Camp Mystic, the Christian all-girls camp where 25 campers and two teenage counselors died when floodwaters tore through the property on July 4, 2025, is now the focus of a Texas criminal inquiry.<\/p>\n
Here’s what to know<\/p>\n
No charges have been filed, but court filings show the Texas Rangers are trying to obtain electronic communications from the camp’s owners because investigators believe those messages could contain evidence tied to manslaughter, negligent homicide, child abandonment, or other offenses, the Associated Press reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n When the Guadalupe River spilled over before dawn on July 4, 2025, camp owner Richard Eastland also died along with the campers and counselors who lost their lives.<\/p>\n Texas Rangers investigator Brant Johnston wrote in an affidavit that the owners did not move children out of low-lying cabins even after monitoring late-night flood warnings. He also described Camp Mystic’s emergency planning as inadequate, said drills or training were not carried out, and wrote that some cabins lacked enough adult counselors.<\/p>\n More background<\/p>\n The Associated Press described Camp Mystic as a long-standing summer tradition for generations of families, with girls going there to ride horses, canoe, fish, and attend Bible studies.<\/p>\n At least 136 people died along several miles of the river, bringing more attention to unanswered questions about the catastrophe.<\/p>\n Although Johnston said investigators interviewed witnesses, flood victims, and others tied to the camp, he wrote that some people \u2014 including Eastland family members and other senior camp officials \u2014 declined to be interviewed. Even so, the family and camp leaders have appeared in courtrooms and before the state legislature, where camp director Edward Eastland offered a tearful apology.<\/p>\n In 2026, the camp stayed closed and sought bankruptcy reorganization.<\/p>\n What’s being done?<\/p>\n The Associated Press reported that warrants carried out in September were intended to obtain the camp owners’ electronic communications.<\/p>\n Representing the family of victim Cile Steward, attorneys Christina Yarnell and Brad Beckworth said they welcomed the warrants but argued they should not have been necessary. Steward’s body still has not been found.<\/p>\n “For more than a year, families of the 27 angels killed at Camp Mystic have fought, begged, and pleaded with the Eastland family for accountability and answers,” Yarnell and Beckworth said in a written statement. “Instead, the Eastlands have held hostage the information and answers owed to parents who deserve, more than anyone, to know the details surrounding their daughters’ final moments.”<\/p>\n Johnston’s conclusion was even harsher, stating, “Camp Mystic, LLC was aware of and consciously disregarded a substantial and unjustifiable risk of death to the campers in their care.”<\/p>\n Where can I learn more?<\/p>\n These stories offer helpful context on the Texas floods and the questions surrounding Camp Mystic.<\/p>\n \u2022 Camp Mystic parents said commonsense safety measures were absent<\/a> as Texas lawmakers weighed reforms.<\/p>\n \u2022 Meteorologist Travis Herzog shed light on the intensity<\/a> of Texas’ deadly flash flooding.<\/p>\n \u2022 As grief spread in Texas, claims that cloud seeding caused<\/a> the floods quickly followed.<\/p>\n Get TCD’s free newsletters<\/a> for easy tips, smart advice, and a chance to earn $5,000 toward home upgrades. To see more stories like this one, change your Google preferences here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Camp Mystic, the Christian all-girls camp where 25 campers and two teenage counselors died when floodwaters tore through…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":451964,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[2330,27,29,28,429],"class_list":["post-451963","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-camp-mystic","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news","tag-texas-rangers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451963","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=451963"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451963\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/451964"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=451963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=451963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=451963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}