Camp Mystic: 27 campers, counselors dead; still searching for 10 others
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Camp Mystic confirmed the deaths of 27 campers and counselors from flash flooding that swept through the camp in the early morning of July 4. According to an update posted on its website Monday morning, the camp said its community grieves their losses.
"Our hearts are broken alongside our families that are enduring this unimaginable tragedy. We are praying for them constantly," the website read. "We ask for your continued prayers, respect and privacy for each of our families affected. May the Lord continue to wrap His presence around all of us."
The families of two Austin Independent School District students who attended Camp Mystic confirmed their 8-year-old daughters did not survive the flash floods that inundated the camp.
Linnie McCown was a student at Casis Elementary, according to her father Michael. Hundreds gathered outside the Tarrytown school on Sunday to mourn the elementary student, who her parents said, “filled [their] hearts with so much joy we cannot begin to explain.”
Family confirmed on social media Mystic camper Mary Stevens was also among those who did not survive the flooding. Stevens was a student at Austin ISD’s Highland Park Elementary School.
Camp Mystic is a near century old all-girls Christian camp on the banks of the Guadalupe River. The camp has been run by couple Dick and Tweety Eastland since they purchased it in 1974.
The grandson of Dick Eastland confirmed on social media his grandfather, Dick, died “saving the girls that he so loved and cared for.”
On social media, several families from across Texas have confirmed that their daughters did not survive the historic flooding that deluged the camp.
The family of camper Lila Bonner told KXAN she was among those killed in the flooding. In a statement, her family said, “We ache with all who loved her and are praying endlessly for others to be spared from this tragic loss.”
One of the deceased is Chloe Childress, 19, a former camper turned camp counselor. Her family sent out a statement to media Monday morning, in which they said that Chloe "lived a beautiful life that saturated those around her with contagious joy, unending grace, and abiding faith."
The camp also said it has been in communication with authorities, who were "tirelessly deploying extensive resources to search for our missing girls," according to the camp's statement.
According to the Kerr County Sheriff's Office, 10 campers and one counselor were unaccounted for as of Sunday evening.
Trinity University posted a message from University President Vanessa Beasley to X on Sunday sharing Senior Aidan Heartfield and the young daughter of Trinity football offensive coordinator Wade Lytal “remain among those missing after the devastating flooding along the Guadalupe River.”
Lytal posted to X on Sunday that his daughter, Kellyanne, is one of the Mystic campers still unaccounted for. He told KXAN in a statement, “Please ask for prayers for all those missing, their families and the men and women who are searching for our loved ones.”