Camp Mystic, the Texas Hill Country summer camp where 27 girls and counselors died during catastrophic flooding in July 2025, is now the subject of a criminal investigation by the Texas Rangers. Court documents indicate investigators are examining whether camp leadership committed offenses including manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, child endangerment and other crimes. No criminal charges have been filed at this stage.
Texas Rangers Obtain Search Warrants
Investigators secured 14 search warrants seeking electronic information connected to the Eastland family, which owned and operated Camp Mystic, as well as other camp personnel. The warrants were approved by a Kerr County district judge and cover communications and other digital information surrounding the period of the deadly flood.
Texas Rangers investigator Brant Johnston wrote in an affidavit that investigators believe there is probable cause to examine possible criminal conduct involving the camp’s response to the rapidly rising floodwaters. The investigation includes potential offenses such as manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, injury to a child, child abandonment or endangerment and deadly conduct.
Questions Over Emergency Planning and Evacuation
The investigation is focused in part on the camp’s emergency preparedness and actions before and during the July 4, 2025 disaster.
According to the affidavits, investigators allege that Camp Mystic lacked adequate written emergency procedures, did not conduct sufficient emergency drills or training, and did not have enough adult counselors in some cabins. Investigators also say children in lower-lying cabins were not moved to safer locations despite flood warnings being monitored during the night.
The Guadalupe River rose rapidly during the early morning hours of July 4. Twenty-five campers and two teenage counselors died at the Christian girls’ camp, while camp owner Richard “Dick” Eastland also died, bringing the total number of deaths connected to the camp to 28.
Camp Did Not Reopen in 2026
Camp Mystic had planned to resume operations in 2026, but ultimately withdrew its application for a state license and did not reopen. The camp has also entered bankruptcy reorganization proceedings.
The broader July 2025 flooding caused at least 136 deaths along a stretch of the Guadalupe River, while the disaster prompted extensive investigations into emergency warnings, evacuation procedures and the response of authorities and organizations in the affected area.
Families of several victims have also filed lawsuits against the camp and related parties, alleging negligence in the events leading up to and during the flooding. Attorneys representing some families have welcomed the search warrants as a potential step toward obtaining answers about what happened.
The criminal investigation remains ongoing, and the allegations contained in the search-warrant affidavits have not resulted in criminal convictions or charges at this time.
