Camp Mystic is liable as hell

Camp Mystic is liable as hell. Here’s why:

The Disaster — July 4, 2025

Camp Mystic is a private non-denominational Christian girls’ summer camp in Kerr County, Texas, near the confluence of the South Fork Guadalupe River and Cypress Creek. The camp was hosting 750 campers at the beginning of July 2025. 

At 1:18 a.m. CDT on July 3, 2025, the National Weather Service issued a flood watch for Kerr County and surrounding areas. At about 4:00 a.m. on July 4, flash flooding began. The Guadalupe River rose 26 feet in approximately 45 minutes. 

It was later reported that camp director Dick Eastland, age 70, had received a flash flood warning at 1:14 a.m. but did not begin evacuations until around 2:30 a.m. — more than an hour later. By that time, the river was already rising rapidly. 

Twenty-seven people died: 24 campers aged 8–10, two counselors aged 18 and 19, and Dick Eastland himself, who died while attempting to rescue campers. His body was found in an SUV along with those of three campers.  As of this week, the body of 8-year-old Cile Steward has still not been recovered. 

The Pre-Disaster Red Flags

These are legally significant and form the core of the negligence claims:

• Between 2011 and 2020, FEMA revised its Special Flood Hazard Area maps to exclude 30 camp buildings following appeals from the camp, possibly due to concerns about insurance costs or increased regulation. By 2025, at least 12 camp structures were again considered to be within the Special Flood Hazard Area. 

• The camp was not accredited by the American Camp Association, which recommends that campers and staff be trained to respond to natural disasters. 

• Under Texas state regulations, the camp was required to have an emergency plan, which officials approved on July 2 — just two days before the flood. Texas does not approve or retain copies of such plans; camps are only required to demonstrate that a plan exists. 

• The camp also had prior flood history — flooding occurred in 1978 (when staff evacuated campers by station wagon to higher ground) and again in 1984. 

The Lawsuits

In November 2025, the families of six children and two counselors killed in the flooding filed lawsuits against the camp’s owners and other parties, claiming negligence. The suits allege that despite the camp being located in a known high-risk flood zone, campers were told to remain in their cabins, the camp had not adopted a legally required evacuation plan, and staff prioritized saving equipment over evacuation — creating what the filings described as a “self-created” disaster. 

The Steward family is among a dozen families now suing Camp Mystic and its leaders for negligent behavior during and leading up to the flood. 

The Current Court Proceedings (April 2026)

This is where things stand right now, just days ago:

Camp director Edward Eastland testified Monday that he did not see the official flood warnings issued the day before the storm hit, that staff had no meetings about the pending danger, and that the call to evacuate was not made until it was too late. 

A 911 call revealed that a trapped counselor tried to reach camp leadership for over four hours with no success while the site was flooding. 

A central issue is whether Camp Mystic had adequate warning before floodwaters surged, with attorneys arguing earlier action could have saved lives. The hearing also touched on disputed licensing documents submitted to the Texas Department of State Health Services — attorneys questioned why camp materials referenced river activities despite a court order restricting use of the flood-damaged Guadalupe River site. Eastland testified the document was uploaded in error. 

As of Wednesday, April 15, a judge ordered that the flood-damaged site must remain untouched — the Eastlands cannot clean up or renovate while the lawsuit proceeds. 

The Reopening Fight

The Eastland family has promised to never again use the damaged cabins to house children and intends to open camp this summer at a different location on higher ground — the Cypress Lake campus. 

Camp Mystic’s safety plan for reopening includes flood-warning river monitors, two-way radios in every cabin with national weather alerts, and high-capacity generators — measures the camp says exceed new state-mandated requirements passed after the disaster. 

Texas health regulators are investigating hundreds of complaints filed against the camp, while the Texas Rangers are conducting a separate criminal investigation into potential neglect. 

Bottom Line for a Litigator

From a plaintiff’s perspective, this case has significant negligence exposure: prior flood history on the property, a FEMA map manipulation that reduced hazard classification for insurance purposes, a legally hollow emergency plan approved days before the disaster, no ACA accreditation, a documented delay in acting on a 1:14 a.m. flood warning, and a trapped counselor unable to reach camp leadership for four hours. The evidence preservation order just issued is critical — the physical condition of those cabins could be key to establishing what structural choices were made and where children were placed. The criminal investigation by the Texas Rangers adds another layer that could affect the civil case significantly.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​