A tight-knit neighborhood in Brenham, Texas, is mourning the tragic loss of 10-year-old Devah Woods, who was swept away by floodwaters despite desperate efforts by neighbors to save her.
Witnesses say Devah and her sister were walking home wearing backpacks when they were suddenly caught in rapidly rising water near a bayou. Joe Grant, a nearby resident, was standing at his front door when he saw the girls pass by.
“Right about here, they were stomping and going on. Next thing I know, I seen one of them—she slipped and fell,” Grant recalled, according to Fox 26 Houston. “The current here was real powerful.”
He believes the girls’ backpacks may have caused them to float, making it harder to regain control.
Grant captured video moments before the girls fell in. In it, he says Devah can be seen floating on her back as her sister screamed for help. Grant attempted to reach them but was too late.
“The water was going in a circle and woosh—and just took them,” he said.
Another neighbor, Charles Rogers, took immediate action, jumping into the rushing bayou.
“I got down there and that’s when I lost track of one of them,” Rogers said. “I had both of them, but I lost one.”
Rogers was able to save Devah’s sister, pulling her to safety after struggling against the current.
“They were screaming and crying. One girl was saying, ‘Please save me,’ and I was doing the best I could,” he said, visibly shaken.
The tragedy has left the neighborhood devastated. Both men say the events unfolded in mere seconds, though the emotional impact will last much longer. Rogers says he’s been relying on prayer to cope with the loss.
“I prayed hard last night on it, and I prayed hard this morning,” he shared.
The Brenham community has rallied in support of Devah’s family as they grieve the heartbreaking loss of a young life taken too soon.
