Officials with Camp Mystic, the Texas camp where 25 campers and two counselors died in last year's July 4 flooding, withdrew their application to reopen this summer, a day after an emotional legislative hearing attended by the deceased girls' parents.
Camp Mystic said in a statement Thursday afternoon that it had informed the Department of State Health Services that it was withdrawing an application for a summer 2026 license to operate. The statement said representatives and attorneys for the camp would not be available for further comment.
Chris Van Deusen, an agency spokesman, confirmed to NBC News that it had received notification of the withdrawal.
Acknowledging that "precious lives were lost," Camp Mystic said in the statement that withdrawing the application is intended to remove any doubt that it “has heard the concerns expressed by grieving families, members of the Texas House and Senate investigating committees and citizens across our state. Respect for those voices requires that we step back now.”
“Rather than risk defending our rights under Texas law in a manner that may unintentionally effect further harm, we choose rather to withdraw our application for the 2026 camp season," the statement said.
In an emotional day Wednesday, Edward Eastland, one of the camp’s directors and a member of the family that owns it, offered a tearful apology to the families of the campers who were attending a special legislative hearing investigating the camp's response and its application to reopen. The camp was still seeking to reopen at the time.
Parents of the girls who died or were caught in the flooding at the camp near Kerrville have lashed out at the camp's operators for the previously planned reopening and asked lawmakers to deny or delay the license.
The young campers and others who survived were caught in floodwater at the camp when the Guadalupe River peaked at more than 37 feet, reaching that level in less than an hour on the July 4 weekend. Others camping along the river and in other campsites and homes also died. One of the campers, Cecilia "Cile" Stewart, is still missing.
Camp Mystic's owners and operators have been facing heavy scrutiny regarding their emergency evacuation plans.
Eastland's father, Richard Eastland, also died in the flooding as he was trying to save some of the campers.
"Twenty-eight precious lives were lost. We recognize that no statement and no decision can undo that loss or ease the burden carried each day by parents, siblings, loved ones, survivors, first responders and our beautiful Kerr County community," the Camp Mystic statement said. "We also recognize that over 800 girls want to return to Camp Mystic Cypress Lake this summer. Our special bond with our Camp Mystic families does not change or end with the announcement. We love each of you."
“No administrative process or summer season should move forward while families continue to grieve, while investigations continue and while so many Texans still carry the pain of last July’s tragedy,” the statement said.
