Tragedy turned litigious in Texas’ Hill Country as families of flood victims fault their deceased daughters’ summer camp for allegedly putting “profit over safety.”
(Video Credit: ABC News)
Monday in Travis County District Court, three lawsuits were filed against Camp Mystic regarding the deaths that took place during the flash flooding that overwhelmed Kerr County, Texas, on July 4. According to the one suit on behalf of the families of seven victims, the camp knew the risk, but opted against utilizing an evacuation plan or relocating the cabins because of the cost.
“The Camp chose to house young girls in flood-prone areas, despite the risk, to avoid the cost of relocating cabins,” detailed the 32-page filing from attorney R. Paul Yetter on behalf of the families of flood victims Anna Margaret Bellows, Lila Bonner, Molly DeWitt, Lainey Landry, and Blake McCrory, as well as their counselors Chloe Childress and Katherine Ferruzzo.
“Just such a tragedy hit our State on July 4, 2025. When 25 campers and two counselors needlessly and tragically died in the floodwaters at Camp Mystic,” the suit read as it and the suits filed on behalf of victims Eloise “Lulu” Peck and Ellen Getten were each reported to be seeking $1 million in damages, according to ABC News.
Lawsuit filed against Camp Mystic owners in Texas by David Lynch
Among the allegations, the filing alleged Camp Mystic ignored experience, staff concerns, and weather alerts, insisting counselors and girls were told to “stay put because that’s the plan.”
“In case of flood, all campers on Senior Hill must stay in their cabins….Those on the flats must also stay in their cabins unless told otherwise by the office. All cabins are constructed on safe, high locations,” the lawsuit alleged that counselors had been ordered to stay put while asserting that the defendants were aware the area was not safe.
Within the multifamily suit, Yetter had cited an interview with the Austin-American-Statesman dating back to 1990 when then-director Richard Eastland had said, “I’m sure there will be other drownings. People don’t heed the warnings.”
Eastland’s estate is named in the suit as well, even though he died during the flooding while endeavoring to safeguard campers.
The suit further argued that the girls who drowned could have evacuated to safety if they hadn’t been ordered to remain where they were. “If defendants had not ordered the girls to stay in their cabins, they had hours to safely walk to either of these safer locations at any time from 1:14 a.m. to at least 3:26 a.m., when pictures show it was still safe to walk.”
“Instead, defendants spent an hour moving camp equipment, did nothing more until counselors demanded actions, and then evacuated only five of the cabins,” the lawsuit read as it faulted the defendants for gross negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress, the latter based on claims from the administrators that the girls were only “unaccounted for” after the floodwaters receded and the camp’s announcement it would be reopening a sister sight in the summer of 2026 was issued while one camper remained missing.
A statement from the camp expressed, “We continue to pray for the grieving families and ask for God’s healing and comfort.”
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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