In the early morning hours of July 5, 2025, as floods devastated central Texas, a family struggled to escape the rising waters.

It was then that a 17-year-old girl acted swiftly and bravely to save the lives of her younger siblings and a friend, losing her own in the process.

Malaya Grace Hammond and her group left Marble Falls, Texas, around 4:30 a.m. that day. She was joined in the family van by her 57-year-old father, Matthew Hammond, a singer and songwriter, and her 53-year-old mother, Liz Hammond, a surfer and lifeguard.

Also with them were her 16-year-old brother, Khalil; 13-year-old sister, Surya; and Surya’s best friend, 14-year-old Opal Alexander. They set off on what should’ve been a 10-hour drive to a summer camp in the Ozarks.

After weather maps showed that their planned route was flooded, the Hammonds changed course. Minutes later, they unknowingly crossed a collapsed bridge. Matthew tried to brake, but it was too late.

As the 2008 Honda Odyssey plunged into the water, the family sang “Rise and Shine, and Give God the Glory,” and Matthew told everyone to roll down the windows. Malaya managed to open the car’s sliding door so the kids could escape.

Matthew and Liz swam out through their windows. When the father surfaced, he saw Malaya about 15 feet ahead of him in the river. Matthew recalled:

“She knew to turn on her back, and she turned on her back, and she was singing that song ‘Rise and Shine,’ and just to keep herself calm. She kept singing it in the river. And that was the last we saw her.”

Matthew then considered his next move. Malaya was the best swimmer among the children and seemed calm and alert, so he turned away and saw his wife and son urging him to grab onto tree branches for safety.

After exiting the van, Liz had swallowed a lot of water and thought she would die. However, she managed to swim to the surface, reach the riverbank, and grab hold of the same tree her son Khalil had already found.

Surya’s friend Opal had been texting her mother when the van went underwater. She ended up holding on to a tree with one hand and her phone with the other, dialing 911. Khalil, walking along the riverbank, found her and helped her ashore.

Matthew and Khalil then searched in the darkness for Malaya and Surya. The sisters were close friends, so Matthew assumed they would be together. Eventually, they found Surya walking through nearby fields beyond a fence.

However, Malaya wasn’t with her. They spent the whole weekend searching for her on foot, helicopter, and boat. On July 7, Matthew arrived at the point where they planned to start that day’s search and saw his son crying.

He instantly knew what it meant. His daughter had been found lifeless. She was wrapped in cedar branches.

“She looked so beautiful and so peaceful (…) I honestly, I wanted her to wake up. I figured if Jesus could raise Lazarus, why couldn’t I raise my own daughter?” recalled Matthew. Yet his daughter would not rise.

“The miracle is that we found her,” he said. Michael Phillips, volunteer fire chief in Marble Falls, disappeared in the floodwaters while searching for Malaya and is still missing.

“Malaya was and is an extraordinary soul,” said her father. “We miss her so, so much, like nothing I have ever missed in my life.”

In a Facebook video shared by filmmaker Mikki Willis on July 10, Matthew described Malaya as “the most loving person I have ever known,” adding that she was “kind, caring, giving, always serving others.”

“Like us, she’s a musician. She writes the most beautiful songs and would sing harmonies. And her ability to harmonize, I think, matched her ability to harmonize with others. I feel like that’s what she wanted,” said Matthew, adding:

“You know, there’s all these lies out there that there’s divisions and there’s chaos. That’s not the final story. That might be what’s on the surface, but underneath it all is harmony. And Malaya Grace was all about harmonizing with others.”

The grieving father said he and Liz are “looking forward to serving the families that are in need out there, the ones who are hurting right now, the ones who have lost loved ones like we have.”

“It’s a devotion that we will make for the rest of our lives. When you lose someone that’s special to you, that’s precious, the only way to recover is to go out there and heal others,” he said.

Mikki and family friend Steve Vincent helped the Hammonds set up fundraisers on GoFundMe and GiveSendGo. Funds will help the family with funeral costs and the financial burdens they face after losing so much to the flood.

Malaya was set to be a counselor at a Christian camp this summer, while her brother and sister were attending the same facility. We extend our heartfelt condolences to the Hammond family during this difficult time.