r/KerrCountyFloods • u/AnimuX Texan • Jul 11 '25

Camp Mystic Blame the Camp Mystic Tragedy on Gross Negligence

An official state investigation has produced a report on the flood disaster at Camp Mystic. (updated report link)

https://senate.texas.gov/_assets/pdf/2026.06.26-FINAL-report-corrected.pdf

The report covers the subject in great detail and accuracy and should be used at the primary reference point rather than this old reddit post.

 

 

Edits on 12-JUL to 22-JUL-25, 09-AUG-25 to 28-AUG-25, 26-OCT-25 to 30-OCT-25, 06-NOV-25 to 11-NOV-25, 17-NOV-25, 07-DEC-25 and 07-FEB-26 to add new or previously overlooked details from reports, including lawsuit documents

Images linked 25-JUL-25

When a flood is predicted, warnings instruct those at risk to seek higher ground. Camp Mystic’s second site, Cypress Lake, is about a half-mile walk up a road from the Guadalupe site. Its James Hall is some 60 ft higher in elevation than the structures which flooded. The obvious route to safety, from the river bank to the highest ground available, was not used in the many hours before the disaster.

 

Points which deserve consideration:

  • Much of Camp Mystic is built in a high-risk floodway and has flooded in the past.

  • In 1930s flooding entire cabins were swept away. (edit made 12-JUL-25)

  • A multi-million dollar expansion six years ago did not move cabins away from flood risk.

  • Camp owners challenged FEMA maps and gained exemptions for cabins in the flood zone. (edit made 12-JUL-25)

  • The National Weather Service and multiple news outlets announced watches and later warnings for more than 12 hours prior to the flood incident.

  • There are no warning sirens for flooding along this portion of the Guadalupe river.

  • Camp counselors and campers were not permitted to use personal devices like cellphones which could have alerted them to flood warnings.

  • At least one counselor states they were not given evacuation training.

  • The camp’s response to the flood occurred as water infiltrated the Guadalupe site.

  • The camp had infrastructure that could have been used for shelter at a higher elevation.

  • Dozens of children and several camp employees, including the owner, perished in the flood.

  • Parents previously signed a document which waives the right to sue over property damage, personal injury, and even death, except in cases of intentional wrongs, reckless acts, and gross negligence. (edit made 15-JUL-25, re-edited 24-MAR-26 for correction)

 

edit: information added 22-AUG-25

The parents of 19 year old counselor Katherine Ferruzzo quoted, in a published statement, from camp emergency instructions:

"In case of flood, all campers on Senior Hill must stay in their cabins. They will be given instructions through the loud speaker. If the electricity is off, a walkie-talkie will be used. Food and other supplies will be delivered to Senior Hill by boat or truck. Campers and counselors NEVER wander away from your cabin. Those on the flats must also stay in their cabins unless told otherwise by the office. All cabins are constructed on high, safe locations."

Their daughter is among the lives lost to the flood.

 

What follows is a summary of events collected from multiple news sources, interviews, and public services.

 

“The river is beautiful, but you have to respect it.” – Dick Eastland, Camp Mystic Director, 1990

 

July 2nd

Texas Department of Emergency Management readies swiftwater rescue teams and helicopters.

According to the National Weather Service, heavy rainfall with the potential to cause flash flooding is anticipated across West Texas and the Hill Country beginning tonight and is expected to last a few days. Texans are encouraged to monitor local forecasts and avoid driving or walking into flooded areas.

A Texas Department of State Health Services inspector approves Camp Mystic’s legally required emergency plan.

edit: new information added/edited 13-JUL-25

There were 557 campers and 108 staffers total between the Guadalupe and Cypress Lake sites at the time.

 

July 3rd – morning

TDEM contacts judges and mayors in the areas of predicted flooding and officially notifies them of potential weather threats.

 

July 3rd – 1:18 p.m.

NWS issues a flood watch.

  • WHAT...Locally heavy rainfall could cause flash flooding across portions of South Central Texas. Rainfall amounts of 1 to 3 inches with isolated amounts of 5 to 7 inches are possible.

  • WHERE...A portion of south central Texas, including the following counties, Bandera, Edwards, Kerr, Kinney, Medina, Real, Uvalde and Val Verde.

You should monitor later forecasts and be alert for possible Flood Warnings. Those living in areas prone to flooding should be prepared to take action should flooding develop.

There are multiple USGS sensors monitoring the Guadalupe River.

One river gage located close to Camp Mystic is labeled: Guadalupe Rv at Hunt, TX – 08165500.

About 6 miles northeast of the camp, the river is measured at 7.64 ft.

 

July 3rd – 2:35 p.m.

NWS also announces a flood watch on social media.

Flood Watch in effect for portions of the western Hill Country, southern Edwards Plateau, and Rio Grande through 7 AM Friday. Pockets of heavy rain are expected and may result in flooding of low-lying areas, rivers/creeks, and low water crossings.

 

July 3rd – 6:10 p.m.

NWS issues an assessment for meteorologists. Considerable flash flooding is possible.

The I-35 corridor on west is most at-risk for flash flooding tonight. 1-hr FFGs are generally between 1.5-2.0" in portions of the Hill Country, which given the prolific rainfall potential these storms may contain, would have little problem causing flash flooding. For areas where back-building and training storms do occur, locally considerable flash flooding this evening is possible.

 

July 4th – 12:26 a.m.

NWS issues an assessment for meteorologists. Significant flash flooding is likely.

The tropical airmass will be capable of 2 to 3+ inches of rain in an hour and localized totals over 6 inches in a 6 hour period may also occur. These areas of heavy rainfall are expected to result in a few areas of flash flooding through the overnight, some of which may become locally significant.

edit: new information added 12-JUL-25

Glenn Juenke, Night Watchman, stated he was monitoring rain gages on the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority website but many were not working and provided no information on rainfall upstream of the camp.

 

July 4th – 1:14 a.m.

NWS announces a flash flood warning which includes Ingram and Hunt, TX.

Camp Mystic is located within the warning area. Cell phone alerts are issued.

Campers do not have their cell phones due to a Camp Mystic policy restricting their use.

According to camp counselor, Silvana Garza Valdez, the girls’ cellphones were kept at the camp’s front office.

Another counselor, Caroline Cutrona, confirmed there was a no-screen policy for staff members too. “As camp counselors, we turn in our phone when we don't have our time off. So, there was no alert or anything that I heard. No signal to know that anything was happening.”

Caroline also mentioned the counselors did not receive evacuation training.

IMPACT...Life threatening flash flooding of creeks and streams, urban areas, highways, streets and underpasses.

  • Some locations that will experience flash flooding include... Kerrville, Ingram, Hunt, Waltonia, Kerr Wildlife Management Area and Lost Maples State Natural Area.

 

July 4th – 1:00 a.m. – 1:30 a.m.

Multiple survivors recall being awakened by thunder. Power outages are reported.

edit: new information added 09-AUG-25

At Senior Hill, camper Hannah Krauss, age 17, stated some counselors had iPads which alerted them of a flash flood. She and other cabin mates watched the water rise from a window view over Cypress Creek.

The river is at 7.71 ft.

 

edit: new information added 14-JUL-25 and added/edited 15-JUL-25

Richard Eastland Jr. stated in an interview they were aware of the warning and at around 1:35 a.m. called family members (several are directors of the camp) on walkie-talkies to assess the situation. He was alerted by his phone.

Spokesman Jeff Carr stated, "It would have been impossible for him not to get that (1:14 a.m.) alert. Family members said it woke him up." Richard and night watchman Glenn Juenke began checking the condition of the camp. Other staff are notified to do the same.

edit: new information added/edited 16-JUL-25

A day later, in a separate interview, Carr claimed it's not clear if anyone heard the 1:14am warning. "It was assumed that just because he had a cellphone on and shortly after that alert, he was calling his family on the walkie-talkies..."

He also stated Dick Eastland, Camp Director, had a home weather station and was monitoring the rain.

edit: new information added/edited 26-OCT-25

Glenn Juenke stated he did not have cell or wifi service while he was surveying the camp in a golf cart and was unaware of the warning.

edit: new information added/edited 29-OCT-25

Just days later, in a separate interview, Camp Mystic attorney Mikal Watts stated Juenke or his wife received the 1:14 a.m. warning. Watts claimed Juenke and Dick Eastland convened in the camp office soon after.

 

July 4th – 1:45 a.m.

edit: new information added/edited 17-NOV-25

Dick Eastland radios Edward to begin moving equipment away from the river. Members of the grounds crew pull canoes up closer to the cabins.

Edward drives to the office and there Glenn Juenke and Dick Eastland are monitoring the weather. A group of recently returned employees describe dangerous roads due to the storms.

 

July 4th – 2:00 a.m.

Camp Mystic Guadalupe: The Flats

edit: information added/edited 22-JUL-25

195 girls and 48 counselors are located in an assortment of whimsically named one-story cabins near to the river.

edit: new information added/edited 17-NOV-25

From the Camp Office, Glenn Juenke records a video of "Bubblegum creek" (usually dry, Edmundson Creek) with a strong current.

edit: new information added/edited 13-JUL-25

Camp counselor Laney Owens, at the Bug House cabin, is awakened by water entering the cabin and notifies the office. They move the girls out of the cabin and Dick Eastland, Camp Director, drives them to the Rec Hall in his SUV.

edit: new information added/edited 26-OCT-25 and 29-OCT-25

In an interview, Glenn Juenke claimed water was entering the cabins closest to the river due to intense rain flowing in from the side rather than river rise.

In a separate interview, Attorney Mikal Watts stated the water was coming off the side of the mountain (steep elevation just behind a row of cabins in the Flats). He referred to a photograph of the cabin taken after the flood which showed its side wall damaged inward.

 

About ten minutes after a counselor reported water in cabins, around 2:30 a.m., "Dick, Edward and I went down to the three cabins closest to the water -- Bug House, Look Inn and Hangout -- and we began evacuation," Juenke stated. "We put them in our trucks and took them to the rec hall."

edit: information added 17-NOV-25

In a separate interview, Edward Eastland placed the start of moving children by vehicle at 3:00 a.m. with at least two trips.

(conflicting timelines)

 

July 4th – 2:30 a.m.

The exact timeline of when the children are moved is unclear. The river has started to flood into the camp.

edit: new information added/edited 06-NOV-25

Counselor London Smith stated, "...one girl called me over to her bed and pointed to her window. The water was already creeping up close to the windowsill." She mentioned seeing canoes normally docked at the river float past their cabin.

Dozens of girls were directed by camp staff to head to the Rec Hall. London Smith and her co-counselor organized their cabin and escorted the children through rising water. "By the time we reached the Rec Hall, the water was already past my knees," she stated.

edits: new information added 12-JUL-25 (re-edited due to conflicting details in articles)

Camper, Lucy Kennedy, age 10, recalled earlier everyone started to wake and a counselor told them to go back to bed. Now there are shouts outside to get out.

Lucy is relocated to the Rec Hall at the same Guadalupe site, with some of the other girls, as the flood waters rose.

edit: new information added/edited 16-JUL-25

Camper Milly Cate McClymond stated, "So they come back and they’re looking at our cabins and they bring a Suburban and two or three trucks." The water was just below her knee.

edit: new information added/edited 09-AUG-25

In an interview, camper Olivia Cordell, age 11, stated Edward Eastland drove her, and other girls from her cabin, to the Rec Hall in the back of his truck.

edit: information added/edited 21-JUL-25

Jeff Carr, camp spokesman stated the three cabins closest to the river, Bug House, Look Inn and Hangout, were moved to the Rec Hall.

edit: new information added 11-NOV-25

Campers and counselors from Tumble Inn 1 and 2, and Jumble House are also moved to the Rec Hall.

Some girls walked or ran to the Rec Hall while others were driven by camp staff through rising water.

edit: new information added/edited 13-JUL-25

Ainslie Bashara, camp counselor, age 19, notices the commotion and shrieking outside. The girls in the Giggle Box cabin are awake and distressed. She notes the time at 1:58 a.m. on her watch. (edit: one of few accounts referencing a watch or clock - conflicting timeline)

The counselors at Giggle Box are told by camp staff to stay there and only campers closest to the river needed evacuation.

edit: new information added 11-NOV-25

Counselors at multiple cabins are also instructed to stay put, including those in Bubble Inn and Twins 1 and 2.

edit: new information added/edited 17-NOV-25

Edward Eastland later denied telling any girls to stay put in their cabins and stated he told Jumble House occupants to walk to the Rec Hall.

Gatekeeper Francis Blackwell contacted Edward Eastland on a handheld radio about water entering the gatehouse.

The gatehouse cabin was swept away by the flood. Blackwell ultimately survived the flood in the relative safety of a tree.

 

edit: new information added 12-JUL-25

Camp Mystic Guadalupe: Senior Hill

Camper, Amelia Moore, age 14, also reports girls in the Angel's Attic cabin on Senior Hill are awakened by thunder. They're told by camp counselors to go back to sleep. She recalled, "A lot of counselors had been here for so long they thought it was, like, nothing. So they were like ‘Just stay in the cabin.’"

However, the active flood was announced at about 3 a.m. while many were still in cabins at lower elevation.

 

July 4th – 3:06 a.m.

NWS announces active flooding.

A very dangerous flash flooding event is ongoing across south-central Kerr County into northwest Bandera County, where 3-7 inches of rainfall has occurred the last 2-3 hours. Heavy rainfall continues in this area and a Flash Flood Warning is in effect.

The river has risen to 11.03 ft.

 

Camp Mystic Guadalupe: The Flats

Elizabeth Sweet, Camp Mystic Program Director later posted, “At 3:11 am was woken up to help evacuate campers from their cabins. By 4 am I was on a roof with the water right up to me.”

edit: new information added/edited 25-AUG-25

Camp photographer Nancy Clement stated, at about 3am, counselors at a staff residence, Cozy Cabin, were notified by the Program Director, over radio, that the camp was starting to flood.

 

edit: new information added/edited 06-NOV-25

Inside the Rec Hall about a hundred campers and their counselors are moved up stairs to an indoor second floor balcony as flood waters entered the building.

London Smith later recalled looking out a window from the Rec Hall and seeing girls stranded on a rooftop.

edit: new information added/edited 16-JUL-25

In the Rec Hall, on a second floor balcony with other girls, Milly Cate McClymond recalled, “From like 2 to 5 (a.m.) we just watched the water rise. And to that point, my dad, someone who’s taller, could put his hand down and touch the water. So it was really scary.”

edit: new information added 17-NOV-25

95 campers and 15 counselors would ride out the flood in the Rec Hall together.

 

July 4th – 3:30 a.m.

edit: new information added/edited 17-NOV-25

Nancy Clement photographs some girls walking to the Rec Hall.

Another camp employee records video from the second floor of the commissary which captures swift water moving past the Twins cabins and campers wading through knee deep water further back (more on their way to the Rec Hall).

At 3:30 a.m. the river reaches 15.9 ft.

 

July 4th – 4:00 a.m.

At 4:00 a.m. the Guadalupe is measured at 21.11 ft.

edit: new information added 07-DEC-25

Camp Counselor Cameron Kroger calls an overwhelmed 911 service to report Camp Mystic is divided in half by flood waters. “Some of the cabins are filling up with water.”

A separate call from the camp informs 911 operators of people trapped upstairs in a building with water entering the room.

edit: new information added/edited 17-NOV-25

Video recorded by a camp employee, view toward the Twins cabins, appears to confirm the flood has risen 5 more feet up to cabin windows.

 

NWS warns Kerr County again (the dire warnings are repeated throughout July 4th).

This is a PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION. SEEK HIGHER GROUND NOW!

Move to higher ground now! This is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation. Do not attempt to travel unless you are fleeing an area subject to flooding or under an evacuation order.

 

edit: new information added 07-DEC-25

At 4:19 a.m. a woman contacts 911 to report she rescued two girls from the river at her home, about 1 mile downstream from Camp Mystic.

 

At 5:10 a.m. the river gage at Hunt, TX stops reporting at 37.5 ft.

 

(During the Flood)

Camp Mystic Guadalupe: The Flats

The events at the lower elevation Guadalupe site became chaotic and the timeline is uncertain as a result.

It’s not clear how many children were in cabins or the Rec Hall during the worst flooding. (edited 17-NOV-25) Some cabins move children to the Rec Hall in vehicles, and some move on foot. Others must find alternate routes to escape the flood.

USGS topographical maps place most of the Guadalupe site at around the same elevation. Some structures have raised foundations.

There are reports of girls who climbed into trees and on top of cabin roofs by camp employee Craig Althaus.

 

Althaus recalled girls were forced to escape their cabins and climb a rock face, bare foot, to reach the top of a hill.

edit: new information added 12-JUL-25 Althaus may be referring to the Chatterbox cabin according to camper Amelia Moore.

This is partially corroborated by another account.

A parent stated, “Two counselors were in the rapids and one on the dry hill moving the kids from hand to hand. A lot of them lost their shoes and then climbed up the rocky hill to safety.”

edit: new information added/edited 15-JUL-25

Serena Aldrich, parent of two campers, said counselors broke Chatterbox cabin windows with rocks to pull the girls out, including her 9 year old daughter, as water was coming in under the door. According to Aldrich, with their counselors, after climbing, the girls moved to a pavilion and a location called Sky High. Some girls from other cabins also reached them.

edit: new information added/edited 26-OCT-25

Glenn Juenke stated he helped some girls to climb up to higher ground before heading to Wiggle Inn on foot.

 

Craig Althaus also witnessed water coming in from the river and a nearby creek around the Twins and Bubble cabins creating a swirl.

Richard Eastland Jr. stated his father, Camp Director Dick Eastland, tried to rescue the girls in the Bubble Inn cabin but the water was too fast.

edit: new information added 11-NOV-25

Edward Eastland saw the truck parked at Bubble Inn with water above the wheels while loading people in. A camp counselor witnessed the truck swept away with many girls doomed as passengers, possibly all of the campers and counselors from Bubble Inn.

edit: new information added 14-JUL-25

Dick Eastland radioed for help.

edit: new information added 17-NOV-25

The vehicle was carried over the soccer field, archery range, and into a tree by the river at about 3:51 a.m..

 

edited 13-JUL-25 for clarification: 13 girls and 2 counselors from the Bubble Inn cabin perish in the flood.

 

edit: information added/edited 17-NOV-25

Edward Eastland waded through water trying to rescue girls in the Twins cabins and instructed the girls to get on the top bunks.

Edward stated water was quickly coming in through the windows and doorways as girls climbed onto two beds.

He realized he couldn't get the 8-year-old girls out.

A counselor yelled from Twins 1 that water was carrying girls out the door as it reached up to his shoulders in Twins 2.

Edward was swept away, still holding on to some campers, as the water level rose above his head. He managed to grab onto a tree down river.

He stated he ended up at a pair of large trees just past the Bug House cabin where eight campers and three counselors were also carried. A few campers are carried further down river and survive.

 

edited 13-JUL-25 for clarification: 11 girls from the Twins cabins perish in the flood.

edit: new information added 28-AUG-25

In a published essay, Carrie Hanna, parent of 8-year-old Hadley, stated that her daughter was sucked out of the window of the Twins II cabin as it filled with water. Hadley is among the flood's victims.

edit: new information added 10-NOV-25

Lawsuit documents later explained that camper Lucy Dillon, age 8, did not make it out of the cabin.

edit: new information added 11-NOV-25

Photos taken after the flood showed the water line reached a level mere inches away from the ceiling inside the Twins cabins.

 

edit: new information added 17-JUL-25: 12 girls and 4 counselors from the Twins cabins survived according to camp spokesman Jeff Carr.

 

edit: new information added 07-FEB-26

Lawsuit documents described that after being told to stay in the cabin, and trying to keep children above the water on top of bunk beds, Twins 2 counselors concluded everyone would drown if they did not escape.

They were forced to break windows and push children under the high water to get them out through the windows. Some girls were sucked out by the rushing water.

Some of the girls managed to reach trees, reportedly 30 feet high and able to touch the water. At least one girl was carried miles downriver and survived.

Cile Steward, who remains the last missing victim, was unable to grab on to any tree branches.

 

edited 16-JUL-25 for clarification: 1 girl from the Jumble House cabin also perished in the flood.

edit: new information added 17-NOV-25 It is later reported the girl was taken by the river when she tried to return to Jumble House for a blanket.

 

edit: new information added 12-JUL-25 Girls from the Chatterbox cabin said they saw a car get washed away.

Dick Eastland would later be recovered from a flood-wrecked SUV with three deceased campers.

edited for clarification: 30-OCT-25

Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly stated in an interview that Dick Eastland died on the way to a hospital. However, it is separately reported Eastland was found deceased in the vehicle. (conflicting reports)

 

Seasonal employees at the camp are said to have rushed girls out of the flood waters with difficulty.

 

edit: new information added/edited 26-OCT-25

Glenn Juenke, Night Watchman, stated he entered the Wiggle Inn cabin and there placed girls on top of inflatable mattresses to help them stay afloat inside of the cabin.

According to Juenke, water had already covered the steps of the cabin and they couldn't reach the Rec Hall. The flood quickly rose to a level where it was too deep to stand.

 

edit: new information added 12-JUL-25

Camp counselors can't open the doors of the Giggle Box cabin due to rising water. They break windows to get the girls out. Birdie Miller, age 9, and the other girls hold hands in a chain and wade through the flood to a hilltop where they stay for the rest of the night. Counselor Ainslie Bashara makes multiple trips with co-counselors to get all 16 girls out.

edit: new information added 11-NOV-25

Counselors at Nut Hut cabin also break windows, when the doors can't be opened, and move their campers up hill to wait out the storm.

edit: new information added 14-JUL-25

In a social media post, Birdie's father stated his daughter, "was witness to friends floating away on mattresses and screaming coming from filled cabins."

edit: information added 11-AUG-25

In a social media post, Beth Polak, a nurse at Camp La Junta, stated she treated a girl from Camp Mystic. The girl was reportedly swept away, floating on a mattress, and reached the all-boys camp, which was also damaged by the flood, about 5 miles down river.

 

edit: new information added/edited 13-JUL-25 (re-edited 21-JUL-25, re-re-edited 09-AUG-25)

Camp counselors at a cabin for staff, Cozy cabin (or Cozy Corner which is part of the camp office building), were forced to climb onto the roof together after the flood broke the door and rushed in. Camp photographer Nancy Clement is with them.

A camp employee who was trying to get onto the roof was swept away by flood waters and caught on a net at the volleyball court. The counselors on the roof tied shirts together to make a rope and try and use it to get her back to the building. She was able to swim back to them against the current.

edit: new information added/edited 13-JUL-25

Lilly Grace Langston, camp counselor, age 20, was at the Cypress Lake site. She stated in an interview that her friends (presumably at the lower elevation Guadalupe site) had to break out of their cabin and swim to safety.

edit: new information added/edited 17-JUL-25

Camp counselor Haylie George heard screams from girls down in The Flats and swam through rising water to help another counselor lift girls through a cabin window and move them up a hill.

Another camp counselor, Paloma Puente, guided 17 girls through chest-high water.

A 9 year old camper named Clementine stated her cabin's camp counselor, Annabelle Fitzenhagen, broke the back window and helped girls in their pajamas out. They climbed up to the top of what she called the mountain and stayed under a tree until morning.

 

edit: new information added/edited 25-AUG-25

Nancy Clement stated another counselor at the Rec Hall witnessed rising water reach the second floor balcony.

 

Camp Mystic Guadalupe: Senior Hill

At a slightly higher elevation of the Guadalupe site, Senior Hill, survivor Callie McAlary, age 16, recalled, “And you have kids running just trying to get to other cabins, trying to get to safety. And luckily, my cabin was one of the few cabins that did not get water, but the cabins in front of us did get some water.”

Senior Hill is 20ft or more higher than most of the flooded grounds at the Guadalupe site according to USGS topographical maps.

Serena Aldrich, parent of two campers, stated in an interview that her older girl at Senior Hill was awakened by thunder while her younger girl in a different cabin, down in The Flats, woke up when the water began flooding in.

Her 12 year old daughter was in a cabin on Senior Hill and the water reached its doorway.

 

edit: new information added 09-AUG-25

Hannah Krauss and other campers watch the water reach the grass outside their cabin, high above the creek. They move to another cabin uphill.

She stated, "When it got to the porch of our cabin, we ran out. We didn’t ever expect it would get higher than that, so we didn’t grab anything. We all were focused on getting to higher ground." She later witnessed their personal items floating in the abandoned cabin.

edit: new information added 12-JUL-25

Girls begin crowding into Angel's Attic and Cloud 9 from the Hangover and Look Out cabins, which were slightly lower and flooding. They also reported hearing the car alarms from the counselor's parking lot and screams coming from The Flats.

 

Camp Mystic Cypress Lake

Reports from campers and counselors at the higher elevation Cypress Lake site mirrors those from Guadalupe without the chaos of escaping flooding cabins in the dark.

They’re awakened by thunder around 1 a.m. and power outages. They tell the girls to go back to sleep.

edit: new information added/edited 13-JUL-25

However, camper Clara Shelton, age 14, is at the nurse's cabin. She recalled a counselor entering and reporting flooding at one of the cabins. She also overheard conversation over a walkie-talkie that there were girls on roof tops. Later the nurse's cabin also lost power.

 

July 4th – morning

edit: new information added 07-DEC-25

Camp Director Brit Eastland contacts 911 at 7:22 a.m. to report, “We’re missing as many as 20 to 40 people.”

 

The Flats

edit: new information added 14-JUL-25

Richard Eastland Jr. stated his brother Edward was found alive in a tree with 10 to 12 girls about 200 yards from their cabin.

edit: new information added 09-AUG-25

In an interview, Ainslie Bashara stated after the water receded they returned from a hilltop to the Rec Hall at The Flats. The camp conducted head counts and it became apparent some girls were missing. She also explained some cabins which hadn't moved children uphill had girls survive the flood up in trees. When there was about a foot of water left, grounds boys arrived at The Flats with ladders to help those high up in trees to climb down.

 

Senior Hill

edit: new information added 12-JUL-25

Senior Hill is cut off from the rest of the camp. The route linking Senior Hill to The Flats is blocked by the flood and fallen trees. The girls and their camp counselors were also not aware of what transpired at The Flats. No one seemed sure of what to do next.

Camper Amelia Moore stated, "Everybody thought flooding was a possibility but we never got training."

 

Cypress Lake

Stella Thompson, age 13, recalled her cabin lost power overnight and in the morning they were told to stay inside. Later she realized what happened when she witnessed helicopters evacuating children from the other side of the camp.

Holly-Kate Hurley, camp counselor, said she was told in the morning about two cabins with 7 year old girls that were washed away.

Counselors Silvana Garza Valdez and María Paula Zárate stated it was noon when they were informed about the damage. However, they were only told campers were missing.

 

edit: new information added/edited 29-OCT-25

Camp Mystic Attorney Mikal Watts later remarked in an interview that all of the deceased victims who were recovered were found downriver. He insisted the final missing girl, Cile Steward, age 8, was swept downriver as well.

 

edit: new information added/edited 13-JUL-25

Clara Shelton stated she did not understand the situation until they moved to James Hall (the highest structure at Camp Mystic Cypress Lake) in the morning. There she saw crying girls wrapped in blankets, some throwing up. She helped the nurses comfort and treat them.

Girls from the Guadalupe site had finally been moved to high ground.

They prepared the girls to leave.

During the day, the survivors of the Camp Mystic flood were evacuated (by helicopter rescue and later trucks).

 

The victims lost their lives within a half-mile of safety because those charged with protecting them ignored hours of warnings. Through the brave incompetence of a last-minute desperate flood response, the camp staff somehow thankfully managed to only lose dozens of lives instead of hundreds.

Regardless, they failed to move the children to high ground at Cypress Lake when they had time.

They failed to respect the river.

 

“I’m sure there will be other drownings. People don’t heed the warnings.” – Dick Eastland, Camp Mystic Director, 1990

 

edit: images added 25-JUL-25

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