Former San Francisco Giants pitcher Tyler Walker flew to Texas over the weekend with his wife and friends to search for his missing brother Mark, sister-in-law Sara, and 14-year-old nephew Johnny. The three vanished after their vacation home, known as “River House” along the Guadalupe River, was destroyed during the deadly Fourth of July floods.
“They’re still missing and haven’t been identified,” said their mother, Kathy Walker, from her home in San Rafael, California, on Tuesday per the Marin Independent Journal.
Walker, who pitched for the Giants between 2004 and 2008, and his wife also picked up their 16-year-old niece, Ellie, who survived the flooding at nearby Camp Waldemar.
Kathy Walker said all the family can do now is wait and hope for a miracle. She described the uncertainty of not knowing the fate of her son Mark, daughter-in-law Sara, or grandson Johnny as absolutely dreadful. She also shared that she had spoken with Tyler on Sunday.
Praying for the family of former Giants pitcher Tyler Walker. 🙏 ❤️ #sfgiants pic.twitter.com/7fOdiOdSgd
— Ozark (@Ozmosis711) July 7, 2025
“They’re doing what they can to look on the river. He said there’s just so much devastation it’s impossible to comprehend. The debris piles everywhere, cars and trees and limbs. Just everything is piled up.”
Kathy shared that some of Ellie’s friends from summer camp are staying with her while Tyler, Sara, and family friends continue searching for her parents and brother. Although Ellie has some support, Kathy said it still doesn’t feel like enough. Ellie is heartbroken and holding onto hope through prayer. The wait to find out what happened to her dad, mom, and brother has been deeply painful.
Kathy said she had been in regular contact with Mark last week but hasn’t heard from him since the flash flooding early on the Fourth of July.
At a news conference on Monday, California Governor Gavin Newsom confirmed that Mark, Sara, and Johnny are missing and noted that their families are very close, according to the New York Post.
“Mark, his wife, and his 14-year-old son who was very close with so many kids, including my own son, in the Marin County area, they’re missing,” Newsom said. “Thankfully, their 16-year-old daughter was found. It’s just another reminder of how devastating this tragedy is and obviously continues to unfold in just excruciating ways. Anyone with kids understands that.”
Ellie had been staying at a different camp than Camp Mystic, the girls’ summer camp in Kerr County where at least 27 campers and counselors were ki**ed in the floods.
Kathy said someone sent her a photo showing what was left of her son’s vacation home. “It’s destroyed,” she said per the New York Post.
Across Texas, at least 120 people have d**d from the flash floods. More than 170 people are still reported missing, most of them in Kerr County, where nearly 100 bodies have been recovered. As of Thursday—nearly a week after the floods began—the d**th toll remained at 120.
According to the Associated Press, authorities have carefully reviewed the list of missing people, but say the numbers can be difficult to confirm in the chaotic aftermath of such a disaster.
