TEXAS — Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is recommending that the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) not grant Camp Mystic a new camping license, according to a letter posted on X.
The camp near Hunt, Texas, saw 27 campers and counselors die in Fourth of July floods last year. In the post, Patrick said that he does not feel comfortable sending his grandchildren to the camp given those events, and that they should have suspended operations until the investigation was finished.
“It would be naïve to allow Camp Mystic to return to normal operations before all of the facts are known,” Patrick said in the letter. “Camp Mystic should have decided on their own to suspend operations this coming summer, but it appears they are planning for camp in 2026 and will likely be seeking your approval to operate with a renewed license.”
I sent the following letter to @TexasDSHS urging them not to issue a 2026 camping license to Camp Mystic.
Later this spring, the Texas Senate will hold a joint investigative hearing with the Texas House on the 27 little girls who died in Camp Mystic’s custody last summer.… pic.twitter.com/31xuDrx0e3
— Office of the Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick (@LtGovTX) February 23, 2026
The letter follows a federal lawsuit that was filed by the parents of the deceased against the state of Texas. The suit alleges that the camp did not have proper evacuation procedures in place and was negligent in its handling of the flood.
“The DSHS officials responsible for licensing youth camps deliberately looked the other way,” Yetter said in a written statement. “While Camp Mystic bears responsibility and is also being sued, state officials knew the camp’s emergency plan lacked a required evacuation component and still licensed the camp as safe.”
As first reported by the Texas Tribune, Mikal Watts, Camp Mystic’s attorney, has stated that the camp is following state law. State Rep. Wes Virdell, R-Brady, whose district includes Camp Mystic, posted on X his disagreement with Patrick’s assessment.
“The camp is not reopening the same cabins that were in the flood,” Virdell said. “Also, the camp was hit with an unprecedented flood that has not been seen in centuries, and Camp Mystic is the first camp to install the new flood warning systems way ahead of help from the government.”
Virdell continued in his post that he believes this is purely a political charge against the camp.
“I offered amendments that would have fixed the camp safety bill and instead we are facing a lot of camp closures that have zero flood risk,” Virdell said. “I am strongly of the belief that this bill was directly targeted at shutting Camp Mystic down and the charge was led by some very strong political influencers behind the scenes. Now that Camp Mystic has managed to make it through the excessive requirements of the bill, it looks like they are trying to take the camp down through another route.”
The families of the Camp Mystic victims have been active in safety advocacy across the country with similar camps. It is unknown what the future of Camp Mystic will be after pending lawsuits and government investigations.