Camp Mystic leaders prioritized equipment, told children to 'shelter in place' as flooding closed in: lawsuit

Families of six girls who died successful flooding astatine Camp Mystic filed a wrongful decease suit alleging campy leaders ignored mounting warnings and delayed evacuations, keeping the youngest campers successful low-lying cabins adjacent the overflowing Guadalupe River.

The lawsuit, filed successful the Travis County District Court, alleges negligence and gross negligence, including nonaccomplishment to support and travel flood evacuation plans, nonaccomplishment to determination children to higher crushed erstwhile flooding began, inadequate grooming and connection systems, and operating children’s cabins successful floodplains contempt the known risk.

The suit says forecasters began flagging hazard connected July 3, citing a National Weather Service Flood Watch and Flood Advisories, but the campy failed to instrumentality proactive steps to forestall tragedy.

A hunt and rescue unpaid holds a T-shirt and backpack with the words Camp Mystic connected them successful Comfort, Texas connected July 6, 2025. (Danielle Villasana for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

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On July 4, the fateful nighttime erstwhile floodwaters overtook the girl’s camp, the suit alleges that Camp Mystic leaders met with grounds unit to unafraid instrumentality alternatively than awake the young children and bring them to contiguous safety.

At 2 a.m., the Kerr County Sheriff’s Office logged its archetypal exigency telephone astir hazardous conditions. At 2:10 a.m., counselors reported cabins taking connected h2o and, according to the complaint, were told to structure successful spot with counselors "not allowed" phones, radios oregon walkie-talkies.

Counselors who were awake began moving girls toward a hillside astir 3 a.m., with accounts of a broader evacuation astatine 3:11 a.m., the suit says.

Photos timestamped 3:26 a.m. connected July 4, 2025, amusement campers are inactive capable to locomotion toward higher crushed arsenic h2o roseate successful Camp Mystic. (Travis County District Court)

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Photos timestamped 3:26 a.m. amusement campers inactive capable to locomotion toward higher crushed arsenic h2o roseate crossed the property. By astir 3:44 a.m., doors were "breaking open" and h2o rushed in, the suit says.

Apple Watch information from leaders allegedly recorded submersion astatine 3:51 a.m. and 4:09 a.m. An exigency telephone from the campy was logged astatine 3:59 a.m.

The families accidental the youngest girls were kept successful Bubble Inn and Twins I & Twins II connected "the flats" adjacent the stream adjacent arsenic h2o rose, contempt adjacent options: a hillside astir 20 yards from Bubble Inn and a two-story commissary with exterior stairs adjacent the Twins cabins. Staff members who lived supra the commissary survived, the suit says.

The filing includes a one-page "Emergency Instructions" expanse that was recovered pursuing the Camp Mystic flooding connected July 4, 2025. (Travis County District Court)

The suit includes a one-page "Emergency Instructions" expanse that told campers to enactment wrong during floods and stated, "All cabins are constructed connected high, harmless ground." Families telephone this guidance "false and dangerous." The papers was allegedly recovered from a counselor’s trunk aft the flood.

The six families of the young girls reason the campy sits successful a FEMA-mapped flood hazard country successful a portion on the Guadalupe known arsenic "Flood Alley," citing national maps that spot cabins successful the floodway and floodplains and anterior large floods successful 1932, 1952, 1978 and 1987. FEMA identified the tract arsenic a Special Flood Hazard Area successful 2011, the suit says.

The suit names the girls arsenic Virginia "Wynne" Naylor and Jane "Janie" Hunt, some housed successful Bubble Inn; Lucy Lee Dillon and Kellyanne Elizabeth Lytal, housed successful Twins I; and Hadley Rebecca Hanna and Virginia Larins Hollis, housed successful Twins II.

All were 8 oregon 9, according to the filing. They were among 27 campers and counselors who died successful the flooding. 

In a connection to Fox News Digital, Camp Mystic said that they are "continuing to commune for the grieving families and inquire for God's healing and comfort." 

"We empathize with the families of the campers and counselors and each families successful the Hill Country who mislaid loved ones successful the horrific and unprecedented flood of July 4," Jeff Ray, ineligible counsel for Camp Mystic, said successful a connection to Fox News Digital.

"We mean to show and beryllium that this abrupt surge of floodwaters acold exceeded immoderate erstwhile flood successful the country by respective magnitudes, that it was unexpected and that nary capable informing systems existed successful the area. We disagree with respective accusations and misinformation successful the ineligible filings regarding the actions of Camp Mystic and Dick Eastland, who mislaid his beingness arsenic well. We volition thoroughly respond to these accusations successful owed course," helium said. 

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Here is simply a elaborate look astatine what the ailment alleges betwixt the aboriginal warnings connected July 3 and the greeting of July 4:

TIMELINE

JULY 2

5:47 p.m. — Texas exigency officials activated a flood effect up of expected storms, according to the complaint.

JULY 3

10:48 a.m. — The National Weather Service issued a Flood Watch for the country and pushed this accusation done societal media, newscasts and different exigency connection systems astatine 2:35 p.m.

6:26 p.m. – The National Water Center sent its ain "rapid onset flooding" informing and "locally sizeable impacts," into aboriginal July 4.

11:13 p.m. — A Flood Advisory was posted for Kerr County with "significant flooding likely."

Deceased victims who person been identified successful Texas floods connected backdrop of swollen Guadalupe River. (Rachel Wolf/Fox News Digital; The Marsh Family; The McCown Family; LeslieEastland/Facebook; Missy Peck; Facebook; GoFundMe; Bellows Family; Rhae Brunswick via AP)

JULY 4

1:14 a.m. — The NWS issued an Emergency Flash Flood Warning saying "life-threatening flash flooding" was underway; campy leaders received oregon rapidly learned of the alert.

1:45 a.m. — Workers who had been offsite returned "after a harrowing drive," according to the complaint’s relationship of the nighttime watchman’s interview.

1:47 a.m. — Camp leaders met grounds unit and began securing instrumentality astir the property, the suit says.

2 a.m. — The Kerr County Sheriff’s Department logged its archetypal exigency telephone telephone astir hazardous conditions, according to the complaint.

2:10 a.m. — Counselors reported cabins taking connected h2o and were told to structure successful place; the filing says counselors successful cabins were not allowed phones, radios oregon walkie-talkies.

2:13 a.m. — Leaders were inactive securing instrumentality portion counselors and children sheltered successful place, the suit states.

Camp Mystic is shown successful Hunt, Texas, connected Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (Ashley Landis/AP Photo)

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2:19 a.m. — Staff "became aware" of h2o entering the Bug House compartment and instructed counselors to enactment towels astatine the doorway and stay, the suit alleges.

2:25 a.m. — The gatekeeper called campy enactment and said that the gross location was taking successful water. The gatekeeper calls the concern "very serious."

2:30 a.m. — Some evacuations began; conditions were excessively terrible for a conveyance rescue, the filing says.

3 a.m. — Some counselors woke connected their ain and started moving girls toward a hillside to safety.

3:11 a.m. — Counselors astatine higher elevations reported being woken to commencement evacuation of river-adjacent cabins, according to the complaint.

A presumption wrong of a compartment astatine Camp Mystic, the tract of wherever astatine slightest 20 girls went missing aft flash flooding successful Hunt, Texas, connected July 5, 2025. (Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images)

3:26 a.m. — Time-stamped photos showed campers walking done h2o toward higher ground.

3:30 a.m. — Kerrville exigency services received galore requests for airlift assistance, the suit says.

3:44 a.m. — Doors were "breaking open" arsenic h2o rushed in, according to the filing.

3:51 a.m. — Apple Watch information allegedly showed person Dick Eastland’s instrumentality was submerged.

3:59 a.m. — An exigency telephone was placed from Camp Mystic.

4:09 a.m. — Apple Watch information allegedly showed person Edward Eastland’s instrumentality was submerged.

People permission flowers for the victims of the deadly flood successful Kerrville, Texas, the United States, connected July 12, 2025. (Nick Wagner/Xinhua via Getty Images)

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9:44 a.m. to 10:57 a.m. — Texts from a campy person said they were inactive searching, and that rescue boats were connected the river, according to the lawsuit.