A Texas judge refused to shut down Camp Mystic, where 27 people died in catastrophic flooding last year. The court did order preservation of evidence while lawsuits from victims' families proceed.
AUSTIN, Texas — A district court judge in Texas refused Wednesday to shut down Camp Mystic, the girls’ summer camp where devastating floods claimed the lives of 25 campers and two staff members last year.
District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble rejected the closure request while a wrongful death lawsuit moves forward, but she did impose restrictions on the camp’s operators. The judge prohibited any alterations or demolition of the flooded cabins and banned use of the camp area nearest the Guadalupe River where those structures stood.
The legal motion came from relatives of 8-year-old Cile Steward, who perished in the floodwaters and whose remains have never been found. Her family sought to prevent the facility from reopening and stop all construction work during ongoing litigation. They argued that any modifications to the property could eliminate crucial evidence for their case.
The tragedy unfolded in the early morning hours of July 4th when rapidly rising waters surged through the camp’s lower elevations. The disaster ultimately took 136 lives across the region, prompting widespread questions about emergency preparedness and response.
Founded nearly a century ago in 1926, the camp chose not to evacuate as river levels climbed dramatically from 14 feet to 29.5 feet in just one hour.
“The worst thing you can do is put a bunch of 8-year-olds on a bus and try to drive them out of there, They all would have drowned,” stated Mikal Watts, legal counsel representing Camp Mystic and its ownership family.
During Wednesday’s emotional hearing, grieving relatives filled the courtroom wearing memorial buttons showing photos of their lost children. Camp attorneys presented images of commemorative trees and architectural plans for rebuilding portions of the facility beyond the 1,000-year flood plain.
Legal representatives for the camp expressed condolences to affected families while asserting that little could have been done to prevent the unprecedented natural disaster. Court proceedings included photographic evidence of the rising floodwaters.
“Nobody had every seen a prior flood anything like we saw in 2025,” Watts commented.
According to testimony, more than 850 children have already registered for this summer’s camping session.
Edward Eastland, whose father Richard Eastland owned the camp and died in the flooding, described his family’s harrowing escape. He testified that floodwaters burst through the doors of their camp residence, forcing his mother, wife, children and a staff member to break a window and flee to safety.
Eastland revealed that while security cameras monitored the property, no one was observing the live footage during the overnight hours as water levels rose. When he attempted to access the system around 3 a.m., it was no longer functioning.
The camp’s decision to partially reopen last year and build a memorial sparked anger among many bereaved families who felt excluded from planning discussions.
“We call on Camp Mystic to halt all discussions of reopening and memorials,” CiCi and Will Steward wrote to camp leadership after the reopening announcement.
Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick has urged state regulators to deny license renewal for Camp Mystic pending completion of the death investigation and upcoming legislative hearings scheduled for spring.
Multiple families have filed lawsuits against camp management, claiming officials failed to implement adequate safety measures as dangerous floodwaters threatened the facility.