Camp Disaster: How Missing Plans Turned a Night into Tragedy

Camp Mystic Tragedy: How a Lack of Plans Turned a Flood into a Fatality

The summer camp in Texas that hosted young girls suffered a fatal flood last year, but a new report shows the tragedy could have been avoided. Investigators found that Camp Mystic had no written emergency evacuation plan, and the staff were not trained to handle such a crisis. State law requires camps to have clear procedures, yet the camp’s counselors did not know what to do when water rushed in.

During the night of the flood, the counselors and campers stayed where they were. They had been told to remain inside their cabins, even though the water was coming fast. The report says that if the adults had followed a simple evacuation routine—walking to higher ground—they would have had enough time. The warning from the weather service came at 1:14 a.m., but only two people, the owner and a night guard, stayed awake to try to save some cabins.

Cell phones were banned inside the cabins, and the camp failed to use its public address system or give walkie‑talkies to staff. As a result, many people did not receive clear instructions until 2:30 a.m., when two teenage counselors ran to the main office and reported that water was entering their rooms. By then, the situation had already worsened.

The owner and his son drove a few vehicles to move cabins, but the rising water made it impossible to reach everyone. The last evacuation attempt happened after the river was already swollen, and several girls were swept away as they tried to escape through windows or doors. Two young victims’ bodies have not been recovered.

The camp had previously failed safety inspections that were needed to reopen for the summer. It did not reply when asked for comments about the findings. The report, written by two state investigators with help from the owner’s family, concludes that better training and clear plans could have saved lives.