{"id":268802,"date":"2026-04-27T22:02:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T22:02:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/268802\/"},"modified":"2026-04-27T22:02:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T22:02:07","slug":"texas-lawmakers-hear-investigator-cite-planning-failures-in-deadly-camp-mystic-floods","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/268802\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas lawmakers hear investigator cite planning failures in deadly Camp Mystic floods"},"content":{"rendered":"

AUSTIN, Texas \u2014 Texas lawmakers investigating the deadly Camp Mystic floods last July heard testimony<\/a> Monday from an investigator who said a lack of planning<\/a>, resources and coordination contributed to the deaths of 27 campers and counselors<\/a> during the July 4, 2025, flood event<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Families of some of the 25 campers and two counselors who died were brought to tears inside the Texas State Capitol as investigator Casey Garrett outlined what she described as key moments that led to the deaths.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe impact crater is unbelievable. It\u2019s just shattering,\u201d Garrett said.<\/p>\n

A joint House and Senate committee heard from Garrett Monday morning. She is investigating the July 2025 Camp Mystic flood at the request of lawmakers.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur marching orders were to focus on the scope that you gave us,\u201d Garrett said.<\/p>\n

Garrett said the camp failed on July 4 because it lacked resources and planning, including staffing, equipment and communication devices. She said counselors told her they were unprepared for that type of emergency.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was never any real training. There were never drills,\u201d Garrett said.<\/p>\n

One week ago, state lawmakers toured the Camp Mystic site<\/a>. Days later, the Texas Department of State Health Services released a letter noting 22 deficiencies<\/a> in the camp\u2019s submitted emergency plan, including flood evacuation procedures.<\/p>\n

Garrett pointed to evacuation problems on the night of the floods.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut there was no system for getting those girls from Jumble House to Rec Hall,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

PREVIOUS COVERAGE | Witnesses testify on last day of Camp Mystic lawsuit<\/a><\/p>\n

State Rep. Morgan Meyer, R-Dallas, told those attending the hearing that lawmakers are committed to reviewing what happened.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we can offer and are committed to is a process grounded in accountability, transparency and a full examination of the facts,\u201d Meyer said.<\/p>\n

State Sen. Jose Menendez, D-San Antonio, proposed a change he said could improve emergency readiness at camps by tying inspections to arrival day.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo one of the improvements we could do is we could schedule the inspection to be on the same day as campers arrive and then they practice drills,\u201d Menendez said. \u201cTherefore the inspector can actually witness the drill.\u201d<\/p>\n

Garrett also raised concerns about what she described as a lack of incident command after floodwaters receded. During the hearing, state Rep. Erin Gamez, D-Brownsville, asked, \u201cWhen you say lack of unified command what can we do as far as the state responding to that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a bit outside my expertise. I think it\u2019s excellent questions for TDEM,\u201d Garrett responded, referring to the Texas Division of Emergency Management. \u201cWhat I do know is there was a deep failure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Day two of the hearing is scheduled for Tuesday at the Capitol with more witness testimony. Lawmakers are expected to hear from at least one parent who went out to rescue his daughter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"AUSTIN, Texas \u2014 Texas lawmakers investigating the deadly Camp Mystic floods last July heard testimony Monday from an…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":268803,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[27,29,28],"class_list":["post-268802","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268802","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=268802"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268802\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/268803"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=268802"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=268802"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=268802"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}