AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A Texas judge is hearing evidence Wednesday on whether the youth camp where 25 girls and two counselors were killed in catastrophic floods last year should remain closed while a lawsuit filed by one of the girls’ families is pending.
The family of 8-year-old Cile Steward, who was swept away during the flooding and whose body still has not been recovered, has asked a Travis County judge to prevent Camp Mystic’s owners from reopening the camp and to halt any construction while the lawsuit is pending. Their request for a temporary injunction maintains that any changes at the camp could destroy evidence needed for their lawsuit.
“It now falls to this Court to protect the public, plaintiffs’ search for answers, and the evidence at the Camp Mystic site,” the attorneys wrote.
The camp’s decision last year to partially open and to construct a memorial on the grounds drew outrage from many of the girls’ families who are mourning their loved ones and who said they weren’t consulted on the plans.
“We call on Camp Mystic to halt all discussions of reopening and memorials,” CiCi and Will Steward wrote to Camp Mystic officials after the camp’s decision was announced.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has asked Texas regulators not to renew the license for Camp Mystic while the deaths are being investigated and cited legislative probes that are expected to begin in the spring.
Families of several of the girls who died have sued the camp’s operators, arguing that camp officials failed to take necessary steps to protect the campers as life-threatening floodwaters approached.
Attorneys for Camp Mystic have expressed sympathy toward the girls’ families but maintained there was little they could have done during the catastrophic flooding that quickly overcame the camp.
“Nobody had every seen a prior flood anything like we saw in 2025,” said Mikal Watts, an attorney for Camp Mystic and its family of owners.
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Murphy reported from Oklahoma City
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