Camp Mystic drops summer reopening plan over outrage by families and Texas lawmakers
Apr 30, 2026, 11:08 AM
CiCi Steward, left, whose 8-year-old daughter, Cile Steward, died in the July 4, 2025, flood at Camp Mystic, gathers with other mothers after a joint House and Senate flood investigating committee hearing at the Capitol in Austin, Texas, Tuesday April 28, 2026. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
(Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Officials at Camp Mystic said Thursday they are withdrawing their application for a camp license to operate this summer, saying they want to give families of those who died there more time to grieve.
The decision comes after days of pointed questioning by Texas lawmakers who are investigating camp officials’ response to the devastating flood on July 4 that claimed the lives of 25 campers and two teenage counselors. The camp’s owner, Dick Eastland, also died in the flooding.
“No administrative process or summer season should move forward while families continue to grieve, while investigations continue and while so many Texans still carry the pain of last July’s tragedy,” Camp Mystic said in a statement.
A spokesperson for the Texas Department of State Health Services confirmed Thursday that the camp withdrew its application.
