Volunteers reunite Texans with objects swept away in the July Fourth floods

Matthew Rafferty was scouring the flooded riverbanks of Texas Hill Country last weekend when he stumbled on a mud-soaked baby quilt.

Matthew Rafferty was scouring the flooded riverbanks of Texas Hill Country last weekend when he stumbled on a mud-soaked baby quilt. Rafferty, a Virginia firefighter who was deployed to hard-hit Kerr County to help with search and recovery efforts, folded it up and took it back to his hotel. He rinsed it off in the bathtub. He worried the drain might clog because of all the filth, tree roots and rocks that came out.

But the tub survived and, after a trip to the laundromat, the quilt was virtually good as new. He posted a photo of the blanket on a Facebook group where people across central Texas are keeping track of things they’ve recovered from the devastation: waterlogged clothes, stuffed animals, Barbie dolls, marriage licenses, family photo albums. Rafferty eventually connected with the quilt’s owner and hand-delivered it to her.

Matthew Rafferty and members of his swift-water rescue team returned a baby quilt to the blanket's owner.“I’m a father of 3-year-old twin boys. I know if I’d gone through something like these quilts, I’d want it back,” said Rafferty, 34.

Rafferty is part of a loose network of first responders, volunteers and good Samaritans who have fanned out across the region to help reunite Texans with the cherished belongings, family heirlooms and everyday household knickknacks that were swept away when floods ripped through Kerr County over Fourth of July weekend, killing more than 130 people and leaving at least 100 missing.

This week, NBC News spoke with people in the region about the objects that have turned up in the floods’ aftermath — and why they matter. In some cases, seemingly trivial items have taken on far greater emotional significance in the wake of the deadly floods. These are some of their stories.