Damaged Camp Mystic mailbox in flood debris.
Share and Follow

LETTERS that were written by children staying at Camp Mystic have started to arrive at their family’s homes – just days after they died in the floods that saw cabins swept away. 

More than 120 people were killed and over 150 remain missing – one week after the floods hit central Texas. 

Damaged Camp Mystic mailbox in flood debris.

Children wrote their families letters while at Camp Mystic (pictured a Camp Mystic letter box)Credit: AP
Photo of Blakely McCrory, an 8-year-old girl who died in the Texas Hill Country flash floods.

Blakely McCrory wrote her granddad a note before she diedCredit: Facebook

Twenty-seven children and staffers at Camp Mystic, located on the banks of the Guadalupe River, died in what was the deadliest floods to hit the Lone Star State in more than a century. 

The river is located in the notorious “Flash Flood Alley,” rising more than 26 feet in just 45 minutes as it burst its banks. 

Little Blakely McCrory, eight, was among the children at the summer camp killed. 

And, it’s emerged that she wrote her family a letter before her body was found dead.

Her grandad, Douglas McLeod, received the note in the mail, as shared on Facebook

Blakely suffered tragedy just weeks before her death. 

Douglas told ABC News that the child’s dad died of a heart attack and he said what unfolded was a “double tragedy.”

“We’re just devastated,” he said.

Blakely’s devastated mom, Lindsey, paid tribute to her daughter online.

She revealed she was comforted that her daughter was in the “arms of Jesus.”

Camp Mystic director’s tragic final act to save girls from Texas floods as wall of water tore through cabins killing 27

“Eight years on this earth is far too short a stay,” she wrote. 

“Still, we know that Blakely was light and life, and she brightened the day of everyone fortunate enough to cross her path. 

“Our little corner of the world is a better and brighter place because Blakely was here. Although we must mourn her absence, we will choose to celebrate her life.”

Meanwhile, families of the victims continue to search for possessions that were left behind. 

Muddy interior of a cabin with scattered belongings after flooding.

Belongings are scattered inside a flooded cabinCredit: Reuters
Satellite images showing Camp Mystic in Hunt, Texas before and after flash flooding.

Stark satellite pictures show the scale of the damage the floods has causedCredit: AFP

Stacy Stevens’ daughter, Mary, also perished in the floods. 

Stevens shared a message on social media, saying she was looking for her daughter’s monkey, per The New York Post

She described the stuffed toy as her daughter’s “most prized possession.”

The mom later deleted her social media entry in a public Facebook group dedicated to items found on the Guadalupe River.

It was likely that the children at Mystic didn’t have their cell phones, former camper Charlotte Lauten said.

Lauten, 19, spent nine summers at Mystic during her childhood.

She also noted that as the camp is situated in such a remote location, there was high chance that there wouldn’t be cell phone signal.

The July 4 deluge was not the first time the Guadalupe River had burst its banks. 

HISTORY OF FLOODING

Ten teens were killed in floods that hit another camp in 1987, as reported by The New York Times. 

Floods in 1998 saw 12 fatalities and left more than 4,000 people injured. 

Camp Mystic chiefs invested $5 million in a move to expand the summer camp in 2019. 

But, the cabins that were most at risk of flooding were not relocated, as reported by the outlet. 

Dick Eastland, the director of the camp who was also killed, didn’t believe the scale of the floods that occurred on July 4 wouldn’t happen.

“He didn’t feel that there was any way that camp could flood like this,” Lisa Miller, a former counselor, told the outlet.

Tributes were paid to Eastland over his bravery and heroism.

His grandson, George, said he died when the flood waters crashed into the walls of his cabin.

“If he wasn’t going to die of natural causes, this was the only other way—saving the girls that he so loved and cared for,” he wrote on Instagram.

Eastland and doting wife Tweety bought the camp in 1974 and were the third-generation of their family to manage it.

An investigation into the floods is underway.

But, it has since emerged that Texas officials signed off on the camp’s emergency plans just days before the floods.

Inspectors surveyed Mystic and didn’t find any outstanding issues.

Before and after pictures show the damage the flooding caused.

The camp was located in a picturesque setting, but the landscape shows cabins destroyed and surrounding grassy areas turned to mud.

A volunteer holds a muddy Camp Mystic t-shirt and pink backpack.

A search volunteer holds a Camp Mystic t-shirt that’s sodden and covered in mudCredit: Getty
Flood-damaged building with debris.

A home left damaged by the floodsCredit: AFP
Children's belongings scattered outside a building after a flood.

Campers belongings are grouped together on a patch of grass outside one of the buildingsCredit: Getty

Share and Follow
You May Also Like

Australia’s Controversial Firearm Surrender Scheme Faces Criticism Following Antisemitic Attack

Among the myriad of proposals by gun-control advocates, gun “buybacks” arguably…

Tucker Carlson Criticizes Pastors at Amfest for Justifying Innocent Deaths

Tucker Carlson’s 2025 Amfest Address Lays Out a Sweeping, Unapologetically Christian Defense…

Why Funding Alone Won’t Resolve ObamaCare’s Challenges

In 2021, the Democratic majority in Washington, D.C., utilized the ongoing COVID-19…

Trump Ally Backs Embattled Michigan Coach Sherrone Moore’s Comeback Amid Controversy

Sherrone Moore, a once-prominent figure in collegiate sports, finds himself at a…

Authorities Report: Suspected Brown University Shooter Dies from Self-Inflicted Gunshot, Connected to MIT Homicide

Five days have passed since a tragic shooting unfolded in a…

Tomi Lahren’s New Look Sparks Buzz: Fans Suspect ‘Mar-a-Lago Makeover’ Transformation

Tomi Lahren, the OutKick host known for her provocative opinions, sparked a…

Brown University Shooting Probe Advances with New ‘Person of Interest’ Identification

Authorities have identified a “person of interest” in the recent shooting at…

How Progressive Ideology is Influencing Women’s Natural Instincts: A Leftist Perspective

In certain conservative circles, a provocative question has been circulating, often…