flood Victim SANDERSON, Texas (AP) -

The body of the I9rh victim of the flood which struck Sanderson a week ago was identified Monday as Elosia Falcon, 40. Sheriff Bill Cooksey said identification was made by a technician of the Texas Department of Public Safety through a check of dental work. The body was found Sunday about six miles east of this small Southwest Texas town. : 1965-06-22 Dallas Morning News

SANDERSON, Tex. (AP) — Search parties headed by Texas Rangers found three more bodies Saturday, sending the known death toll to 15 in Friday's flash flood which devastated this southwest Texas railroad and ranching center. The search went on for about a score of missing persons. The hunt centered in the usually dry canyon east of the devastated saucer-shaped town of 2,350 people. Rep. Richard C. White, Tex., surveyed the disaster and estimated property loss at $2 million. Wrecked Truck The latest bodies were found by a search party led by Texas Ranger John Woods three miles east of Sanderson.`` Searchers found a wrecked pickup truck, swept 10 miles down the canyon by the 15-foot wall of water which struck without warning early Friday after an 11-inch cloudburst. The water roared down usually dry Sanderson Canyon Creek. The flood passed quickly. Saturday the creek was a trickling stream, only six-inches deep. Flood Stage Below Sanderson, the creek emptied into the Rio Grande and sent it above flood stage on its middle course. The Red Cross reported 54 homes destroyed. It said 18 businesses were either washed away or severely damaged. Thirty-six homes were mauled and 133 others suffered minor damage. Railroads and highways suffered heavily. The Southern Pacific, which has stops in Sanderson, reported five miles of is mainline track and three major bridges washed out. Sanderson Is just north of the Texas-Mexico border.

Hundreds Homeless

Three hundred homeless were fed and sheltered in a Sanderson grade school and 200 others were taken 65 miles north to Fort Stockton. Highway travel in the Sanderson area was retsricted because of washouts. Rescue workers and supplies were being routed in from the east. Officials said they hope to have busy U.S. 90, a main east west coast-to-coast route, open shortly. Up to 11 inches of rain at Longfellow, 20 miles west of here, rolled down Sanderson Cayon. The gushing torrent swept away some houses with people clinging to them. The wall of water rose to the eaves of other houses and spread out 500 yards In places. Six members of the John Wesey Johnson family were counted among the dead. A family of five vanished in he sudden cloudburst and four members of another family — all children — also were missing. Tales of horror spread tnrough the town, about midway between San Antonio and E Paso and near the Mexican border. Charles Horsely, 22, a railroad brakeman, told of being stranded atop an apartment for three hours and watching helplessly as the raging waters engulfed to Negro Porters at another elevated point. I don't expect they had a t chance once they got Into the main current," he said. Mrs. Thomas Corbbett, 27 wife of a railroad worker, told of being warned of the approaching water, which struck about 7 a.m. and fleeing in a car with her five children to safety She said a family of four in a car nearby "got out of the car and started running and the water took them off." The grimmest account cam from Morris Nichols, 22, _ brakeman from Monahans Tex., who nearly drowned in futile attempt to aid the Johnson family. Later, clinging to a utllity pole for his life, he looked back' to see the Johnson children atop a motel. "It just started crumbling and went over and everybody was. would die and I couldn't help them. Nobody could help them. Nichols, who survived with cuts and bruises and an injure leg, said he also witnessed at other death scene. "When I was on that pole, saw a house come down the street — I guess it was a street — with three people on it.News and Tribune, The | Jefferson City, Missouri | Sunday, June 13, 1965

Survivor of Texas Flood Tells of Brush With Death SANDERSON, Tex. (AP) — 'I grabbed a tree, but there was a snake on it and I let go. "1 went under 5 times, maybe 10 times. "I thought I was going to die, This was the grim story of Michael Johnson, 12, as he told of his brush with death in the flash flood that temporarily isolated this southwest Texas community Friday. The slender blonde youth speaking from a hospital bed at Fort Stockton, 65 miles north of here said: We were on the roof of this Motel when it started cracking to pieces. "Mother said, Michael get hold of Paul. I tried to grab my brother but he was just to far away. It just seemed like a dream to me. Swept away by a 15ft wall of water were Mike's parents, Mr. and Mrs. John Wesley Johnson, and the couple's five other children, ranging in ages from 5 to 14. Search parties probing along a normally dry creek in Sanderson Canyon recovered the bodies of all but Johnson. He is among 11 persons listed as missing. "We can assume only that all are dead," 'said Terrell Count Sheriff Bill Cooksey. Officials have counted 15 dead and 35 injured from the storm which devastated the southern section of Sanderson, a railroad center of 2,350 about midway between San Antonio and El. Paso. Ten of the known victims were children. Cooksey said the search would continue "as long as there is any hope of recovering the bodies." Grief-torn families, aided by the Red Cross, Salvation Army and assorted military continued massive cleanup operations. The sheriff's office said 50 homes, mostly low-cost dwellings, were destroyed. An additional 36 homes received major damage and had minor damage. The office said 244 families sustained losses, 13 trailer homes were destroyed, and 27 small businesses damaged. Although no official damage estimate exists. U.S. Rep. Richard. White of El Paso estimated losses at S2 million. Jefferson City Post-Tribune | Jefferson City, Missouri | Monday, June 14, 1965

17th Victim of Flood Is Found At Sanderson SANDERSON (f) — Workers uncovered the body of a 17th victim of Friday's flash flood, a small boy, m an auto wrecking yard yesterday. Authorities said he presumably was one of 10 persons listed as missing and presumed dead, but they had been unable to identify the child. State Patrolman Leon Roberts reported a number of dead animals also were found in and around' Sanderson during the day. "It still looks like there was , flood here," Roberts said. :The main street has all been cleaned up but no repairs have been made. Nearly a foot of rain in Sanderson Canyon just above here sent the flood hurtling through his far West Texas town; causing an estimated $2 million damage Corpus Christi Times | Corpus Christi, Texas | Wednesday, June 16, 1965

SANDERSON, Tex. (UP) —Two more bodies—both hundreds of miles down the Rio Grande—were found Thursday to bring to 19 the death toll from the flash flood that devastated Sanderson a week ago. The body of Alfred Floyd Scott, 50, a porter on the Southern Pacific Railway, was found 11 miles north of Eagle Pass, 300 miles from Sanderson. Scott's body was washed upon the U. S. bank of the river. The body of a child believe to he Frank Falcon, 18-month old boy whose mother and brother were killed in the flood, washed ashore north of Laredo, almost 500 m i l e s away. The boy's mother, Mrs. Elosia Falcon, is still missing but is presumed dead. Sanderson Canyon, from which a wall of water from a 12-inch rain poured last week, empties into the Rio Grande about 20 miles south of Sanderson. Albuquerque Journal | Albuquerque, New Mexico | Friday, June 18, 1965 |

Mud, sweat and tears were faced by the people of Sanderson today as they started to clean up the havoc wrought by a devastating $3.5 million flash Hood that occurred at 7 a.m. Friday. Rescue parties went out again today to search for an estimated 11 victims of the flood still missing. There are 16 known dead. Lt. Jerry Miller of the Department of Public Safety said, "I doubt if we will ever find some of the missing bodies. Victims have been found as far as five miles out of town. Bulldozers and heavy earth-moving equipment have been operated around the clock since they began to arrive there from surrounding towns Friday, pushing bits and pieces of what had been homes for 450 people Into clusters to be sprayed with disinfectant. Retaining walls of washed-out bridges were reinforced, and smashed cars were hauled to the Sanderson Courthouse and stacked on the grounds. Southern Pacific crews worked throughout the night on washed-out tracks so that train service can be restored. Telephone and electric company linemen worked feverishly, putting in new poles and repairing downed wires. ' Anti-typhoid shots were given to those who had not received them yesterday. The homeless ate at the Army Field kitchen set up by a detachment from Ft. Bliss at Sanderson school and slept there in the school rooms on mattresses provided by the American Red Cross. Saturday, bodies washed out of the Sanderson Cemetery were mass-buried in a bulldozed pit to eliminate additional health hazards. Spray teams poured germ-killing chemicals over affected areas citizens reflected the attitude of Sheriff Bill Cooksey who said. "The only thing left now is to pick up our dead and start all over." Premo Reyna, shoveling mud, said he had gotten up at 7 a.m. to go to work when the water hit his house. He and his family managed to survive by standing on the bed to keep their heads above the water. Missing Southern Pacific porter A. S. Scott was last seen, Lt. Jerry Miller said, sitting on the top of a boxcar attempting to ride out the raging waters. "The man who saw him said the box car hit a bridge and seemed to explode into splinters," he said. Jesus Marcus saved his wife and children by tying a rope to a bedpost so they could hang on to it, but he was washed away during his heroic effort to save his loved ones. He has not yet been found. Mrs. J. Sellers watched her twin sons Jerry and Frankie, 6, and their little sister. Debra disappear in the raging water. Another child, Ken Wayne Sellers, is missing. Maj. Robert Short of the Salvation Army In San Angelo, who arrived in Sanderson shortly after the disaster, said he had been told by some of the residents that they managed to survive by sitting on housetops, knocking holes Into the ceiling and climbing into the attic, or simply running ahead of the raging waters. The flash flood resulted when waters running down Sanderson Canyon southwest of Sanderson coverged with those coming down a former dry draw northwest of the town. Railroad timbers and debris are believed to have caught against the abutment of one of the bridges to form a temporary dam, which, when the bridge washed out, flooded the town suddenly with a tidal wave ranging from 30 to 60 feet deep, rushing with waves up to 12 feet high. The timbers, railroad ties and telephone poles were hurled as battering rams against buildings in the path of the flood waters. They battered the walls of the 50-year-old wool and .mohair storage warehouse owned by Mr. and Mrs. John T. Williams, doing an estimated 150,000 damage and sweeping sacks of mohair along the flood route. When the waters receded mohair hung like Spanish moss throughout the stricken area. Mrs. Williams said the impact of the water had picked up and moved a two-ton safe across the warehouse, but had left a smaller lighter safe in its original position. Out shoveling mud from their warehouse, she said cheerfully, "Our business, is a total loss. But I guess we might as well laugh as cry. We'll start all over again." "Most insurance does not cover flood damage," she said. Personal belongings of residents could be seen for miles down Sanderson Canyon, east of town. Children's toys, clothing, refrigerators, irons, mattresses, shoes lay matted with mud in the formerly dry Sanderson Canyon Creek. All roads are open into the area now to all traffic, the Department of Public Safely said. Lt. Miller said no more food or clothing was needed. El Paso Herald-Post | El Paso, Texas | Monday, June 14, 1965

Drowning Victims Are Buried Here Six members of the John Wesley Johnson family who drowned in the Sanderson, Tex., flood last week were buried together in Caston Memorial Cemetery Friday. Michael Timothy Johnson, 12, the only known survivor of the eight-member family attended the funeral for his mother, three sisters and two brothers at the South Gastonia Church of God. Michael's father, a 36-year-old construction worker who took his family to Sanderson just two weeks before the June 11 flood, is missing. His body is believed to be buried under mud. Buried were Mrs. Ethel Johnson, 31, Lou Ann, 8, Jo Ann, 9, Rose Ann 8 David 13 and Paul, 5. The Johnson family took refuge on the roof of a motel when a cloudburst poured more than 11 inches of rain on the area. They were washed off when a giant wave swept down Sanderson Canyon Creek. Michael was saved when he was caught in a floating tree that washed aground. He will live with his maternal grandmother Gastonia Gazette | Gastonia, North Carolina | Saturday, June 19, 1965

Death Toll Hits 20 SANDERSON, Tex. (UPI) — A sheriff's posse searching the desolate southwest Texas countryside in jeeps Sunday found another body to bring to 20 the death toll from the flood that devastated Sanderson June 11.Monday, June 21, 1965 Zanesville, Ohio Times Recorder

SANDERSON TOLL 20 SANDERSON, Tex. (UP) — The death toll In the Sanderson flood stood officially at 20 today. Six persons still were unaccounted for.Idaho Free Press, The | Nampa, Idaho | Monday, June 21, 1965

19th. Sanderson Body Identified SANDERSON (AP)-The body of the ]9th victim of the flood which struck Sanderson a week ago was Identified Monday as Eiosla Falcon, 40. Sheriff Bill Cooksey said Identification was made by a technician of the Texas Department of Public Safety through a check of dental work. The body was found Sunday San Antonio Express | San Antonio, Texas | Tuesday, June 22, 1965

Former Patrolman Sanderson Sheriff Rill Cooksey. former State Highway Patrolman stationed at Llano, is now sheriff at Sanderson which underwent such devastating floods early this month. The Henry Schoriemmer family of Douglas. Arizona, coming to Llano to spend several weeks had discussed stopping there overnight but drove on instead. By the next morning a 15-foot wall of water had flooded the town Llano News, The | Llano, Texas | Thursday, June 24, 1965. 2 Bodies, Believed Flood Dead

Found SPECIAL TO EXPRESS NEWS — The body of a victim of the June 11 flash flood at Sanderson has been recovered from the Rio Grande upstream from Langtry, and another body spotted Thursday farther upstream was believed that of another victim. Recovery of the body of Mrs. Maria Calzada Lopez, 33, Wednesday brought the total of those recovered to 22. The victim was taken to Doran Funeral Home. Her body was found on an Island in the Rio Grande about nine miles upriver from Langtry. It was Identified Thursday by members of the family and by Sheriff Bill Cooksey of Sanderson. The second body was found Thursday farther upstream in wild country. No Identification was possible Thursday. The body of Mrs. Lopez will be taken to Kermit in a Doran Funeral Home ambulance for burial Saturday In the Kermit Cemetery. She is survived by a son, Xavier Lopez, and her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Lepoldo G. Calzada, all of Sanderson. Her husband and two other children were drowned in the wall of water which swept down Sanderson Canyon after a cloudburst there.San Antonio Express | San Antonio, Texas | Friday, June 25, 1965

Another Flood Body SANDERSON, Tex. -- UPI — Another body was found today 50 miles down the river from Sanderson and identified as the 22nd victim of a flood which devasted the west Texas town June llth. Mexican nationals found the body of Nicholas Flores, 83, of Sanderson two days ago and notified the police, who located it today.Modesto Bee And News-Herald, The | Modesto, California | Monday, June 28, 1965

Toll Climbs to 24 In Texas Flood SANDERSON. Tex. AP - The bodies of two children, missing since the death-dealing flood of June 11, have been found, authorities announced. The children were Identified as Mario Falcon, 11, and his brother, Jose Falcon, 8. They were the last missing members of a family of five wiped out in the flood. : Discovery of the bodies brought to 24 the number recovered after the flash Hood virtually obliterated this southwest Texas town. Two are still missing. The body of Mario was found near a roadside park on US 90 about 7 miles south of Sanderson, His younger brothers body was found southeast of Dryden, Tx in the same general area. Albuquerque Journal | Albuquerque, New Mexico | Sunday, July 25, 1965 |

A MEMORIAL TO SANDERSON FLOOD VICTIMS JUNE 11, 1965

Elida Berrera
Frank Barron, Jr
Elosia Falcon
Jose Falcon
Manuel Falcon
Mario Falcon
Ricardo Falcon
Nicolas Flores
Mrs. Ethel Johnson
David Neil Johnson
Jo Ann Johnson
Lou Ann Johnson
Rose Ann Johnson
Paul Daniel Johnson
Francisco Lopez
Jaime Lopez
Martha Lopez
Tomas Lopez
A. F.Scott
Debra Sellers
Frankie Sellers
Jerry Sellers
Kenneth Sellers
George Wood
MISSING
John Wesley Johnson, Jr.
Jesus Marquez, Jr.

SANDERSON. Texas (AP) - Capt. Ray Butler of the Department of Public Safety issued this list of 15 persons known dead and missing in the Sanderson flood Friday: The Victims The Missing Mrs. Ethel Johnson, 31. John Wesley Johnson, 35. Paul Daniel Johnson, 5. Eloisa Falcon, 41. Lou Ann Johnson, 10. Mario- Falcon, 12. Rose Ann Johnson, 8. Francisco Falcon, 1. Jo Anne Johnson, 9. Jose Falcon, 8. David Neil Johnson, 14. Jesus Marquez, about 35. Jerry Sellers, 6. Maria Lopez, 35. Frankie Sellers, 3. Tomas Lopez, 8. Debra Sellers, 5. Kenney Sellers, about 5, George Wood, about 75. Nicolas Flores, 70. Elida Berrera. Nicolas Flores, 70. Ricardo Falcon, 6. Two unidentified Negroes. Manuel Falcon, 7. Francisco Lopez Jr., 35. Jaime Lopez, 6 June 13, 1964
Sanderson Identifies 19th Flood Victim SANDERSON, Texas (AP) - The body of the I9rh victim of the flood which struck Sanderson a week ago was identified Monday as Elosia Falcon, 40. Sheriff Bill Cooksey said identification was made by a technician of the Texas Department of Public Safety through a check of dental work. The body was found Sunday about six miles east of this small Southwest Texas town. : 1965-06-22 Dallas Morning News
SANDERSON, Tex. (AP) — Search parties headed by Texas Rangers found three more bodies Saturday, sending the known death toll to 15 in Friday's flash flood which devastated this southwest Texas railroad and ranching center. The search went on for about a score of missing persons. The hunt centered in the usually dry canyon east of the devastated saucer-shaped town of 2,350 people. Rep. Richard C. White, Tex., surveyed the disaster and estimated property loss at $2 million. Wrecked Truck The latest bodies were found by a search party led by Texas Ranger John Woods three miles east of Sanderson.`` Searchers found a wrecked pickup truck, swept 10 miles down the canyon by the 15-foot wall of water which struck without warning early Friday after an 11-inch cloudburst. The water roared down usually dry Sanderson Canyon Creek. The flood passed quickly. Saturday the creek was a trickling stream, only six-inches deep. Flood Stage Below Sanderson, the creek emptied into the Rio Grande and sent it above flood stage on its middle course. The Red Cross reported 54 homes destroyed. It said 18 businesses were either washed away or severely damaged. Thirty-six homes were mauled and 133 others suffered minor damage. Railroads and highways suffered heavily. The Southern Pacific, which has stops in Sanderson, reported five miles of is mainline track and three major bridges washed out. Sanderson Is just north of the Texas-Mexico border. Hundreds Homeless Three hundred homeless were fed and sheltered in a Sanderson grade school and 200 others were taken 65 miles north to Fort Stockton. Highway travel in the Sanderson area was retsricted because of washouts. Rescue workers and supplies were being routed in from the east. Officials said they hope to have busy U.S. 90, a main east west coast-to-coast route, open shortly. Up to 11 inches of rain at Longfellow, 20 miles west of here, rolled down Sanderson Cayon. The gushing torrent swept away some houses with people clinging to them. The wall of water rose to the eaves of other houses and spread out 500 yards In places. Six members of the John Wesey Johnson family were counted among the dead. A family of five vanished in he sudden cloudburst and four members of another family — all children — also were missing. Tales of horror spread tnrough the town, about midway between San Antonio and E Paso and near the Mexican border. Charles Horsely, 22, a railroad brakeman, told of being stranded atop an apartment for three hours and watching helplessly as the raging waters engulfed to Negro Porters at another elevated point. I don't expect they had a t chance once they got Into the main current," he said. Mrs. Thomas Corbbett, 27 wife of a railroad worker, told of being warned of the approaching water, which struck about 7 a.m. and fleeing in a car with her five children to safety She said a family of four in a car nearby "got out of the car and started running and the water took them off." The grimmest account cam from Morris Nichols, 22, _ brakeman from Monahans Tex., who nearly drowned in futile attempt to aid the Johnson family. Later, clinging to a utllity pole for his life, he looked back' to see the Johnson children atop a motel. "It just started crumbling and went over and everybody was. would die and I couldn't help them. Nobody could help them. Nichols, who survived with cuts and bruises and an injure leg, said he also witnessed at other death scene. "When I was on that pole, saw a house come down the street — I guess it was a street — with three people on it.News and Tribune, The \| Jefferson City, Missouri \| Sunday, June 13, 1965	Survivor of Texas Flood Tells of Brush With Death SANDERSON, Tex. (AP) — 'I grabbed a tree, but there was a snake on it and I let go. "1 went under 5 times, maybe 10 times. "I thought I was going to die, This was the grim story of Michael Johnson, 12, as he told of his brush with death in the flash flood that temporarily isolated this southwest Texas community Friday. The slender blonde youth speaking from a hospital bed at Fort Stockton, 65 miles north of here said: We were on the roof of this Motel when it started cracking to pieces. "Mother said, Michael get hold of Paul. I tried to grab my brother but he was just to far away. It just seemed like a dream to me. Swept away by a 15ft wall of water were Mike's parents, Mr. and Mrs. John Wesley Johnson, and the couple's five other children, ranging in ages from 5 to 14. Search parties probing along a normally dry creek in Sanderson Canyon recovered the bodies of all but Johnson. He is among 11 persons listed as missing. "We can assume only that all are dead," 'said Terrell Count Sheriff Bill Cooksey. Officials have counted 15 dead and 35 injured from the storm which devastated the southern section of Sanderson, a railroad center of 2,350 about midway between San Antonio and El. Paso. Ten of the known victims were children. Cooksey said the search would continue "as long as there is any hope of recovering the bodies." Grief-torn families, aided by the Red Cross, Salvation Army and assorted military continued massive cleanup operations. The sheriff's office said 50 homes, mostly low-cost dwellings, were destroyed. An additional 36 homes received major damage and had minor damage. The office said 244 families sustained losses, 13 trailer homes were destroyed, and 27 small businesses damaged. Although no official damage estimate exists. U.S. Rep. Richard. White of El Paso estimated losses at S2 million. Jefferson City Post-Tribune \| Jefferson City, Missouri \| Monday, June 14, 1965 17th Victim of Flood Is Found At Sanderson SANDERSON (f) — Workers uncovered the body of a 17th victim of Friday's flash flood, a small boy, m an auto wrecking yard yesterday. Authorities said he presumably was one of 10 persons listed as missing and presumed dead, but they had been unable to identify the child. State Patrolman Leon Roberts reported a number of dead animals also were found in and around' Sanderson during the day. "It still looks like there was , flood here," Roberts said. :The main street has all been cleaned up but no repairs have been made. Nearly a foot of rain in Sanderson Canyon just above here sent the flood hurtling through his far West Texas town; causing an estimated $2 million damage Corpus Christi Times \| Corpus Christi, Texas \| Wednesday, June 16, 1965 SANDERSON, Tex. (UP) —Two more bodies—both hundreds of miles down the Rio Grande—were found Thursday to bring to 19 the death toll from the flash flood that devastated Sanderson a week ago. The body of Alfred Floyd Scott, 50, a porter on the Southern Pacific Railway, was found 11 miles north of Eagle Pass, 300 miles from Sanderson. Scott's body was washed upon the U. S. bank of the river. The body of a child believe to he Frank Falcon, 18-month old boy whose mother and brother were killed in the flood, washed ashore north of Laredo, almost 500 m i l e s away. The boy's mother, Mrs. Elosia Falcon, is still missing but is presumed dead. Sanderson Canyon, from which a wall of water from a 12-inch rain poured last week, empties into the Rio Grande about 20 miles south of Sanderson. Albuquerque Journal \| Albuquerque, New Mexico \| Friday, June 18, 1965 \|
Mud, sweat and tears were faced by the people of Sanderson today as they started to clean up the havoc wrought by a devastating $3.5 million flash Hood that occurred at 7 a.m. Friday. Rescue parties went out again today to search for an estimated 11 victims of the flood still missing. There are 16 known dead. Lt. Jerry Miller of the Department of Public Safety said, "I doubt if we will ever find some of the missing bodies. Victims have been found as far as five miles out of town. Bulldozers and heavy earth-moving equipment have been operated around the clock since they began to arrive there from surrounding towns Friday, pushing bits and pieces of what had been homes for 450 people Into clusters to be sprayed with disinfectant. Retaining walls of washed-out bridges were reinforced, and smashed cars were hauled to the Sanderson Courthouse and stacked on the grounds. Southern Pacific crews worked throughout the night on washed-out tracks so that train service can be restored. Telephone and electric company linemen worked feverishly, putting in new poles and repairing downed wires. ' Anti-typhoid shots were given to those who had not received them yesterday. The homeless ate at the Army Field kitchen set up by a detachment from Ft. Bliss at Sanderson school and slept there in the school rooms on mattresses provided by the American Red Cross. Saturday, bodies washed out of the Sanderson Cemetery were mass-buried in a bulldozed pit to eliminate additional health hazards. Spray teams poured germ-killing chemicals over affected areas citizens reflected the attitude of Sheriff Bill Cooksey who said. "The only thing left now is to pick up our dead and start all over." Premo Reyna, shoveling mud, said he had gotten up at 7 a.m. to go to work when the water hit his house. He and his family managed to survive by standing on the bed to keep their heads above the water. Missing Southern Pacific porter A. S. Scott was last seen, Lt. Jerry Miller said, sitting on the top of a boxcar attempting to ride out the raging waters. "The man who saw him said the box car hit a bridge and seemed to explode into splinters," he said. Jesus Marcus saved his wife and children by tying a rope to a bedpost so they could hang on to it, but he was washed away during his heroic effort to save his loved ones. He has not yet been found. Mrs. J. Sellers watched her twin sons Jerry and Frankie, 6, and their little sister. Debra disappear in the raging water. Another child, Ken Wayne Sellers, is missing. Maj. Robert Short of the Salvation Army In San Angelo, who arrived in Sanderson shortly after the disaster, said he had been told by some of the residents that they managed to survive by sitting on housetops, knocking holes Into the ceiling and climbing into the attic, or simply running ahead of the raging waters. The flash flood resulted when waters running down Sanderson Canyon southwest of Sanderson coverged with those coming down a former dry draw northwest of the town. Railroad timbers and debris are believed to have caught against the abutment of one of the bridges to form a temporary dam, which, when the bridge washed out, flooded the town suddenly with a tidal wave ranging from 30 to 60 feet deep, rushing with waves up to 12 feet high. The timbers, railroad ties and telephone poles were hurled as battering rams against buildings in the path of the flood waters. They battered the walls of the 50-year-old wool and .mohair storage warehouse owned by Mr. and Mrs. John T. Williams, doing an estimated 150,000 damage and sweeping sacks of mohair along the flood route. When the waters receded mohair hung like Spanish moss throughout the stricken area. Mrs. Williams said the impact of the water had picked up and moved a two-ton safe across the warehouse, but had left a smaller lighter safe in its original position. Out shoveling mud from their warehouse, she said cheerfully, "Our business, is a total loss. But I guess we might as well laugh as cry. We'll start all over again." "Most insurance does not cover flood damage," she said. Personal belongings of residents could be seen for miles down Sanderson Canyon, east of town. Children's toys, clothing, refrigerators, irons, mattresses, shoes lay matted with mud in the formerly dry Sanderson Canyon Creek. All roads are open into the area now to all traffic, the Department of Public Safely said. Lt. Miller said no more food or clothing was needed. El Paso Herald-Post \| El Paso, Texas \| Monday, June 14, 1965

Drowning Victims Are Buried Here Six members of the John Wesley Johnson family who drowned in the Sanderson, Tex., flood last week were buried together in Caston Memorial Cemetery Friday. Michael Timothy Johnson, 12, the only known survivor of the eight-member family attended the funeral for his mother, three sisters and two brothers at the South Gastonia Church of God. Michael's father, a 36-year-old construction worker who took his family to Sanderson just two weeks before the June 11 flood, is missing. His body is believed to be buried under mud. Buried were Mrs. Ethel Johnson, 31, Lou Ann, 8, Jo Ann, 9, Rose Ann 8 David 13 and Paul, 5. The Johnson family took refuge on the roof of a motel when a cloudburst poured more than 11 inches of rain on the area. They were washed off when a giant wave swept down Sanderson Canyon Creek. Michael was saved when he was caught in a floating tree that washed aground. He will live with his maternal grandmother Gastonia Gazette \| Gastonia, North Carolina \| Saturday, June 19, 1965 Death Toll Hits 20 SANDERSON, Tex. (UPI) — A sheriff's posse searching the desolate southwest Texas countryside in jeeps Sunday found another body to bring to 20 the death toll from the flood that devastated Sanderson June 11.Monday, June 21, 1965 Zanesville, Ohio Times Recorder SANDERSON TOLL 20 SANDERSON, Tex. (UP) — The death toll In the Sanderson flood stood officially at 20 today. Six persons still were unaccounted for.Idaho Free Press, The \| Nampa, Idaho \| Monday, June 21, 1965 19th. Sanderson Body Identified SANDERSON (AP)-The body of the ]9th victim of the flood which struck Sanderson a week ago was Identified Monday as Eiosla Falcon, 40. Sheriff Bill Cooksey said Identification was made by a technician of the Texas Department of Public Safety through a check of dental work. The body was found Sunday San Antonio Express \| San Antonio, Texas \| Tuesday, June 22, 1965 Former Patrolman Sanderson Sheriff Rill Cooksey. former State Highway Patrolman stationed at Llano, is now sheriff at Sanderson which underwent such devastating floods early this month. The Henry Schoriemmer family of Douglas. Arizona, coming to Llano to spend several weeks had discussed stopping there overnight but drove on instead. By the next morning a 15-foot wall of water had flooded the town Llano News, The \| Llano, Texas \| Thursday, June 24, 1965.	2 Bodies, Believed Flood Dead Found SPECIAL TO EXPRESS NEWS — The body of a victim of the June 11 flash flood at Sanderson has been recovered from the Rio Grande upstream from Langtry, and another body spotted Thursday farther upstream was believed that of another victim. Recovery of the body of Mrs. Maria Calzada Lopez, 33, Wednesday brought the total of those recovered to 22. The victim was taken to Doran Funeral Home. Her body was found on an Island in the Rio Grande about nine miles upriver from Langtry. It was Identified Thursday by members of the family and by Sheriff Bill Cooksey of Sanderson. The second body was found Thursday farther upstream in wild country. No Identification was possible Thursday. The body of Mrs. Lopez will be taken to Kermit in a Doran Funeral Home ambulance for burial Saturday In the Kermit Cemetery. She is survived by a son, Xavier Lopez, and her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Lepoldo G. Calzada, all of Sanderson. Her husband and two other children were drowned in the wall of water which swept down Sanderson Canyon after a cloudburst there.San Antonio Express \| San Antonio, Texas \| Friday, June 25, 1965 Another Flood Body SANDERSON, Tex. -- UPI — Another body was found today 50 miles down the river from Sanderson and identified as the 22nd victim of a flood which devasted the west Texas town June llth. Mexican nationals found the body of Nicholas Flores, 83, of Sanderson two days ago and notified the police, who located it today.Modesto Bee And News-Herald, The \| Modesto, California \| Monday, June 28, 1965 Toll Climbs to 24 In Texas Flood SANDERSON. Tex. AP - The bodies of two children, missing since the death-dealing flood of June 11, have been found, authorities announced. The children were Identified as Mario Falcon, 11, and his brother, Jose Falcon, 8. They were the last missing members of a family of five wiped out in the flood. : Discovery of the bodies brought to 24 the number recovered after the flash Hood virtually obliterated this southwest Texas town. Two are still missing. The body of Mario was found near a roadside park on US 90 about 7 miles south of Sanderson, His younger brothers body was found southeast of Dryden, Tx in the same general area. Albuquerque Journal \| Albuquerque, New Mexico \| Sunday, July 25, 1965 \|
	A MEMORIAL TO SANDERSON FLOOD VICTIMS JUNE 11, 1965 Elida Berrera Frank Barron, Jr Elosia Falcon Jose Falcon Manuel Falcon Mario Falcon Ricardo Falcon Nicolas Flores Mrs. Ethel Johnson David Neil Johnson Jo Ann Johnson Lou Ann Johnson Rose Ann Johnson Paul Daniel Johnson Francisco Lopez Jaime Lopez Martha Lopez Tomas Lopez A. F.Scott Debra Sellers Frankie Sellers Jerry Sellers Kenneth Sellers George Wood MISSING John Wesley Johnson, Jr. Jesus Marquez, Jr.