TX TX-Hunt, Overnight flooding at Camp Mystic, all girls camp. Unknown number of missing. July 4, 2025

[imstilla.grandma]

KEY POINTS​

• Camp Mystic leader 'waited an hour to evacuate' after severe flood warning
• Death toll: At least 131 dead as missing falls to double digits
• Life-threatening flash floods threaten South Central Texas
• Where things stand now more than 10 days after flash floods
• Texas floods latest: Questions raised over Camp Mystic’s evacuation timeline

 

[LadyL]

I thought at the beginning, Mr. Eastland drove from his house to Camp Misty to aid in the evacuation.

I thought so too but I must have just assumed that when I heard he was in his car.

 

[Friday Fan]

I thought so too but I must have just assumed that when I heard he was in his car.

It would have taken him too long to get to Camp Mystic from let's say Kerrville. He would not have made it to Camp Mystic. The entrance to Camp Mystic floods before the camp floods because it is barely above river level, so he likely would have been swept away trying to get there. When that warning was issued, I'm sure the bridge was already under water.

 

[LadyL]

It would have taken him too long to get to Camp Mystic from let's say Kerrville. He would not have made it to Camp Mystic. The entrance to Camp Mystic floods before the camp floods because it is barely above river level, so he likely would have been swept away trying to get there. When that warning was issued, I'm sure the bridge was already under water.

gotcha
ty

 

[seasideForest]

I was driving down this canyon in the Colorado Rockies by this little stream years ago and there were several signs alongside the road saying that if you see any rushing water to climb as far and fast as you can. I don't think a wall of water ever rushed down the Guadelupe before. No one was expecting the water to rise so fast with such force. So tragically sad that so many children and adults perished.

I thought there was a flood in 1987 in the Mystic cabins on the waterfront? I don't know if it was so bad that there was a WALL of water but there would have been deep water. MOO

And here's a mention of a flood in 1939: "A 1939 flood had reached the floor of the dining hall at the nearly 100-year-old camp" from @BayouBelle_LA Sorry, had trouble linking that properly.
So even if this flood was the worst they'd ever seen there, it's not as if it was completely unprecedented.
JMO

 

[SimplyCass]

I thought there was a flood in 1987 in the Mystic cabins on the waterfront? I don't know if it was so bad that there was a WALL of water but there would have been deep water. MOO

And here's a mention of a flood in 1939: "A 1939 flood had reached the floor of the dining hall at the nearly 100-year-old camp" from @BayouBelle_LA Sorry, had trouble linking that properly.
So even if this flood was the worst they'd ever seen there, it's not as if it was completely unprecedented.
JMO

There have been multiple floods in the area in recent memory: 1978, 1987, 1998, and 2002. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/09/...e_code=1.XE8.9X73.jPmtDOirMmcG&smid=url-share

The peculiar thing about 1987 is that there were warnings issued beforehand; it's not known why the church vehicles still attempted to cross the swollen river. NYT (paywall)

 

[Friday Fan]

There have been multiple floods in the area in recent memory: 1978, 1987, 1998, and 2002. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/09/...e_code=1.XE8.9X73.jPmtDOirMmcG&smid=url-share

The peculiar thing about 1987 is that there were warnings issued beforehand; it's not known why the church vehicles still attempted to cross the swollen river. NYT (paywall)

I know. I checked the FEMA maps and the Pot O Gold camp itself isn't even in a floodplain! It was really stupid to drive over the low water crossing. And yes, they were sued.

Apparently, they were trying "beat the flood".

 

[NottaYutz]

I assumed there must have been an incidence that prompted the placement of the warnings in the Colorado canyon I was driving in. I found a PBS documentary video of the Big Thompson canyon flood of 1976. Water rose rapidly. Not much warning. I don't have time to watch it all because I have to get ready for that system in the Gulf.

Just finished watching this. Thank you so much for the link.

 

[IceIce9]

I know. I checked the FEMA maps and the Pot O Gold camp itself isn't even in a floodplain! It was really stupid to drive over the low water crossing. And yes, they were sued.

Apparently, they were trying "beat the flood".

Where I live there are some roads that flood every time there is heavy rain.

So many people try to cross these flooding roads that local tv and radio stations promote the slogan, “Turn Around Don’t Drown” when there are heavy rains in the forecast.

 

[AngTxGal]

I learned from my parents when I was 14 never to buy land or a home in a flood plain. I have never deviated from that and never been flooded. If the land is cheap, find out why.

My Dad was a civil engineer, he used flood plain maps in his work designing subdivisions, parking lots for schools, hospitals, and bridges, runways for airports. Few would understand such maps more than he would. I’ve been with him as we walked around a land owner’s property with a topo map as my dad explained how the water would move across the land.
There isn’t “a” flood plain. Most land miles from rivers is in a flood plain- it just may not be the 100 year flood plain. There are 500 year flood plains, 1000 year flood plains etc.

Any idea how many schools, recreation locations, campgrounds, parks, soccer fields, and playgrounds are built within flood plains, or on landfills- because the land is cheap?
In this state it is common- Texas is not the richest state in the country and public education is free to everyone of school age no matter the language they speak or citizenship status. And education is funded by property taxes- where land value is low property taxes are low.

If you are not in a flood plain does it mean you are safe from a flash flood? No. As you watch the destruction in Texas and other places- it would be untrue to assume all persons, vehicles, structures, roads, bridges, etc that were lost were built within the 100 year flood plain.

The water has no idea what line is drawn on some map decades ago.
The water doesn’t know if we are home, driving to rescue someone, headed to work, out at night, or using public transportation.

To be as safe as some think they want to be- you would need to know where the flood plains are, which flood plains they are, and also the topography of the land, in addition to the height of roadways, bridges, and such, as well as have a warning system such as a NOAA radio.
That way you can plan your route to get to safety, as most people do not stay at home.

Floods and storms and tornadoes and hurricanes and fires are Mother Nature’s way of reminding us arrogant humans what/who controls who.
If anything the lesson should be one of humility, empathy, awareness, and donation, volunteering, and overwhelming sadness.
Soon actions will be taken and decisions made- and I know for certain they will not be- No one can build in a flood plain.
Rebuilding began July 5, because people were unable to get out or in for rescue and recovery due to the several bridges that were destroyed by flood waters.

Marble Falls Fire Chief lost in floods

2025 the Year of Flooding New York Subway flood footage

IMO

 

[AngTxGal]

KEY POINTS​

• Camp Mystic leader 'waited an hour to evacuate' after severe flood warning
• Death toll: At least 131 dead as missing falls to double digits
• Life-threatening flash floods threaten South Central Texas
• Where things stand now more than 10 days after flash floods
• Texas floods latest: Questions raised over Camp Mystic’s evacuation timeline

The flooding in Texas that is included in the death tolls listed spans many counties, hundreds of miles. It is not confined to a single river or location or city.
Likely the death toll will approach 250 when all the missing are listed as deceased.

Look at the map linked Texas Rives Lakes and Counties and find the word labels for these rivers, it is a huge area of land that was impacted by flooding.
Guadalupe River
Colorado River
The list is of the lakes, numbers in the counties correspond to the lakes. All of these lakes are on a river with a dam. Texas has only one natural lake, and over 7000 dams.

From the rivers you can locate the counties where lives have been lost and people are missing.
Kerr County is on the Guadalupe River
Burnet, Williamson and Travis County on the Colorado which runs through Austin

RVs, homes, bridges, tress, and people were carried to the southeast.
They are looking for some of the missing from Kerr County floods just northwest of Canyon Lake, which is about 75-100 miles southeast in Comal County.
I’m very familiar with this area- I lived and went to college between Colorado and Guadalupe Rivers for the first 35 years of my life, lived on Canyon Lake for many years.

Search for flood victims has spanned 100 miles from Guadalupe River

Kerr County- 107 deaths confirmed, 97 missing
Disaster Relief for Travis County Flood Victims 9 deaths in Travis Co, 3 missing
Burnet County Floods- 5 deaths confirmed, 1 missing
Burnet, Williamson, Travis flood deaths- 3 deaths in Williamson County
Kendall County- 9 confirmed deaths
Tom Green County- 1 death

Current death toll 2025 July Texas Floods 134- by county

Flooding on Frio River in Uvalde County this is south of San Antonio, the Frio River is northwest of Nueces River and empties into it

IMO
Heartbroken

 

[iamshadow21]

Hey, folks, no list post today. I checked for a bunch of the names I'm following earlier in the day, and there was no change in status. That doesn't mean nobody was recovered or identified, just that I didn't find it in my cursory google search. I had a rest day today, watching Lt. Joe Kenda, knitting charity blanket squares, and playing Assassin's Creed Odyssey. Provided I sleep well, I'll be back into frustrating and intense Facebook deep dives tomorrow.

Please, if you find a name that isn't on @BayouBelle_LA 's missing list and should be, let us know about it. If you find a solid source for any of the known missing being recovered, let us know. Your contributions help us make these lists comprehensive and accurate as they can be without having inside sources in the coroner's offices.

 

[Friday Fan]

Hey, folks, no list post today. I checked for a bunch of the names I'm following earlier in the day, and there was no change in status. That doesn't mean nobody was recovered or identified, just that I didn't find it in my cursory google search. I had a rest day today, watching Lt. Joe Kenda, knitting charity blanket squares, and playing Assassin's Creed Odyssey. Provided I sleep well, I'll be back into frustrating and intense Facebook deep dives tomorrow.

Please, if you find a name that isn't on @BayouBelle_LA 's missing list and should be, let us know about it. If you find a solid source for any of the known missing being recovered, let us know. Your contributions help us make these lists comprehensive and accurate as they can be without having inside sources in the coroner's offices.

Do you have?

The remaining Santana family:
Ileana Santana 66
Mila Santana 5

Alabama woman, 5-year-old granddaughter found dead after Texas floods

“Our family can now finally lay EVERYONE TO REST TOGETHER!" wrote Ileana’s daughter Jaimee Santana.

www.al.com

Virginia Hollis,8 Camp Mystic

8-year-old flood victim's horse follows hearse in heartbreaking procession

An entire Texas town lined the streets wearing green today for one heartbreaking reason.

www.khou.com

 

[Friday Fan]

My Dad was a civil engineer, he used flood plain maps in his work designing subdivisions, parking lots for schools, hospitals, and bridges, runways for airports. Few would understand such maps more than he would. I’ve been with him as we walked around a land owner’s property with a topo map as my dad explained how the water would move across the land.
There isn’t “a” flood plain. Most land miles from rivers is in a flood plain- it just may not be the 100 year flood plain. There are 500 year flood plains, 1000 year flood plains etc.

Any idea how many schools, recreation locations, campgrounds, parks, soccer fields, and playgrounds are built within flood plains, or on landfills- because the land is cheap?
In this state it is common- Texas is not the richest state in the country and public education is free to everyone of school age no matter the language they speak or citizenship status. And education is funded by property taxes- where land value is low property taxes are low.

If you are not in a flood plain does it mean you are safe from a flash flood? No. As you watch the destruction in Texas and other places- it would be untrue to assume all persons, vehicles, structures, roads, bridges, etc that were lost were built within the 100 year flood plain.

The water has no idea what line is drawn on some map decades ago.
The water doesn’t know if we are home, driving to rescue someone, headed to work, out at night, or using public transportation.

To be as safe as some think they want to be- you would need to know where the flood plains are, which flood plains they are, and also the topography of the land, in addition to the height of roadways, bridges, and such, as well as have a warning system such as a NOAA radio.
That way you can plan your route to get to safety, as most people do not stay at home.

Floods and storms and tornadoes and hurricanes and fires are Mother Nature’s way of reminding us arrogant humans what/who controls who.
If anything the lesson should be one of humility, empathy, awareness, and donation, volunteering, and overwhelming sadness.
Soon actions will be taken and decisions made- and I know for certain they will not be- No one can build in a flood plain.
Rebuilding began July 5, because people were unable to get out or in for rescue and recovery due to the several bridges that were destroyed by flood waters.

Marble Falls Fire Chief lost in floods

2025 the Year of Flooding New York Subway flood footage

IMO

Schools??? In flood plains?? Yikes!!

Well, I know that about parks and rec areas. That's the only way cities here can obtain parks. The land here is all private, but floodways and creeks and much of their floodplains belong to the city, so eventually they turned those areas into parks.

(In some cases, the city purchased flood plains from private owners for dirt cheap and turned them into parks. )

If you are ever in a San Antonio Park and it starts to rain, leave! Fortunately, our greenway trails don't attract many tourists. Often park police on ATVs will scout the more popular parks and tell people to leave. There are also park police numbers posted every 1/4 mile on the trails. It's a unique system, but we fought hard to get those flood plains turned into parks because the public didn't have any green spaces.

Other cities in the US are also turning floodplains into trails.

 

[NottaYutz]

"Payne, Walker and others agree that the likely targets of litigation include Camp Mystic and other campsites along the river, the River Inn Resort and Conference Center and various governmental agencies and private contractors involved in the emergency warning systems and the distribution of warnings to the public."

River Inn, Camp Mystic and others to face probes and litigation, say legal experts

Attorney who specialize in representing victims and defendants in these kinds of catastrophic events agree that the likely targets of litigation in the deadly...

www.dallasnews.com

 

[NottaYutz]

"The girls, 8-year-old twins, were at Camp Mystic when devastating floods hit. [The parents] John Lawrence is a partner at Baker Botts and Lacy Lawrence is a partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. (Full article behind paywall)

2 Daughters of Dallas Big Law Partners Among Texas Flood Victims | Law.com

The twin 8-year-old girls were at Camp Mystic in Kerr County, Texas, when the deadly flash flood struck over the holiday weekend.

www.law.com

 

[Friday Fan]

Where I live there are some roads that flood every time there is heavy rain.

So many people try to cross these flooding roads that local tv and radio stations promote the slogan, “Turn Around Don’t Drown” when there are heavy rains in the forecast.

Yep! That's the Texas Hill Country and parts of San Antonio 1,000%

Most of San Antonio used to be that way, but we held bond elections and now we have bridges over most of our dry creeks. However, there is still one on the US 90 access road and a man died there this past June.

 

[Friday Fan]

"Payne, Walker and others agree that the likely targets of litigation include Camp Mystic and other campsites along the river, the River Inn Resort and Conference Center and various governmental agencies and private contractors involved in the emergency warning systems and the distribution of warnings to the public."

River Inn, Camp Mystic and others to face probes and litigation, say legal experts

Attorney who specialize in representing victims and defendants in these kinds of catastrophic events agree that the likely targets of litigation in the deadly...

www.dallasnews.com

From July 8th:

The mom, who is an attorney, attended the camp in her youth and remembered when flooding forced the staff to use a truck or zip line to deliver food, “and we were just stuck in our cabins for the day.”

On July 8th, she didn't seem too upset at the camp and was just glad her daughters were OIK
Camp Mystic mom from San Antonio tells of daughters' escape from flood

However, a week later on July 15th:

She has unanswered questions
She is receiving vitriolic messages from strangers because she is voicing her concerns
She feels that Camp Mystic wasn't prepared
Communication from Camp Mystic has been sparse
She says, "I can't be the only one"
Camp Mystic did not evacuate kids immediately when warned of 'life threatening' flood

Even if their daughters survived, they are dealing with PTSD. Most of these families are well off and won't be looking for a payoff. Litigation can be used to mitigate the situation and prevent it from happening again.


I'm boiling mad at how local officials handled the situation!!! Kerr County officials were all asleep!! Someone should have been awake watching the weather. The county is responsible for Hunt.

They didn't do anything until a Hunt Volunteer Fire Dept official contacted a dispatcher. Something is awfully wrong here!! They need to be sued!

The mayor of Kerrville's thoughts were on the bike parade as he went to bed. The city manager had his phone alerts turned off. I couldn't help but think of a movie that was released 50 years ago about the 4th of July and being warning about threats at the beach. However, in that movie only a few people died. (I know. The mayor seems like a good hearted person, but I can't help but think of that movie, sorry)

However, wasn't anyone staying up watching the weather??? It's not hard to do!! I've stayed up all night watching weather before and I'm just a nobody.

 

[BayouBelle_LA]

(Please feel free to copy and paste, add or remove names as needed) The list is incomplete. As of 2 days ago there are more than 100 missing.

MISSING

Cile Steward (Camp Mystic)
Margaret Sheedy (Camp Mystic)
Jeff Ramsey
Jack Burgess, 5
James Burgess, 18 mos
Holland Zunker, 3
Lyle Zunker, 7
Tianna 'Ty' Mabey
Bill Huston
Alyson Hardin
Josephine Hardin
Mark Walker
Sara Walker
Johnny Walker, 14
Al Lorio
Harley Moeller, 6
Gary Traugott
Pam Smith
Mike Smith
Brian Carpenter
Blake Carpenter, child
Michael Phillips

 

[Friday Fan]

After the July 4 floods, Texas lawyers are swarming. Do they have a case?

No flood-related lawsuits are known to have been filed.
According to one attorney, construction and operation of camps in flood zones is allowed by state and local officials
Lawyers have varying opinions

How Texas' land rules allowed camps to operate in flood-prone areas

The deadly Texas floods have brought the state's approach to land approvals, especially in flood-prone areas, under more scrutiny.

abcnews.go.com

Gates said there is "very little oversight" in the state for building or establishing any type of campground.

Everything is left up to insurance companies. (I guess it means you won't want to build if you don't have insurance? However, I don't think insurance is required in Texas)

The state health department, which licenses youth camps, does not address the risks associated with flood zones and other extreme weather for summer camps, according to state regulations.

Camps are only inspected for fire, health, or safety hazards. (So that is why Camp Mystic passed it's state inspection)