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In Austin, Texas, a security guard at Camp Mystic admitted on Wednesday that issuing a timely evacuation order during last year’s fatal flood could have potentially saved lives. The flood tragically struck the camp on a night in July, causing chaos and loss.
Glenn Juenke played a crucial role in safeguarding campers that night. Despite finding himself trapped inside a cabin, he managed to relocate some girls to a safer, two-story building. He further demonstrated his quick thinking by instructing a group of campers to head for higher ground as the floodwaters rose.
Juenke shared his experience during a three-day legal hearing. The hearing revolves around a dispute between the camp’s operators, who aim to reopen the all-girls Christian camp this summer, and the families of victims who lost their lives during the catastrophic July 4th flood along the Guadalupe River.
Testifying on behalf of the camp operators, Juenke revealed that the decision to direct campers uphill was solely his and not prompted by any instructions from camp directors or authorities.
He also mentioned that he could not recall any training provided by the camp operators to prepare campers, counselors, and staff for emergency evacuations, highlighting a significant oversight in safety protocols.
The camp’s plan to reopen has angered families of the girls who were killed, and the camp license is still under review by state health regulators. A judge last month ordered the camp to preserve damaged areas as evidence for pending lawsuits. That ruling is under appeal.
The hearing has produced the most extensive details from camp operators of what happened in the flood, including missed chances to prepare for the storm, and the delayed decisions to evacuate.
Describing the storm that came roaring through camp, Juenke said he first joined camp directors Dick and Edward Eastland in driving some of the girls away from their cabins. But Juenke later abandoned his truck when the water got too high to drive.
Now on foot, Juenke ordered a group of young girls to run to higher ground. He returned to another cabin where he was soon trapped in waist-deep water. Storage trunks were tossed around the current before they were sucked out and away.
Juenke ordered the girls in the cabin to get on air mattresses, and they stayed floating there for several hours.
“It was a long night. We were getting bitten by fire ants. There were spiders … The girls did everything I told them to do,” Juenke said. None of the girls in that cabin died.
Juenke said they emerged around dawn. He then met up with Catie Eastland, one of the camp directors, near the two-story recreation building where about a hundred girls had escaped the flood.
“I said y’all could have had a million different evacuation plans, nothing would have worked,” Juenke testified.
Lawyers for the families have zeroed in on the lack of a detailed evacuation plan and the failure to send orders to get out of the cabins. A short emergency notice posted in cabins, one that had passed state inspection just two days earlier, had told campers to stay in their cabins until given instructions by staff.
In all, 25 campers and two teenage counselors were killed. Camp co-owner Dick Eastland also died.
“You can blame it on Mother Nature or God Almighty, but if anyone had used the speakers or walkie talkie and told them to leave before 3 (am), they would’ve survived,” said Brad Beckworth, an attorney for the family of Cile Steward, 8, the only camper whose body still has not been recovered.
Juenke defended his actions and those of the staff that night.
“We did everything we could do in the time that we had,” Juenke said.