Devastation at Camp Mystic: Century-Old Girls' Christian Camp deluged by Texas flood in Texas Hill Country
At least 20 children are still missing from Mystic after Friday's flash flood claimed 24 lives.
HUNT, TEXAS — What was meant to be a joyful week of horseback riding, scripture study, and sisterhood has turned into a nightmare for hundreds of families after a sudden and deadly flash flood struck Camp Mystic, a nearly century-old Christian summer camp for girls nestled along the Guadalupe River in Texas Hill Country.
As of Saturday morning, at least 24 people have been confirmed dead and more than 20 children remain missing, many of them campers from Mystic, following Friday’s unprecedented flooding that overwhelmed local emergency response efforts.
Camp Mystic, founded in 1926 and known for its strong Christian values and traditions, was hosting approximately 750 girls from across Texas and beyond when torrential rains Thursday night caused the Guadalupe River to rise with terrifying speed, swallowing roads, cabins, and parts of the beloved riverfront campus.
A Legacy Interrupted
For nearly a century, Camp Mystic has been a rite of passage for generations of girls — a place to build confidence, deepen faith, and create lifelong friendships. The camp’s motto, “Be a better person for being at Mystic,” now haunts the hearts of grieving families and stunned community members grappling with the unthinkable.
Videos on the camp’s website show sun-soaked girls laughing in canoes, riding horses through grassy meadows, and praying by the water's edge — imagery now painfully at odds with the horror that unfolded in the predawn hours of Friday morning.
Rising Waters, Vanishing Time
Officials say the floodwaters surged into Kerr County around 4 a.m., fed by relentless overnight storms. Within a span of just two hours, the Guadalupe River — normally a calm backdrop for camp activities — became a lethal torrent. Rescue teams were caught off guard, unable to issue timely evacuation warnings.
“This happened very quickly, over a very short period of time, that could not be predicted, even with radar,” said Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice. “There was no window for an organized response.”
Some of the victims were found in vehicles swept away upstream. Others remain missing, their last known locations near riverbanks and low-lying cabins.
Anxious Parents, Frantic Updates
Camp Mystic sent a mass email to parents Friday morning, assuring that if they had not been contacted directly, their daughters were accounted for. But that reassurance has done little to calm the rising panic in Facebook groups and community forums, where families are sharing their anguish and desperate pleas for information.
“We haven’t heard anything,” wrote one mother late Friday night. “We just want to know if our baby is alive.”
A Family-Run Institution
Camp Mystic has been in the hands of the Eastland family since the 1930s. Current owners Dick and Tweety Eastland have been involved since 1974, helping preserve the camp’s core identity as a sanctuary of faith, growth, and girlhood. Now, their legacy faces a reckoning no one could have imagined.
The camp’s location, perched along two riverfront sites in the small town of Hunt, has always been part of its charm — and now, tragically, part of its vulnerability.
State and Federal Response
Governor Greg Abbott has deployed emergency personnel to Kerr County and surrounding regions, and FEMA officials are expected to arrive within days. In a press conference Friday evening, Abbott expressed condolences to the affected families and pledged full state support for rescue and recovery efforts.
Meanwhile, the National Weather Service has warned that the Guadalupe River may crest at 37.2 feet, putting downstream communities like Spring Branch on high alert for additional flooding.
A Community in Mourning
Vigils are already being planned in Hunt, Kerrville, and San Antonio, where many of the campers hailed from. Churches are opening their doors to grieving families, and local high schools are offering mental health services to siblings and classmates.
For a camp that once promised “a wholesome Christian atmosphere” and the innocence of summer freedom, the devastation cuts deep.
“Camp Mystic shaped who I am,” said Amanda Calloway, a former camper who now lives in Dallas. “It’s hard to process that something so sacred could be touched by such loss.”
As search-and-rescue operations continue and names of the missing slowly come to light, families are clinging to hope, prayer, and each other. But with every passing hour, the reality becomes more heartbreaking.
What was once a sanctuary of sisterhood now stands as the site of one of Texas Hill Country’s worst flood tragedies in recent memory — a sobering reminder of nature’s power, and the fragility of even our most cherished places.
Musk and trump and Abbott are directly responsible with their collective hate toward anyone other than white people,and their never ending greed. This is what happens when you deny climate change and cut weather jobs in the federal government.
As a retired summer camp director, this is what wears on you most when you accept the responsibility for caring for other people's loved ones. You do everything you can to make sure they go home safely at the end of thier stay at camp but you can't control everything. My thoughts are with everyone effected by this event.