Families of six girls who died in flooding at Camp Mystic filed a wrongful death lawsuit alleging camp leaders ignored mounting warnings and delayed evacuations, keeping the youngest campers in low-lying cabins near the overflowing Guadalupe River.
The lawsuit, filed in the Travis County District Court, alleges negligence and gross negligence, including failure to maintain and follow flood evacuation plans, failure to move children to higher ground once flooding began, inadequate training and communication systems, and operating children’s cabins in floodplains despite the known risk.
The suit says forecasters began flagging risk on July 3, citing a National Weather Service Flood Watch and Flood Advisories, but the camp failed to take proactive steps to prevent tragedy.
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On July 4, the fateful night when floodwaters overtook the girl’s camp, the lawsuit alleges that Camp Mystic leaders met with grounds staff to secure equipment rather than awake the young children and bring them to immediate safety.
At 2 a.m., the Kerr County Sheriff’s Office logged its first emergency call about hazardous conditions. At 2:10 a.m., counselors reported cabins taking on water and, according to the complaint, were told to shelter in place with counselors “not allowed” phones, radios or walkie-talkies.
Counselors who were awake began moving girls toward a hillside around 3 a.m., with accounts of a broader evacuation at 3:11 a.m., the lawsuit says.
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Photos timestamped 3:26 a.m. show campers still able to walk toward higher ground as water rose across the property. By about 3:44 a.m., doors were “breaking open” and water rushed in, the lawsuit says.
Apple Watch data from leaders allegedly recorded submersion at 3:51 a.m. and 4:09 a.m. An emergency call from the camp was logged at 3:59 a.m.
The families say the youngest girls were kept in Bubble Inn and Twins I & Twins II on “the flats” near the river even as water rose, despite nearby options: a hillside roughly 20 yards from Bubble Inn and a two-story commissary with exterior stairs near the Twins cabins. Staff members who lived above the commissary survived, the suit says.
The lawsuit includes a one-page “Emergency Instructions” sheet that told campers to stay inside during floods and stated, “All cabins are constructed on high, safe ground.” Families call this guidance “false and dangerous.” The document was allegedly recovered from a counselor’s trunk after the flood.
The six families of the young girls argue the camp sits in a FEMA-mapped flood hazard area in a region along the Guadalupe known as “Flood Alley,” citing federal maps that place cabins in the floodway and floodplains and prior major floods in 1932, 1952, 1978 and 1987. FEMA identified the site as a Special Flood Hazard Area in 2011, the suit says.
The lawsuit names the girls as Virginia “Wynne” Naylor and Jane “Janie” Hunt, both housed in Bubble Inn; Lucy Lee Dillon and Kellyanne Elizabeth Lytal, housed in Twins I; and Hadley Rebecca Hanna and Virginia Larins Hollis, housed in Twins II.
All were 8 or 9, according to the filing. They were among 27 campers and counselors who died in the flooding.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Camp Mystic said that they are “continuing to pray for the grieving families and ask for God’s healing and comfort.”
“We empathize with the families of the campers and counselors and all families in the Hill Country who lost loved ones in the horrific and unprecedented flood of July 4,” Jeff Ray, legal counsel for Camp Mystic, said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
“We intend to demonstrate and prove that this sudden surge of floodwaters far exceeded any previous flood in the area by several magnitudes, that it was unexpected and that no adequate warning systems existed in the area. We disagree with several accusations and misinformation in the legal filings regarding the actions of Camp Mystic and Dick Eastland, who lost his life as well. We will thoroughly respond to these accusations in due course,” he said.
WATCH: Camp Mystic counselor opens up on tragic flooding
Here is a detailed look at what the complaint alleges between the early warnings on July 3 and the morning of July 4:
JULY 2
5:47 p.m. — Texas emergency officials activated a flood response ahead of expected storms, according to the complaint.
JULY 3
10:48 a.m. — The National Weather Service issued a Flood Watch for the area and pushed this information through social media, newscasts and other emergency communication systems at 2:35 p.m.
6:26 p.m. – The National Water Center sent its own “rapid onset flooding” warning and “locally considerable impacts,” into early July 4.
11:13 p.m. — A Flood Advisory was posted for Kerr County with “significant flooding likely.”
JULY 4
1:14 a.m. — The NWS issued an Emergency Flash Flood Warning saying “life-threatening flash flooding” was underway; camp leaders received or quickly learned of the alert.
1:45 a.m. — Workers who had been offsite returned “after a harrowing drive,” according to the complaint’s account of the night watchman’s interview.
1:47 a.m. — Camp leaders met grounds staff and began securing equipment around the property, the suit says.
2 a.m. — The Kerr County Sheriff’s Department logged its first emergency phone call about hazardous conditions, according to the complaint.
2:10 a.m. — Counselors reported cabins taking on water and were told to shelter in place; the filing says counselors in cabins were not allowed phones, radios or walkie-talkies.
2:13 a.m. — Leaders were still securing equipment while counselors and children sheltered in place, the lawsuit states.
CAMP MYSTIC MAKES CONTROVERSIAL DECISION ABOUT FUTURE OF TEXAS CAMP WHERE 27 DIED IN FLOODING
2:19 a.m. — Staff “became aware” of water entering the Bug House cabin and instructed counselors to put towels at the doorway and stay, the suit alleges.
2:25 a.m. — The gatekeeper called camp leadership and said that the gate house was taking in water. The gatekeeper calls the situation “very serious.”
2:30 a.m. — Some evacuations began; conditions were too severe for a vehicle rescue, the filing says.
3 a.m. — Some counselors woke on their own and started moving girls toward a hillside to safety.
3:11 a.m. — Counselors at higher elevations reported being woken to start evacuation of river-adjacent cabins, according to the complaint.
3:26 a.m. — Time-stamped photos showed campers walking through water toward higher ground.
3:30 a.m. — Kerrville emergency services received numerous requests for airlift assistance, the suit says.
3:44 a.m. — Doors were “breaking open” as water rushed in, according to the filing.
3:51 a.m. — Apple Watch data allegedly showed leader Dick Eastland’s device was submerged.
3:59 a.m. — An emergency call was placed from Camp Mystic.
4:09 a.m. — Apple Watch data allegedly showed leader Edward Eastland’s device was submerged.
9:44 a.m. to 10:57 a.m. — Texts from a camp leader said they were still searching, and that rescue boats were on the river, according to the lawsuit.
