Camp Mystic families sue Texas officials after deadly 2025 flood

Families of nine campers and counselors at Camp Mystic who died after destructive flooding swept across Central Texas in 2025 are suing health officials, claiming they failed to enforce an evacuation plan required by state law.

The lawsuit, filed on Monday, Feb. 23, in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, accuses Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) officials of deliberately failing to follow state law and depriving the victims of their “constitutional rights to life and bodily integrity.” The families are seeking general and compensatory damages and “all other relief that is equitable.”

The suit was filed against six DSHS officials, including Commissioner Jennifer Shuford, Timothy H. Stevenson, Jeffrey Adam Buuck, Annabelle Dillard, Lindsey Eudey, and Maricela Torres Zamarripa. The officials were involved in the oversight and inspection of Texas youth camps.

The lawsuit alleges that DSHS had licensed Camp Mystic, a Christian girls’ camp at the edge of the Guadalupe River, despite the camp not having an evacuation plan as required by the state and camp safety rules. According to the suit, youth camps are mandated to have written emergency plans posted in each cabin.

But the suit states that 27 campers and counselors at Camp Mystic died on July 4, 2025, because “the camp had no plan to evacuate the riverside cabins where the girls slept.” The camp’s emergency policy had instructed campers not to evacuate during a flood, which “delayed moving girls to safety until it was too late,” according to the lawsuit.

“Last July 4th, the floods came and, inevitably, chaos ensued. Young campers and counselors were killed because the camp had no plan,” the lawsuit adds. “The camp is responsible, but so are the state officials who helped create this inexcusable risk to life by directing and executing a policy of non-compliance with Texas law.”

Camp Mystic has faced scrutiny for its actions since the catastrophic flooding, including its announcement of plans to reopen for business even as one victim of the disaster remains missing. On Monday, Feb. 23, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick urged the department not to issue a 2026 camping license to Camp Mystic.

The department did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment on Monday, Feb. 23.

‘It was a safe space’: Camp Mystic girls had a safe haven by the river for 100 years. Then, the flood came.

Lawsuit says Texas health inspector reported Camp Mystic had written emergency plan

In the early morning of July 4, 2025, flooding triggered by unrelenting rain that overwhelmed the Guadalupe River swept away dozens of girls at the historic camp.

The camp, founded in 1926, has many occupied structures, including some cabins located less than 250 feet from the river, according to the lawsuit. The area is prone to deadly floods due to its location in a low-lying area, known as “Flash Flood Alley,” the suit states.

In total, 27 campers and counselors at Camp Mystic died in the flood. The camp’s owner and director, Richard “Dick” Eastland, also died in the flood, reportedly while trying to save campers.

According to the lawsuit, DSHS has been responsible for oversight of Texas camps for more than 20 years. The department’s Youth Camp Program “licenses, inspects, provides outreach and education, and enforces rules and statutes related to youth camps,” the lawsuit states.

The suit alleges that while DSHS officials evaluated camps annually, the department’s inspectors “systematically ignored required safety rules” and failed to verify whether camps actually had plans to evacuate campers in case of a disaster as required by state law.

The lawsuit further alleges that the department licensed Camp Mystic despite the camp not having an evacuation plan.

The suit also states that DSHS inspector Torres Zamarripa had reported the camp had a written disaster plan about a year before the flooding. She visited the camp for its annual inspection two days before the flood and issued a report two days after the incident, stating again that the camp had required emergency plans and cited no violation, according to the lawsuit.

“DSHS officials quietly decided not to enforce this requirement. For at least a decade, they licensed a camp on the banks of a river, in the heart of ‘Flash Flood Alley,’ with no evacuation plan,” the lawsuit states. “In fact, officials knew the camp had an anti-evacuation plan – a ‘stay put’ policy.”

Camp Mystic faces scrutiny over plans to reopen

Last September, Camp Mystic announced plans to reopen at a nearby location with enhanced safety measures, including flood-warning river monitors, cabin speakers, and higher-capacity generators that would help maintain communication with emergency personnel.

“We are preparing for next summer at Camp Mystic Cypress Lake and we know that safety is of the utmost concern to all of you, as it is for us,” the statement read.

The camp said it was planning to reopen in late May 2026 and operate until early August for six terms, each lasting 10 days. The location expected to host campers is about 500 yards from the site that was destroyed by flooding.

The camp’s announcement drew widespread criticism, including the parents of one of the victims, Cecilia “Cile” Steward, the only child who remains missing after the flood and was presumed dead. The parents of the 8-year-old girl, CiCi and Will Steward, are suing the camp, members of the Eastland family who have run it for decades, and other owners.

“Cile was taken from us 7 months ago and while we recognize this lawsuit will not bring her back, we feel compelled to ensure the truth of Camp Mystic’s failures are exposed,” CiCi and Will Steward said in a statement earlier this month through their attorneys at the Austin, Texas-based Nix Patterson law firm.

The Stewards’ lawsuit was the latest filed over the deaths of campers. In November 2025, a group of other families of campers who died also sued for negligence.

‘We are heartbroken’: Texas flood victims remembered by families and communities

Texas lieutenant governor says camp should not receive license for 2026 season

In a letter to the DSHS on Monday, Feb. 23, Patrick requested that state officials delay renewing Camp Mystic’s license for the summer 2026 camp season. The letter was shared on social media hours after the nine families filed the lawsuit against department officials.

“It has come to my attention that Camp Mystic is soliciting and accepting applications for the summer of 2026 camp season,” Patrick wrote in the letter. “Twenty-eight lives were taken, and until these deaths are investigated and any necessary corrective actions are taken to ensure this never happens again, a camp license should not be issued to Camp Mystic.”

The lieutenant governor noted that the Texas Senate and House are scheduled to hold a joint investigative hearing on the deadly flooding in the spring. According to Patrick, the state Senate established an investigating committee on the floods that will “gather the facts surrounding this extreme loss of life at Camp Mystic.”

“I expect, after those facts are determined, there may be necessary corrective actions for Camp Mystic to take to make sure future campers and counselors are safe and do not lose their lives,” Patrick added. “It would be naive to allow Camp Mystic to return to normal operations before all of the facts are known. Camp Mystic should have decided on their own to suspend operations this coming summer, but it appears they are planning for camp in 2026 and will likely be seeking your approval to operate with a renewed license.”

Contributing: Marc Ramirez and Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY; Reuters