Parents who lost daughters in a devastating flood at Camp Mystic in Texas are demanding urgent legislative action, calling the tragedy “100% preventable.” The floodwaters from the Guadalupe River swept through the elite Hill Country camp, killing 27 campers and counselors, including one of the camp’s owners. Two victims, including 8-year-old Cile Steward, remain missing.
Camp Mystic had appealed repeatedly to FEMA to be removed from a 100-year floodplain designation—a request that was approved, despite the camp’s location in “Flash Flood Alley.” The camp reportedly had no flood alarms, emergency communications, or evacuation systems in place. Campers were told to stay in their cabins as floodwaters rose, a policy in place since a similar 1987 flood.
During a Texas Senate committee hearing, parents called for sweeping safety reforms. Michael McCown, who lost his 8-year-old daughter Linnie, said, “We did not send Linnie to a war zone. We sent her to camp.” He called for updated communications, evacuation plans, and weather alert systems to be standard across all camps.
Cici Williams Steward, mother of missing camper Cile, said, “My daughter was stolen from us… because of preventable failures.” She testified that obvious safety protocols were ignored, and accountability is urgently needed.
Another grieving father, Clark Baker, emphasized the danger of housing young children in flood zones without proper safeguards. “Complacency… led to the deaths of 27 amazing, innocent, beautiful girls,” he said. “We simply ask for mandatory, common sense, state-regulated safety protocols for camps.”
Blake Bonner, whose daughter Lila also died, condemned the camp’s “stay-in-place” policy and inadequate preparation. “Our daughters paid the ultimate price for their obedience to a plan that was destined to fail,” he said. Bonner added that ignoring lessons from the past was “a failure of planning, prevention, detection, and response.”
Camp Mystic charges up to $15,000 per summer, with no cell service, radios, or emergency alarms in place. The camp’s communication blackout, parents argued, should not extend to staff responsible for children’s safety.
The Texas Senate committee advanced SB 1, a new bill that mandates weather alert systems, updated evacuation plans, and bans sleeping quarters in known flood zones. The legislation is expected to pass and be signed into law, bringing long-overdue oversight to the state’s 1,100 summer camps.
