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In Austin, a legal decision has temporarily halted any renovation or construction activities at Camp Mystic’s Guadalupe location. This ruling came at the behest of the family of a young victim from the catastrophic floods that struck on Independence Day.
While recovery teams persist in their search for Cile Steward’s remains, her family petitioned the court to prevent any modifications to the cabins and other structures at the Kerr County girls’ camp. They argue that these buildings are vital evidence in their lawsuit against the camp’s management.
The lawsuit alleges that Camp Mystic had an improvised evacuation plan and instructed campers to remain in their cabins during the flooding. The judge’s decision to grant the family’s request led Cile’s mother, CiCi, to express to KXAN that while it might appear as a win on paper, it doesn’t feel like a victory for anyone involved.
Last month, the Steward family initiated legal action, accusing the camp authorities of neglecting their duty to protect their 8-year-old daughter and other campers. Tragically, 27 campers and counselors lost their lives in the early hours of July 4, 2025, as the river’s waters surged. The camp’s former director, Dick Eastland, was also among those who perished in the flash flood.
In response to the judge’s order granting their request, Cile’s mother CiCi told affiliate KXAN, “It is not a victory for Mystic. It’s hard to call it a victory for us, despite the fact that it is, on paper.”
Last month, the Steward family filed a suit accusing the camp’s leadership of failing to take necessary steps to keep their 8-year-old daughter and other girls safe; 27 campers and counselors died after being swept away by rising river waters in the early morning hours of July 4, 2025. The camp’s former director, Dick Eastland, also died during the flash flood.
Members of the Eastland family, which owns and operates the camp, are named as defendants in the Steward’s lawsuit and in several other lawsuits filed by the families of other victims.
Attorneys for the camp have pointed to the historic nature of the flood event and argued there was not much their clients could have done to prevent the catastrophe.
Following the judge’s ruling, a spokesperson for Camp Mystic confirmed nearly 900 girls are now enrolled to attend camp this summer at Mystic’s Cypress Lake site, which is located less than two miles away from the flood-ravaged Guadalupe site.
The camp said it will reopen in compliance with all aspects of the state’s new camp safety laws.
In a statement, a spokesperson said, in part, “While we continue the century-long tradition of Camp Mystic, we do so with love and respect for the Steward family and for all the Heaven’s 27 families. We pledge to do everything in our power to make camp as fulfilling and as safe as possible for generations to come.”
Last week, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick sent a letter to state regulators, asking them not to renew Camp Mystic’s license until an investigation into the tragedy concludes. A spokesperson for the camp argued there was no regulatory basis to deny Camp Mystic Cypress Lake its license.
This week, an affidavit filed in the Steward family’s case reveals the testimony from the Texas Rangers captain in charge of directing the search efforts in the area. In it, he states that the state’s operation is ongoing and the result “may or may not” be presented to a grand jury.
“Until the search operation is concluded, I cannot testify or release information that is material to this pending operation, nor should identical or substantially similar material information be released by DPS. This serves the public interest by protecting the integrity of the criminal justice system as well as protecting the rights afforded to any potential criminal defendant under the laws of the State of Texas and the United States of America,” the affidavit reads.
In their application for a temporary injunction against the camp, the attorneys for the Steward family argued the camp operators had a “duty” to preserve the site once there was a “substantial chance” litigation would be filed. They argue that duty began immediately, “given the sheer magnitude” of the tragedy.
“High-water marks that were previously visible in the Rec Hall building are no longer present,” the filing from the Steward family attorneys reads. “Several cabins on the Camp Mystic property contain new framing materials and structural components. In the cabin where Cile was housed, the mattresses, bunk beds, and bed frames have been removed, and the interior has been cleaned.”
The court record also features a few photos appearing to show ongoing construction activity at the campsite. It goes on to claim the camp is using heavy machinery to reshape the topography and “have stripped cabins to the studs, thereby erasing the physical evidence of the Camp Mystic tragedy.”
In front of a packed courtroom on Wednesday, Dick’s son, Edward, testified that some buildings have been repaired and remodeled. Eastland revealed that the girls did not have walkie-talkies in their cabins and explained that, while the camp had security cameras, no one was watching the feed when the flooding began.
Eastland also described how his mother, wife and kids were faced with rising waters and evacuated to higher ground.
CiCi and her husband, Will Steward, said it was “astonishing” to hear that account, while their daughter and other campers were told to shelter in place.
“I have never been more uncomfortable and disheartened than I was watching Edward Eastland on the stand. For the first time in the last eight months, I am mad at myself for sending my child to a camp that has leadership of such ineptitude,” CiCi told KXAN following a second hearing on Thursday.
There, the judge outlined which buildings and cabins must be avoided by everyone except experts who are collecting evidence for discovery or law enforcement.
At one point, Judge Maya Guerra Gamble held up a map of the property and said, “My intention is that no part of the land that we generally discussed as the Guadalupe River camp will have anything done to it.”
When attorneys for the camp asked about particular residences where they said people are living, Judge Gamble noted that they would have to temporarily move out.
“I don’t want anyone going down this road, this road and this road, while there is discovery going on,” she said, pointing to the map.
The court order she filed Thursday evening says, in part, “Once this physical evidence is altered or destroyed, it cannot be recreated, and no adequate remedy at law exists to restore the evidence.”
Christina Yarnell, one of the attorneys for the victim’s family, called the order from the judge a moral and legal victory.
Attorney Brad Beckworth added, “We’re glad Judge Gamble gave everyone a full opportunity to be heard. She granted our motion to stop Camp Mystic from reopening the Guadalupe campus in the near future so that all evidence that will help us get the truth of what happened to Cile will be brought to light.”