Aidan Heartfield, a warm and thoughtful young man, drove to his family’s Hill Country home near the Guadalupe River with his longtime girlfriend, Ella Cahill, her college roommate Reese Manchaca, and their high school friend Joyce Catherine Badon. They grilled, laughed, and shared a late-night selfie around 1 a.m.

By 4:30 a.m., rising floodwaters woke them. Aidan called his father, who urged them to get to higher ground. Moments later, chaos erupted. Aidan handed the phone to Joyce, saying he had to help Ella. Then came the scream—