The head of the Texas summer camp where 27 campers and counselors lost their lives in a tragic flood last year testified on Monday that he was unaware of official warnings issued the day before the storm struck and that there were no discussions among staff about the imminent threat.
Edward Eastland provided a detailed account of the camp’s response as floodwaters surged along the Guadalupe River, trapping individuals in cabins before they were carried away on July 4, 2025. Eastland, at times emotional, testified in front of families of the deceased campers.
“I regret that we operated the camp that summer,” Eastland remarked towards the end of his testimony. While admitting that lives could have been saved with quicker action from the staff, he maintained that they were not prepared for the severity of the storm.
Eastland revealed that the Christian girls camp did not have a comprehensive written flood evacuation plan. He also stated that more campers could have survived if he, his father (Richard Eastland), and the camp’s safety director had made prompt decisions to evacuate.
The overnight storms claimed the lives of 25 young girls aged between eight and ten, two teenage female counselors, and Richard Eastland.
Cici Steward, whose eight-year-old daughter remains missing from the camp tragedy, called for the camp’s license to be revoked, citing their inability to ensure child safety.
In total, the devastating flash floods across Texas resulted in at least 136 fatalities over an extensive stretch of the Guadalupe River.
During the civil lawsuit hearing against Camp Mystic, Eastland mentioned that he and other staff members were registered for an emergency alert system on their phones and utilized various weather apps. However, he claimed to have missed flood watch posts from the National Weather Service and the Texas Department of Emergency Management on July 2 and 3.
Eastland believed that the local “CodeRED” mobile phone alert system and weather apps were sufficient and did not see the need for further action. Despite a National Weather Service alert warning of potential flash flooding in the camp’s vicinity, no formal meeting was held to address the situation.
Attorneys representing the families highlighted the account of a counselor who described the chaos of the night, emphasizing the rapid rise of water and the desperate attempts to seek shelter.
The hearing is set to resume on Tuesday amidst ongoing legal disputes between the camp owners and the victims’ families, who are pushing for the preservation of the campsite as evidence. Camp Mystic has applied for license renewal to reopen in a non-flooded area in two months, with nearly 900 girls already registered to attend.