AUSTIN, Texas (AP) 鈥� on Thursday halted plans to reopen this summer on the Texas river where floodwaters killed 25 girls and two teenage counselors, backing down and investigations that accused the all-girls Christian camp of dangerous safety and operational deficiencies.
The decision, a striking reversal of the camp owners’ , follows weeks of testimony in court hearings and legislative investigations. Those the camp鈥檚 lack of detailed planning for a flood emergency, reliance on poorly trained staff, and missed chances for an evacuation that came too late as floodwaters ripped through the camp on the banks of the Guadalupe River in the early morning hours of July Fourth.
The camp鈥檚 owner, Dick Eastland, also died in the flooding.
As recently as Tuesday, members of the Eastland family told state lawmakers the camp would be ready to open for business for nearly 900 campers on May 30. That swiftly changed with Thursday’s announcement that the camp had withdrawn its application for a license renewal for 2026.
鈥淣o administrative process or summer season should move forward while families continue to grieve, while investigations continue and while so many Texans still carry the pain of last July鈥檚 tragedy,鈥� Camp Mystic said in a statement.
A spokesperson for the Texas Department of State Health Services confirmed Thursday that the camp has withdrawn its application.
The decision was praised by Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who while investigations were ongoing.
鈥淚 am thankful to hear that, today, the Eastland family withdrew their application,鈥� Patrick said in a statement. 鈥淕iven the tragic circumstances, this is the correct decision to protect Texas campers and to allow time for all investigations to be completed.鈥�
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who has not weighed in publicly on whether the camp should reopen, noted in a statement Thursday that the result of ongoing investigations into Camp Mystic by DSHS and the Texas Rangers 鈥渨ill be made public as soon as possible.鈥�
Public hearings revealed cascading problems before and during storm
Several civil lawsuits have been filed against the camp and the Eastlands. The families of the victims have packed court and legislative hearings, often wearing 鈥淗eaven鈥檚 27鈥� pins with photographs of their daughters. They listened to the details of missed flood warning signs, the descriptions of the flood and the decision to leave the girls in their cabins until it was too late. The testimony included video of the raging floodwaters as a girl repeatedly screamed for 鈥渉elp!鈥� somewhere in the distance.
Edward Eastland, one of the camp directors, had offered a tearful public apology to the victims鈥� families on Tuesday.
鈥淲e tried our hardest that night. It wasn鈥檛 enough to save your daughters … I’m so sorry, 鈥� Eastland said, with the victims鈥� families sitting behind him.
鈥淲e are grateful that no child will be placed in the Eastlands’ care this summer,鈥� said Cici and Will Steward, whose 8-year-old daughter Cile remains the only victim still missing. The hearings proved the camp was not prepared for an emergency then or now, the Stewards said.
鈥淏ut let there be no confusion about what happened today. Camp Mystic did not withdraw its application out of grace. It withdrew because the state of Texas was about to deny it,鈥� the Stewards said.
The camp had seemed determined to reopen
Camp Mystic had been pressing hard to open in a few weeks. The camp invited journalists and lawmakers to review safety improvements at the camp, promised that no camp activities would take place in the low-lying area that was devastated and impressed that hundreds of families wanted to return, underscoring how special a place it was for generations of Texans.
But last week, state regulators noted nearly two dozen 鈥渄eficiencies鈥� in its emergency operations plan for this year. They included problems with flood warning evacuation plans, use of an emergency warning and public address system, monitoring safety alerts and training for campers about safety. State regulators noted that hundreds of other camps were also found to be deficient as they try to meet new safety standards enacted after the flood.
Camp Mystic officials insisted they would made the necessary corrections and said at least 850 campers signed up to return this year. Reports that so many families were this summer caused divisions within the close-knit community of Mystic alumni.
Camp director Britt Eastland told lawmakers this week he believed that the camp community would ultimately be grateful it had reopened this summer. That comment prompted several families to leave the hearing in anger.
Ongoing investigations into the tragedy
All told, the destructive flooding killed at least 136 people along a several-mile stretch of the river, about how things went so terribly wrong.
Texas health regulators have said they are investigating hundreds of complaints against the camp’s owners. The Texas Rangers are also looking into allegations of neglect, according to the Texas Department of Safety, although the scope of the state鈥檚 elite investigations unit was not immediately clear.
鈥淲e never imagined a world without our daughters, and no decision made now can change that,鈥� said Matthew Childress, father of 18-year-old counselor Chloe Childress who died in the flood.
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Murphy reported from Oklahoma City.
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