Nearly a year after a catastrophic flood in Texas claimed the lives of 28 children and staff, Camp Mystic has sought bankruptcy protection.
On June 24, the Christian summer camp for girls filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. Oxygen obtained the filing, which reveals the camp is facing debts ranging from $10 million to $50 million.
This financial move effectively halts the progress of five civil lawsuits initiated by grieving parents whose children perished in the devastating floods.
Paul Yetter, representing seven families who lost children, remarked on June 24, as reported by the Associated Press, “Filing for bankruptcy will not shield all accountable parties. These young victims are owed justice.”
Commenting on the bankruptcy’s timing, the legal team for Cile Steward, an 8-year-old victim, expressed, “Filing just before the anniversary of the tragedy is a cruel shock to the families who are already struggling with their grief amidst the Fourth of July celebrations.”
“A bankruptcy may reorganize their debts,” the team added to CBS19, “It cannot reorganize the truth.”
The filing is the latest development in the aftermath of the tragedy.
On July 4, 2025, torrential downpours triggered a devastating flash flood that killed at least 135 people along the Guadalupe River. Among the victims were 25 Mystic campers between the ages of 8 and 10, two teenage staffers and camp director Richard “Dick” Eastland.
According to a June 18 report by Texas legislative investigators, the 100-year-old camp fell short of adequately preparing for the storm and failed to timely evacuate.
The report concluded that the camp did not properly train staff for emergencies, including assigning each staffer specific responsibilities, while also lacking a written emergency plan with “procedures for emergency shelter and for evacuation of each occupied building and the facility.”
Instead, the plan directed campers to simply shelter in place during a flood and “to await further instruction,” per the report. Meanwhile, communication was hindered by walkie-talkies not being distributed to each cabin and the camp’s cell phone ban.
Any sort of plan, stated the report, would have “been known only by the camp’s co-executive director, Dick Eastland,” who died while attempting to rescue campers during the flood.
A notably terrifying scene began at 1:14 a.m. when Dick woke up his son, camp co-director Edward Eastland, to help secure boats and other camp equipment, though the pair perceived no flood risk to the buildings, according to the report.
Meanwhile, teen counselors in cabins closest to the Guadalupe River ignored directions to stay inside, according to the report, instead running to the main office to say that water had entered the structures and to ask for help.
However, Dick said the water was runoff from a nearby hill, and not the river, according to the report, and instructed counselors to soak it up with towels. When the guardhouse started flooding, he began a series of evacuation orders.
Despite his efforts, the flood claimed the lives of more than two dozen campers and staff, including Dick himself.
The bankruptcy filing follows widespread backlash to the camp’s initial plan to resume operations at another property this summer, while also building a memorial dedicated to the lost lives.
“The families of deceased Camp Mystic campers and counselors were not consulted about and did not approve this memorial,” Blake Bonner, whose 9-year-old daughter Lila Bonner died in the tragedy, said in a September statement, according to the New York Times.
The camp ultimately withdrew its application, according to The Texas Tribune.
A spokesperson for Camp Mystic did not immediately reply to a request for comment from Oxygen.