Texas officials investigating hundreds of complaints against Camp Mystic amid license renewal bid
Texas officials investigating hundreds of complaints against Camp Mystic amid license renewal bid
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas health regulators told Camp Mystic’s owners Tuesday they are investigating hundreds of complaints following last year’s devastating floods that killed 27 girls as the state considers whether to allow the all-girls camp to reopen this summer.
The Texas Rangers are also helping look into allegations of neglect, according to the Texas Department of Safety, although the scope of the state’s elite investigations unit was not immediately clear.
The investigations underscore the hurdles facing Camp Mystic as it pushes ahead with reopening plans over the outrage of the families of the 25 girls and two teenage counselors who died in the July 4 floods. More than 850 families have signed up to return to the Christian, all-girls camp this summer if it is allowed to reopen a portion of the camp that did not flood.
The Department of State Health Services said that since February, the agency has received “hundreds of complaints regarding Camp Mystic’s operations in the summer of 2025” alleging violations of state laws governing youth camps. The agency said it asked for help from state police.
The Texas Department of Public Safety said the Texas Rangers joined an “investigation regarding complaints of neglect” during the flood. Neither agency released details. The camp did not evacuate and was hit hard when the river rose from 14 feet (4.2 meters) to 29.5 feet (9 meters) within 60 minutes before dawn.
A letter sent Tuesday from the health agency to the camp owners informed them of the agency’s investigation, but made no mention of the Texas Rangers being involved.
Lawyers for the families of the girls who were killed and the Camp Mystic owners did not immediately respond to email messages requesting comment.
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called the Texas Rangers’ involvement a “criminal investigation” and said the state should not grant the camp a license to reopen until that probe and another one by state lawmakers are complete.
“I urge you to prioritize safety and do everything in your power to ensure Camp Mystic and/or their operators are not allowed to operate until the facts are in,” Patrick wrote in a letter Tuesday to the head of the health agency.
In a statement Wednesday, Camp Mystic said it has cooperated with “every investigative request we have received,” including with lawmakers. The camp said it worked closely with the Texas Rangers immediately after the floods and would continue to do so.
“We look forward to cooperating with the Texas Rangers and supporting them in their efforts to gain a thorough and accurate understanding of what happened on the South Fork of the Guadalupe River during the early hours of July 4,” the camp said.
Lawyers for the families of the victims did not immediately respond to email messages seeking comment.
Families of several of the girls who died have sued the camp’s operators, arguing that camp officials failed to take necessary steps to protect the campers as life-threatening floodwaters approached. A district judge last month ordered the camp owners to preserve damaged cabins and other parts of the grounds in the flooded area as the lawsuits proceed.
The body of one of the campers killed, 8-year-old Cile Steward, has not yet been recovered. DPS officials said the search for the girl continues.
Richard Eastland, one of the camp owners, was also killed. All told, the destructive flooding killed at least 136 people along a several-mile stretch of the river, raising questions about how things went so terribly wrong.
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This story has been corrected to show that Richard Eastland, not Edward Eastland, was killed in the flooding.
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