His optimism was fading. He paused along a Texas 39 grape orchard as friends searched across the highway in a massive field spanning half a mile. Trees once blocked the roadside view. Now, the still-swollen river, a mess of uprooted trees and scattering of volunteer searchers were visible from the road.

Devastating floods across central Texas have killed at least 51 people after a storm pounded the region. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a proclamation declaring Sunday as a day of prayer across the state in response to the flooding.

Eyewitness Tonia Fucci recounted the destruction that followed deadly floods in Comfort, central Texas, near the Guadalupe River on July 4.

The death toll from catastrophic floods in Texas reached at least 78 on Sunday, including at least 28 children, as the search for girls missing from a summer camp entered a third day and fears of more flash flooding as rain fell on saturated ground prompted fresh evacuations.

Although Kerr County was hit hardest by flooding, at least seven others have been confirmed dead in different parts of Texas. About 150 miles east of Camp Mystic, Travis County has confirmed at least four deaths, county spokesperson Hector Nieto told CBS News by phone Saturday night. Travis County includes the Texas capital city of Austin.