Three lawsuits that were filed separately Monday allege Camp Mystic officials’ lack of planning and stalled evacuation contributed to the deaths of several children and counselors.
The families of seven Camp Mystic campers and two counselors who died during the July 4 flooding filed three separate lawsuits against the camp on Monday, alleging that camp officials’ failure to evacuate the camp caused their children’s deaths.
More than 130 people died throughout Central Texas during the disastrous July 4 floods, including 25 campers and two counselors at Camp Mystic, whom their families call “Heaven’s 27.”
The lawsuits, filed in Travis County district court and seeking more than $1 million each in damages, comes after months of scrutiny aimed at Camp Mystic’s response to the flooding and the placement of several of its cabins in a floodplain. The lawsuits name several members of the Eastland family, who own and operate Camp Mystic, as defendants, including the estate of Richard “Dick” Eastland, who died during the floods attempting to save several campers.
“We carry the memory of our daughter in everything we do. This legal step is one of honoring her, and we believe that truth and justice are essential to finding peace — not only for our family, but for every family affected,” Ryan DeWitt, the father of 9-year-old Molly DeWitt, said in a statement.
The largest lawsuit from the parents of five campers and two counselors alleges that a cascading series of decisions by Camp Mystic’s leadership culminated in a “self-created disaster” that caused the campers’ deaths. The suit claims that camp equipment was evacuated before children and that counselors and campers in vulnerable cabins were told to wait rather than evacuate.
Camp Mystic parents were at the forefront of efforts during this year’s special legislative sessions to impose stricter regulations on summer camps, and they highlighted both state regulatory gaps and Camp Mystic’s flawed evacuation plan as points of failure amid the historic flooding.
In a statement, Camp Mystic legal counsel Jeff Ray said the camp intends to prove no adequate warning systems were available on July 4 to warn them and that there was misinformation in the parents’ suit. Mikal Watts, the camp’s attorney, said many of the lawsuit’s claims and public perceptions about Camp Mystic were “categorically false.” Watts said the camp’s leadership has the utmost empathy for the parents and their loss.
Source: Ayden Runnels, The Texas Tribune
Photo Credit: Parents of Camp Mystic girls who died during the Guadalupe River flooding on July 4, 2025 pack seats in the Senate chamber to view passage of Senate Bill 1. which strengthened summer camp regulations to help prevent future tragedies. Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune
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