Households of seven women and camp counselors killed within the July 4 Camp Mystic flood in Hunt, Texas, have filed a wrongful demise and negligence lawsuit, alleging the camp's house owners ignored flood dangers and state security guidelines to guard income.
The lawsuit, filed Nov. 10 in Travis County District Court docket by lawyer R. Paul Yetter of Yetter Coleman LLP, names the households of Anna Margaret Bellows, Lila Bonner, Chloe Childress, Molly DeWitt, Katherine Ferruzzo, Lainey Landry and Blakely McCrory — all of whom died within the catastrophic flooding.
The 75-page petition claims Camp Mystic and its house owners “put revenue over security” and “selected to accommodate younger women in flood-prone areas to keep away from the price of relocating cabins.”
It additionally accuses the camp of failing to create or comply with an evacuation plan, regardless of state laws requiring one.
“Simply such a tragedy hit our State on July 4, 2025,” the lawsuit reads. “When 25 campers and two counselors needlessly and tragically died within the floodwaters at Camp Mystic.”
Camp Mystic spans 725 acres alongside the Guadalupe River within the Texas Hill Nation, an space lengthy identified for lethal flash floods. The submitting cites a 1990 interview with then-director Richard Eastland, who reportedly instructed the Austin-American Statesman, “I'm certain there shall be different drownings. Individuals don't heed the warnings.”
Based on the lawsuit, the camp ignored a number of warnings — from climate alerts, workers issues, and its personal expertise.
Counselors allegedly pleaded to evacuate women from low-lying cabins however have been instructed to “keep put as a result of that's the plan.”
TIMELINE DETAILED IN THE LAWSUIT:
• 1:14 a.m. — Nationwide Climate Service issued a “life-threatening flash flood” warning.
• 1:45 a.m.–2:13 a.m. — Camp leaders Richard and Edward Eastland allegedly labored to maneuver tools as a substitute of ordering an evacuation.
• 2:20 a.m. — Counselors reported water getting into cabins however have been instructed to stay inside.
• 2:30–3:30 a.m. — 5 cabins have been evacuated to the Rec Corridor; six others have been left behind, together with Nut Hut, Chatter Field, Wiggle Inn, Giggle Field, Twins, and Bubble Inn.
• 3:35–3:51 a.m. — Richard Eastland's SUV was swept away as he tried to rescue women from Bubble Inn; all 13 campers and two counselors in that cabin drowned.
• 3:35–4:09 a.m. — Eleven campers died in Twins Cabin after being instructed to remain as a result of “the water would return down.”
The petition argues that the women might have safely evacuated inside 60 seconds to increased floor if not ordered to stay of their cabins.
Households accuse Camp Mystic of gross negligence, premises legal responsibility, and intentional infliction of emotional misery.
The submitting additionally highlights a written coverage stating: “In case of flood, all campers on Senior Hill should keep of their cabins… All cabins are constructed on secure, excessive areas.”
The lawsuit additionally alleges that camp directors misled households after the catastrophe, telling them the women have been merely “unaccounted for” hours after the floodwaters receded.
Including to households' anger, the lawsuit cites the camp's determination to announce its reopening for the following summer time season whereas one camper, Cile Steward, remained lacking.
The households are searching for greater than $1 million in damages, together with wrongful demise and exemplary damages, and have requested a jury trial.
