'We knew they were gone': Big Sandy Creek flood kills mom, two brothers still missing

TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) – Sherry McCutcheon dropped off her mom, Betty West, at home after spending July 4 together. Instead of hot dogs and hamburgers, they opted for Chinese food. 

“Mama loved Chinese food,” McCutcheon said. “[It was] her last meal.”

McCutcheon had no idea that a few hours after dropping her mom off, the creek behind her house would surge. She said it flooded before, but never to the point of needing to evacuate. 

“I went to sleep with the ringer off, and I woke up about three o'clock [a.m.] like I always do, and then I noticed my mama called and left a message. I [also] had two texts from my brothers, and then nothing,” she said. 

McCutcheon's mom, Betty, lived in the house with her two sons –  McCutcheon's brothers – Gary and Doug. 

“I kept calling, calling, and calling at four o'clock. I finally called 911,” she continued. 

McCutcheon and her sister, Terry Traugott, went to their mom’s later that Saturday morning. They learned that responders could not access the house due to extreme flooding until 7 a.m., four hours after McCutcheon received her family’s calls and texts. 

“They couldn't get there. So that's when we found out. We knew they were gone,” McCutcheon said. 

Responders identified their mom's body later that day. Their two brothers are still missing, but the sisters said they don’t think they survived.

“We don’t feel them anymore,” Traugott said. “We just want them back.” 

The sisters have come to their mama’s home – a place they spent countless hours together as a family – every day since the catastrophic flood destroyed it. They’ve spent the time looking for mementos, such as photos and trinkets, and praying that their brothers are found soon. 

“I want everybody to please pray that my brothers come home. We want my brothers,” Traugott said.

At least seven people are dead and 10 others are missing following the weekend flooding in Travis County, officials said Tuesday.