Camp Mystic relied on teen counselors with no emergency training before flood, investigator says

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Young and inexperienced Camp Mystic counselors were not trained to help campers during floods or other emergencies and were afraid to make decisions on their own, an investigator investigating the 2025 flood that killed 27 counselors and campers told Texas lawmakers Monday.

Lawmakers heard an emotional and sweeping examination of the camp “obedience” culture that paired poorly trained young counselors with the youngest campers; was happy with flood warnings; their communication was poor; and evacuation efforts were critically delayed.

Casey Garrett, investigator for a special legislative committee, said there was never any real training or any drills for counselors or campers on what to do or where to go in the event of a flood threat. He was speaking at the committee’s first hearing on the July 4 flood that devastated the all-girls Christian camp along the Guadalupe River.

Twenty-five campers and two teenage counselors were killed. Camp owner Richard Eastland was also killed while desperately trying to evacuate the girls to higher ground.

Garrett stated that most of the victims were under the age of 10, and some were attending the camp for the first time.

Many of the grim details had already been made public through hearings, media reports and interviews, but the state report, which included interviews with nearly 150 people, including campers, counselors, the Eastland family and victims’ families, presented them in a stark, streamlined examination.

“The fate of these girls was sealed before even a drop of rain fell.” Senator Charles Perry said during the hearing.

He continued: “Things that were common sense and should have been done were not done.”

Victim families filled the hearing

Dozens of victim family members filled the committee room Monday. Some cried or walked out when photos of the victims and the destroyed campsite were displayed or when they heard the names of their loved ones read aloud.

The report included some heartbreaking testimonies from survivors, including one girl who was dragged more than 6 miles down the river. He told investigators he was pulled underwater several times before hitting a pile of debris and falling asleep. He was rescued the next morning by two women who heard his cries for help.

Garrett said he remembers the flood water in one of the girls’ cabin rising so high that her chin touched the ceiling. A counselor told investigators that he pushed the girls under the water to get them out of the door of a flooded cabin.

The committee saw video showing water flowing into the building through cracks in the door. In the video taken by a stranded camper on his mobile phone, a girl can be heard shouting “Help!” He can be heard shouting. in the dark, in raging flood waters.

Garrett interviewed a counselor who said he climbed to the top of a two-story lounge that held about 100 campers. He described their fear as rising floodwaters closing in on them.

Campers and counselors had no emergency training

Garrett, a Houston attorney who also helped report to the Legislature on the 2022 Uvalde school shootings, noted several times the lack of emergency training for youth counselors and child campers.

There was no detailed evacuation plan, he said, and the only instruction to girls in the camp’s low-lying areas was a one-paragraph instruction telling them to “stay in their cabins unless told otherwise by the office.” All cabins are built in high, secure locations. State inspectors approved this plan two days before the flood.

Eventually, some counselors took matters into their own hands and pushed the girls through the cabin windows to climb a hill.

“This was not a plan. It was not a safe plan. Thank God, it was an option taken,” Garrett said. “It was a very special event.”

The owners of Camp Mystic are seeking permission to reopen in late May and have said they will only use parts of the camp that are not flooded. About 900 girls are expected to come to campus this summer. The reopening plans have angered victims’ families, and some prominent state officials have called on state regulators to deny or delay the renewal of the license, which is now under review.

Last year, Texas lawmakers passed new measures calling for more detailed planning and training and the establishment of emergency alert systems. The Legislature does not meet again until January 2027, and the panel does not control the review of Camp Mystic’s license.

Researcher tells about the amazing owner of the camp

Some counselors told researchers they feared children would get in trouble if they took them to higher ground or into the storm without clear instructions.

Garrett described the camp’s “obedience-encouraging” culture, dominated by Eastland, the camp’s patriarch. Some members of the Eastland family and camp staff referred to him as “The General” and “The Eagle.”

“He made the decision,” his wife, Tweety, told investigators. Several Eastland family members attended the hearing.

“He was running the show there… You didn’t really cross him,” Garrett said.

The camp relied almost entirely on Eastland on how to handle a flood emergency. The owner’s son, Edward Eastland, testified in a lawsuit filed last week that a detailed flood evacuation plan was only in his father’s mind.

Richard Eastland and several girls were found dead in his vehicle after he tried to drive them to safety. Edward Eastland was swept into a tree by floodwaters. Camp security guard Glenn Juenke survived despite being trapped in a flooded cabin with campers.

Garrett described Richard Eastland as a popular camp leader who taught generations of girls to fish. He was a master at reassuring young campers who were nervous about leaving home for the first time.

“We know that Dick Eastland loved every little girl that came to Camp Mystic,” Garrett said.