Why the flooding tragedy at Camp Mystic is hitting so hard for many parents
When the flash flood struck early July 4, about 700 children were in residence at Camp Mystic, a 99-year-old nondenominational Christian summer camp for girls nestled in the Texas Hill Country, according to Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.
As of July 6, 10 children were still missing along with a camp counselor, according to officials, and at least three girls who were attending the summer camp are among the dead, based on reports from family members.
Texas flooding: At least 79 dead; flood-ravaged state faces more rain
At least 80 people have died in the flooding triggered by unrelenting rain that sent parts of the Guadalupe River to spill its banks, officials announced, and most of the deaths have been reported in the Kerr County area, which includes the camp.
As of July 6, Larry Leitha of Kerr County, where the worst of the flooding occurred, said authorities recovered the bodies of 40 adults and 28 children.
What happened at Camp Mystic?
A day after the disaster struck, the camp was a tableau of devastation, the walls marked with slashes of mud several feet from the ground, showing how high the flood waters reached. Photos taken on July 5 show a damaged building at the camp missing an entire side, others with broken windows, and personal effects of the young campers strewn about alongside overturned furniture.
Anguished parents were waiting for word on July 6 on the children still missing from Camp Mystic, while Texas Gov. Greg Abbott remarked on the scene after visiting the site.
The girls' camp was "horrendously ravaged in ways unlike I've seen in any natural disaster," the governor said July 5, adding: "The height the rushing water reached to the top of cabins was shocking."
Abbott, who issued a disaster declaration for nearly two dozen Texas counties, said: "We won't stop until we find every girl who was in those cabins."
One Camp Mystic camper, 8-year-old Sarah Marsh of Alabama, was confirmed among the dead, according to Mountain Brook, Alabama, Mayor Stewart Welch. Janie Hunt, 9, was also among the dead, The New York Times and CNN both reported.
Other campers were also reported dead by news outlets on Saturday.
Where is Camp Mystic? The Christian girls camp hit by flooding in Texas?
Why the Camp Mystic tragedy is hitting hard for many parents
While the families of those missing and dead reel from the tragedy, the emotional aftershocks of the July 4 flood are reaching throughout the state.
The camp has a storied history in the state. The daughters of three former Texas governors summered at the camp, according to Texas Monthly, and three generations of girls in former President Lyndon B. Johnson's family attended.
Former first lady Laura Bush was once a camp counselor at Camp Mystic, the Texas Tribune reports, and a current Republican Congressman announced Saturday that two of his daughters were among those evacuated over the weekend.
"Camille, Vivian and I are now reunited with Caroline and Juliana who were evacuated from Camp Mystic," U.S. Rep. August Pfluger posted on X. "The last day has brought unimaginable grief to many families and we mourn with them as well as holding out hope for survivors."
Generations of Texas families have sent their daughters to Camp Mystic, former camper Clair Cannon told USA TODAY, where lifelong friendships were formed.
The camp's effects are intergenerational for Cannon, as both her mother and daughter have also attended Camp Mystic. For many summers, Cannon has driven Highway 39 as it hugged the Guadalupe River on her way to the campgrounds perched on the riverbank.
"What that area is like when it's in its prime – when it's not devastated like this – is probably one of the most serene and peaceful places that I've ever seen in my life," said Cannon, a commercial and residential real estate agent in Dallas. "That part of Texas is just absolutely gorgeous."
Cannon's daughter, now a 19-year-old college student, knew counselors who were at the camp at the time of the disaster.
The camp, described on its website as "nestled among cypress, live oak and pecan trees" along the banks of the Guadalupe River, operates three sessions each summer, offering classic summer camp activities including archery, canoeing, arts and crafts, swimming and horseback riding.
"Campers and counselors join together to sing songs, listen to scripture, discover ways to grow spiritually, and learn to apply these lessons to their daily life at camp and back home," according to the site. Religious activities include: Bible studies, Saturday evening Catholic Mass, Sunday morning devotionals along the river, Sunday evening Vespers services, and, once during each two-week or four-week term, a sunrise communion service. Other activities include cooking, dance, basketball, lacrosse, soccer and yoga.
Along Highway 39, there's a big sign reading "Mystic" atop a hill, Cannon said. It let girls know they're almost to camp, or if they were leaving, they wouldn't see friends until next summer. "It always makes you cry," Cannon said.
Contributing: Jeanine Santucci, Joel Shannon, Eduardo Cuevas, Trish Choate, Zac Anderson, Mike Snider, USA TODAY.
Kathryn Palmer is a national trending news reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at kapalmer@usatoday.com and on X @KathrynPlmr.
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Abbott said he visited Camp Mystic on Sunday and called the scene 'nothing short of horrific - to see what these young children went through.' Authorities said they had little hint of the cataclysmic events to come when the National Weather Service issued its first flood watch for the area at 1:18 p.m. Thursday. The areas along the river in Kerr County were not only packed with campers at about 18 summer camps but thousands more celebrating the holiday in tents and cabins, some of which had been in Texas families for generations. The Weather Service cautioned that 1 to 2 inches of widespread rainfall was likely, with 'the potential for a lower probability but much higher impact flood event overnight.' But extraordinary conditions were working against them, meteorologists say. 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Advertisement 'This is not how this weekend was supposed to be,' Garcia said from the pulpit. It was supposed to be a time of celebrations and fireworks, of time with family and making new friends at nearby camps. 'In the blink of an eye, everything changed. The waters came quickly, too quickly. Homes flooded, roads disappeared, and people were swept away,' he said. 'What felt strong was made fragile. What seemed secure was taken away in just a moment.' Dennis reported from Kerrville and Ingram, Texas, Gowen from Lawrence, Kansas, and Gregg from Washington. Scott Dance, Ben Noll and Matthew Cappucci contributed to this report.
