Camp Mystic says it’s “grieving the loss” of 27 campers and counselors
By Jayme Lozano Carver, Alejandro Serrano and Eleanor Klibanoff, The Texas Tribune
“Camp Mystic says it’s “grieving the loss” of 27 campers and counselors” was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
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KERRVILLE — The number of people killed by flooding in Central Texas increased to 90 by Monday morning as emergency officials continue searching through snapped trees and wrecked homes for people who remain missing and clouds threatened to dump more rain across the region.
Camp Mystic, a Christian camp that has been a summertime retreat for generations of Texas girls, confirmed Monday that 27 of its campers and counselors had died in the flash floods that surged through Kerrville early Friday during a deluge of rainfall. Among the dead was the camp’s director, Richard “Dick” Eastland. Local officials said at a news conference that 10 campers and one counselor were among those still unaccounted for.
“Our hearts are broken alongside our families that are enduring this unimaginable tragedy,” camp officials posted on their website. “We ask for your continued prayers, respect and privacy for each of our families affected.”
As the recovery efforts entered a third day, local government officials said the scope of the devastation was still unclear as they dealt with prank calls, false tips and rugged terrain across the 100-kilometer area they were searching.
Meanwhile, questions about a lack of sufficient warnings have continued to grow since the flash floods.
The National Weather Service issued a flood watch Thursday afternoon, predicting up to seven inches of isolated rainfall early Friday morning. At 1:14 a.m. Friday, the NWS issued the first flash flood warning. At 4:03 a.m., the NWS issued a flash flood emergency, warning of an “extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation.”
Local and state officials have since said the NWS forecasts did not accurately predict the intensity of the rainfall.
“After we come through search and rescue, after we come through the process of rebuilding, there will naturally be a period of retrospection,” said U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, who joined local officials at the Monday morning news conference. “It should not happen in a bitter and partisan sense. It should happen in a reasonable sense to say, what can we learn?”
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This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/07/texas-hill-country-flooding-camp-mystic/.
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