Camp Mystic’s Communications Fails During Hill Country Floods, Investigator Testifies AUSTIN, Texas – Criminal Attorney Casey Garrett testified Monday that Camp Mystic’s emergency communication system failed during the deadly July 2025 Hill Country floods, describing the camp’s response as a “failure” that endangered campers. Garrett, appearing before the Senate General Investigating Committee, highlighted systemic shortcomings in the camp’s preparedness, including inadequate training for staff, outdated emergency protocols, and a culture that normalized flooding as a routine occurrence. The testimony marked the first public hearing into the disaster, which claimed the lives of several children and sparked calls for accountability. Garrett’s investigation revealed that the Eastland family, which owns Camp Mystic, was aware of the flood risks long before the July 4 floods. Emails presented during the hearing showed Dick Eastland, a former camp director, referencing historic floods in 1978, 1984, and 2000, suggesting the family had a documented history of dealing with water-related emergencies. Despite this, Garrett argued that the camp’s emergency plan did not meet state code requirements at the time of the disaster. The plan addressed disasters and accidents but failed to account for epidemics, fatalities, or evacuation procedures. Campers were instructed to stay in cabins during emergencies, but no clear evacuation protocols existed. One of the most critical failures, according to Garrett, was the lack of communication tools. Counselors and staff were told to rely on loudspeakers and walkie-talkies in case of power outages, but none of the counselors had access to these devices.#camp_mystic #casey_garrett #eastland_family #sen_jose_menendez #hill_country_floods
Parents Urge Texas Committee to Block Camp Mystic Reopening After July 4 Flood Grief and anger over the deadly July 4 flood that killed 27 children and counselors at Camp Mystic flooded the Texas Capitol on Tuesday night as parents demanded state lawmakers prevent the camp’s reopening and deny its license renewal. The emotional testimony came during an investigative hearing before the General Investigative Committee, where families of victims shared harrowing accounts of the disaster that unfolded last year. The Eastland family, which operates the camp, sat nearby as parents recounted the trauma of the event and called for accountability. The hearing focused on the future of Camp Mystic, which had been granted a temporary license to operate its Cypress Lake location after the July 4 flood. Parents argued that the camp’s history of safety failures made it unfit to reopen. Bolton Walters, a parent of a victim, stated, “A daycare with 27 dead children and this evidence already on record would have already been closed.” CiCi Steward, the mother of a missing camper, emphasized the need for permanent closure, saying, “No camp will be safe for any child as long as the Eastlands are associated with it.” The parents described the catastrophic flood that overwhelmed the camp’s facilities, leaving children and staff stranded. Malorie Lytal, a parent of a victim, detailed the horror of her child’s death: “As her cabin filled with flood waters, she was left to fend for herself, and washed miles downriver to die the most horrific, gruesome death.” Steward accused the camp’s leadership of prioritizing profit over safety, declaring, “Those lies of safety, preparedness, and readiness caused the greatest mass casualty event involving children in the history of the state.#camp_mystic #texas_capitol #general_investigative_committee #eastland_family #cypress_lake
Camp Mystic Flood Investigation Reveals Systemic Failures in Safety Protocols AUSTIN, Texas — An investigator into the catastrophic flood that killed 27 campers and counselors at Camp Mystic has revealed that the camp’s reliance on untrained teenage counselors, a rigid “obedience” culture, and critical delays in evacuation efforts doomed the victims. The findings, presented to Texas lawmakers during a legislative hearing, underscored a lack of emergency preparedness and a failure to heed flood warnings, with the investigator describing the tragedy as “set before any drop of rain fell.” The incident occurred on July 7, 2025, when a sudden and severe flood swept through the all-girls Christian camp located on the banks of the Guadalupe River. The flood, which was exacerbated by heavy rainfall, overwhelmed the camp’s low-lying areas, leading to the deaths of 25 campers and two counselors. Camp owner Richard Eastland, who perished while attempting to evacuate girls to higher ground, was also among the victims. The investigation, led by Casey Garrett, a Houston attorney and investigator for the state’s special legislative committee, detailed how the camp’s safety protocols were woefully inadequate. Garrett emphasized that the counselors, many of whom were teenagers with no formal emergency training, were ill-equipped to handle the crisis. “There was never any real training, no drills of any kind,” she stated during the hearing. The camp’s evacuation plan, which had been approved by a state inspector just two days prior, was described as a one-paragraph directive instructing campers to “stay in their cabins unless told otherwise by the office.” This directive, which falsely claimed all cabins were built on “high, safe locations,” proved fatal as floodwaters surged.#texas #camp_mystic #guadalupe_river #richard_eastland #casey_garrett
Director of Camp Mystic says he slept through warning of deadly Texas floods The director of the Texas summer camp where 27 campers and counselors were killed by a devastating flood last year testified Monday that he did not see official warnings issued the day before the storm hit and that staff had no meetings about the pending danger. Edward Eastland, the camp’s director, provided the most detailed account yet of how the camp responded as floodwaters along the Guadalupe River rose to historic levels, trapping children and counselors in cabins before they were swept away on July 4, 2025. Eastland’s testimony, delivered in a packed courtroom filled with families of the victims, included emotional moments as he acknowledged the tragedy and the potential for lives to have been saved if staff had acted sooner. The flood, which killed 25 girls aged eight to 10, two teenage counselors, and Richard Eastland, the camp’s co-owner, left a trail of devastation across central Texas. The National Weather Service had issued alerts days before the storm, warning of heavy rainfall that could lead to flash flooding in rivers, creeks, and low-lying areas—features of the Camp Mystic property. Despite these warnings, Eastland claimed he did not see flood watch notifications from the National Weather Service or the Texas Department of Emergency Management on July 2 and 3. He relied instead on the CodeRED mobile alert system and weather apps, which he believed were sufficient. Eastland admitted the camp had no detailed written flood evacuation plan and that more campers could have survived if he and his father, Richard Eastland, along with the camp’s safety director, had made quicker decisions to evacuate.#national_weather_service #camp_mystic #director_edward_eastland #texas_department_of_emergency_management #code_red
‘A big blur’ – Camp Mystic’s doomed rescue effort described in court AUSTIN — The harrowing details of the July 4 flash flood that killed 27 people at Camp Mystic, a secluded Texas Hill County retreat, were recounted in court by Edward Eastland, the camp’s director, during a hearing focused on a lawsuit filed by the parents of one of the victims. Eastland, 42, described the chaotic night as a “big blur,” struggling to recall the exact sequence of events as floodwaters surged through the camp’s grounds. The testimony, delivered in the 459th State District Court in Austin on April 13, 2026, marked the first time Eastland had publicly detailed the disaster that claimed the lives of 26 campers and counselors, including an 8-year-old Austin girl named Cile Steward, whose body has never been recovered. The flood struck shortly before 4 a.m. on July 4, 2025, when torrential thunderstorms pushed the Guadalupe River to record levels. Power failed at Camp Mystic as the water rose, plunging the campus into darkness. Eastland, who had been working at the camp’s Twins I and II cabin near the south fork of the river, described the scene as a “nightmare.” He recalled that the water had reached the cabin’s ceiling, forcing a counselor to shout that the current was pulling children out of one of the doors. Eastland said he grabbed two girls, holding on to the door frame as the water surged. Another girl, who he believed was an 8-year-old first-time camper, climbed onto his back, wrapping her arms around his neck before they were swept away. “I don’t remember how long it took me to get to the tree where all the other girls were found,” Eastland said, his voice breaking as he described the aftermath. “I didn’t think there were any girls with me, but some counselors said there was at least one camper with me when they saw me.#camp_mystic #edward_eastland #cile_steward #guadalupe_river #stewards
Camp Director Sobs During Testimony on Efforts to Save Girls from Flood The director of Camp Mystic, where 27 young girls and counselors died in historic flooding last year, sobbed in a Texas courtroom Monday as he struggled to recall his desperate attempts to evacuate children in the dark as river water surged through the camp. The incident, which occurred during a severe weather event in the spring of 2023, left the community in shock and prompted a thorough investigation into the camp’s safety protocols. The camp, located near the banks of the Brazos River, had been a popular summer destination for families in the region. On the day of the disaster, torrential rains caused the river to swell beyond its banks, submerging the camp within hours. Despite the rapid rise in water levels, the director and staff worked tirelessly to move as many children and counselors to higher ground, but the situation quickly became overwhelming. Testimony in the courtroom revealed that the director, who had been on duty during the flood, faced immense pressure to act swiftly. He described the chaos of the night, the sound of rushing water, and the fear of losing children to the rising waters. “I couldn’t see anything but the dark, and I knew every second counted,” he said, his voice trembling. “We tried to move everyone, but the water was everywhere.” The tragedy has sparked debates about emergency preparedness in recreational facilities and the need for stricter safety regulations. Local officials have called for a review of the camp’s flood mitigation plans, while families of the victims have demanded accountability. The director, who has since been placed on administrative leave, is facing legal scrutiny over his actions during the crisis.#director #climate_change #camp_mystic #brazos_river #flood
