Families sue Camp Mystic over deadly Texas flooding
The families of campers and counselors who died in the devastating July Fourth flooding at Camp Mystic in central Texas are suing the camp’s owners.
(NBC)- The families of campers and counselors who died in the devastating July Fourth flooding at Camp Mystic in central Texas are suing the camp’s owners, alleging negligence and disregard for safety.
The victims, remembered as “Heaven’s 27,” were among those caught when flash floods swept through the area last summer. More than a dozen families — including the parents of 9-year-old Ellen Getten — filed lawsuits this week claiming Camp Mystic and its longtime owners prioritized profits over safety by refusing to relocate cabins known to be in flood-prone areas.
“I want her to be remembered as sweet and kind and joyful,” said Jennifer Getten, Ellen’s mother. “If someone had said this camp is located somewhere known as flash flood alley, I would never have sent my kid there,” added her father, Doug Getten.
According to court filings, the National Weather Service issued a life-threatening flash-flood warning around 1:14 a.m. on July 4. Rather than immediately evacuating, the lawsuits claim the camp’s director, Dick Eastland, and other staff spent more than an hour moving canoes and equipment to higher ground instead of prioritizing the children’s safety.
“They started moving their equipment to higher ground instead of the girls,” said attorney Mark Lanier. “That’s atrocious — you move the girls first.”
Photos cited in the filings show some campers fleeing to a recreation house by 3:26 a.m., while others were reportedly told to stay in their cabins as floodwaters rose. Eastland was later killed while trying to drive campers to safety.
In a statement, an attorney representing Camp Mystic said the “sudden surge of floodwaters far exceeded any previous flood in the area by several magnitudes” and that “no adequate warning systems existed in the area.”
Camp Mystic plans to reopen one of its sister sites this summer.
