(Reuters) -Founded by a University of Texas football coach, Camp Mystic where raging floodwaters swept away dozens of girls - killing several and leaving many others missing - was established along the banks of the Guadalupe River in central Texas hill country nearly a century ago "to provide young girls with a wholesome Christian atmosphere.

The first photos from flood-ravaged Camp Mystic, the Christian Texas summer camp from which 27 young girls are missing, tell a heartbreaking story. The images capture both the destruction of the floodwaters—toppled trees and shredded buildings—but also the human traces left behind by the campers.

The longtime owner and director of Camp Mystic Dick Eastland died while trying to save and protect campers from rushing floodwaters.