<\/p>\n
Wildflowers bloom along Highway 39, near a memorial honoring those killed in the July 4 floods, beside the Guadalupe River in front of Camp Mystic in Hunt, Texas, on Monday, April 20, 2026.<\/p>\n
Sam Owens\/San Antonio Express-News<\/p>\n
Texas state lawmakers serving on general investigating committees examining the July 2025 flooding walk the grounds of Camp Mystic during a site visit in Hunt, Texas, on Monday, April 20, 2026.<\/p>\n
Sam Owens\/San Antonio Express-News<\/p>\n
Camp Mystic\u2019s leaders failed at almost every step to prepare for and respond<\/a> to the devastating July 4 floods that ultimately killed 25 campers and two counselors, according to a report delivered Thursday to a special legislative committee formed to investigate the tragedy.<\/p>\n The report concluded that the Hill Country Christian camp did not have written emergency plans in violation of state requirements; did not adequately prepare for the floods, despite storm warnings; and did not evacuate campers in advance of the flash floods, despite \u201cample opportunity\u201d to do so.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was no plan,\u201d said Michael Massengale, a former district judge and one of the investigators hired by the committee. This lack of planning violated state licensing requirements for camps and led to preventable deaths, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n READ MORE: Camp Mystic failed to train teenage counselors for floods, expert tells lawmakers<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cA plan that existed only in Dick Eastland’s head is not a plan that satisfied the state\u2019s rules for camps like Camp Mystic,\u201d he said, referring to the camp\u2019s longtime leader who died in the floods.\u00a0<\/p>\n The release of the report marks the end of a months-long investigation that lawmakers said was needed to fully understand what went wrong at Camp Mystic and offer families a chance to share their experiences.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Camp Mystic had initially planned to reopen this summer, but abandoned those plans at the end of April<\/a> after fierce opposition from lawmakers and families who lost their daughters. The camp is still facing several wrongful death lawsuits.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n At a hearing in April, members of the Eastland family who ran\u00a0the camp<\/a> said they were still grappling with grief and had done the best they could under the circumstances.<\/p>\n