Camp Mystic Bankruptcy
Camp Mystic files Chapter 11 bankruptcy one year after deadly floods and licensing issues
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Camp Mystic, the Texas all-girls Christian camp where 28 people died in a catastrophic July 4, 2025 flood, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on June 24, 2026 — nearly a year after the disaster. The filing lists debts exceeding $10 million against assets of just $100,001 to $500,000, according to The Guardian.
The bankruptcy was filed by Camp Mystic, LLC and three affiliated entities in the Southern District of Texas, The Associated Press reported. It triggers an automatic stay — a legal pause — that halts all pending civil lawsuits against the camp while the court decides how to handle its remaining assets.
A Flood That Killed 28 and Destroyed a Camp
In the early hours of July 4, 2025, the Guadalupe River surged through the Texas Hill Country. At Camp Mystic, the floodwaters killed 25 girls, two teenage counselors, and the camp's longtime director, Richard "Dick" Eastland, who died trying to rescue campers in an SUV, according to The Texas Tribune. Roughly 475 campers and staff were on-site at the time.
Just one week before the bankruptcy filing, state investigators released a scathing 115-page report. It found the camp lacked adequate emergency plans and was "not prepared to act," according to ABC News. The camp's own "Emergency Instructions" falsely claimed all sleeping cabins sat on "high, safe ground."
Lawsuits, a Blocked License, and Mounting Pressure
Families of eight victims filed a "gross negligence" lawsuit in November 2025. They accused the camp of enforcing a "stay in cabins" policy as floodwaters rose. The Eastland family hired prominent attorney Mikal Watts to defend them — for free. Watts has argued the flood was an unprecedented "Act of God," telling the San Antonio Express-News: "I could try this case tomorrow and convince a jury that this camp had nothing to do with why these girls died."
The camp tried to get an operating license to reopen in 2026 but pulled the application in April after intense pushback from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who said it would be "naive" to allow reopening before all facts were known, according to KSAT. Co-director Willetta "Tweety" Eastland also had her nursing license suspended over allegations of "child abandonment" during the flood.
Texas Rewrites Camp Safety Laws After the Tragedy
Gov. Greg Abbott signed two sweeping reform bills on September 5, 2025 — the "Heaven's 27 Camp Safety Act" and the "Youth CAMPER Act." The laws now require automatic evacuation to higher ground when any flash flood warning is issued. They also ban sleeping cabins in floodplains and mandate emergency sirens at all youth camps, according to the Office of the Texas Governor.
The Senate passed its bill 26-0. The House voted 120-4. But compliance has been costly. Some rural camp operators told KSAT that installing new fiber-optic warning systems is "unrealistic." A Texas A&M study estimated the broader economic disruption could put hundreds of jobs at risk in Kerr and Kendall Counties through 2026.
FEMA Maps and a Warning System That Was Shut Down
The disaster had roots decades in the making. After a deadly 1987 flood killed 10 campers 15 miles away, Dick Eastland pushed for better warning systems. But the local river authority shut them down in 1999 due to budget cuts and unreliability, according to The Texas Tribune. The Guadalupe River had swept away Camp Mystic cabins as far back as 1932.
Federal regulators also played a role. An AP investigation found that FEMA had repeatedly granted appeals to remove dozens of Camp Mystic buildings from the "100-year flood map" in the years before the disaster, according to Alabama Public Radio. Removal from that map loosens construction rules and insurance requirements — leaving the camp less protected than it should have been.
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