Sign up for TPR Today, Texas Public Radio's newsletter that brings our top stories to your inbox each morning.
The parents of the only Camp Mystic victim still missing after the July 4, 2025, Guadalupe River flooding in Kerr County are suing the camp and seeking to preserve evidence.
Will and Cici Steward of Austin are asking a judge for a temporary restraining order against the camp’s owners and operators in connection with the death of their 8-year-old daughter, Cile Steward.
The lawsuit seeks to block the camp from reopening this summer and to halt construction or renovations at the site until the case is resolved.
It accuses members of the Eastland family, who operate Camp Mystic, of moving “hastily” to make changes at the camp, including remodeling the main office and removing communications equipment.
The suit also alleges that high-water marks previously visible inside the camp’s recreational hall can no longer be seen, and that a new commissary staircase appears to have been added since the flood.
The Steward lawsuit says the push to reopen shows disregard for ongoing litigation, a lack of remorse, and a refusal to accept responsibility for a tragedy the Stewards say occurred on the defendants’ watch.
The Stewards also argue the camp had a duty to protect campers and breached that duty by maintaining unsafe conditions, which they say contributed to their daughter’s death.
The filing outlines Camp Mystic’s history of flooding and claims camp leadership ignored weather warnings ahead of the disaster.
Camp Mystic’s attorney, Mikal Watts, released the following statement in response to the Steward lawsuit:
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. We are devastated by the deaths of our campers and counselors, and we continue to pray for God to comfort and support their families in their unfathomable grief.
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 unforeseeable, and that no adequate early warning flood systems existed in the area. We disagree with the 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.
In the meantime, we remain proud of the legacy of Camp Mystic and its role in forging strong, young Christian women across Texas and will endeavor to continue that role in the future while focused entirely on implementing a litany of new procedures and new technologies to make Camp Mystic and the community around us safe for all who come in the future.
Watts also pointed out a link to enhanced safety at Camp Mystic Cypress Lake.
State officials have said the river rose 26 feet in 45 minutes.
Camp Mystic, which is nearly a century old, lost its 70-year-old co-owner Richard “Dick” Eastland and several counselors in the flooding as they attempted to rescue campers.
The Camp Mystic Guadalupe River site remains closed, though there are plans to open Camp Mystic Cypress Lake this summer.
A hearing on the temporary injunction is scheduled for March 4 in Austin.
