# Camp Mystic withdraws summer reopening bid after Texas flood deaths
Camp Mystic has withdrawn its application to reopen for the summer of 2026, stepping back after weeks of scrutiny over last year’s deadly flooding and the camp’s plans to operate again.
NBC News reported that the Texas camp, where 25 campers and two counselors died in July flooding last year, told the state health department it was withdrawing its request for a summer license. The move came a day after an emotional legislative hearing that was attended by parents of the girls who died.
In a statement quoted by NBC News, Camp Mystic said it had heard the concerns expressed by grieving families, Texas lawmakers and citizens across the state. The camp said withdrawing the application would remove doubt and avoid further harm, adding that respect for those voices required it to step back. A state agency spokesman confirmed the withdrawal to NBC News.
The decision is significant because Camp Mystic had still been seeking permission to reopen at the time lawmakers were questioning how the camp responded to the disaster and what safeguards would be in place if it welcomed campers back. Parents of the girls who died or were caught in the flood had urged officials to deny or delay the license, turning the reopening bid into a public test of how the camp would confront its role in the tragedy.
NBC’s report says the flooding on the July 4 weekend swept through the camp near Kerrville after the Guadalupe River rose rapidly. It also says one camper, Cecilia “Cile” Stewart, remains missing. The camp’s family ownership has faced heavy criticism for emergency planning and evacuation decisions, and one of the camp directors, Edward Eastland, gave a tearful apology at the legislative hearing.
The withdrawal does not end the broader questions raised by the disaster. Families still want answers about how a camp in a flood-prone area was run, what warning systems were in place, and whether any reopening should have been allowed before those issues were settled. The evidence in the packet supports only one immediate conclusion: Camp Mystic will not operate this summer under the application that was under review.
That leaves the camp’s next step uncertain. NBC News said representatives and attorneys for the camp would not be available for further comment. For now, the focus remains on the families still grieving, the lawmakers still investigating, and the unresolved public safety questions left behind by the flooding.
