Judge refuses to close Camp Mystic, but bans construction work at flood-hit complex

A Texas judge on Wednesday refused to close Camp Mystic completely.

— the epicentre of the tragic July 4 flood that swept through the Texas Hill Country last year — but stopped short of closing the portion of the camp where the deadly flood occurred.

Judge Maya Guerra Gamble heard testimony in a packed Travis County courtroom on a temporary restraining order and injunction request filed by Will and CCI Steward, the parents of 8-year-old Cecilia “Cyle” Steward, a camper who died in the flood.

Gamble granted a temporary injunction barring the all-girls summer camp along the Guadalupe River from altering or remodelling any structures where campers were housed during the tragedy.

He also ordered that the old Guadalupe grounds, where the deadly flood occurred, be closed, including the commissary, recreation room, and main office. However, construction work can proceed in areas outside those grounds, such as the new facilities being built to ensure the safety of future campers.

Twenty-five girls, two counsellors and the owner of Camp Mystic died after the camp was flooded in historic flooding in Kerr County. Sile’s body has not been recovered.

More than 130 people from the area died in this disaster.

The stewards, who filed a lawsuit last month against the camp’s owners and a restraining order, had requested that Camp Mystic not be reopened to campers this summer and that construction and remodelling be halted to preserve evidence at the site.

In their filing, the Stewards argued that remodelling and construction are already underway while the search for their daughter’s body continues.

“This application for injunctive relief seeks to maintain the status quo and protect physical evidence bearing on how and why Sill Steward lost his life while being entrusted to the care of the defendants,” their filing states.

Gamble’s decision will remain in effect while the couple’s lawsuit is pending.

Camp Mystic did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Family members of the victims packed the courtroom on Wednesday.

Edward Eastland, the director of the Guadalupe camp at the time, testified as a defence witness. He told the court that some buildings have been repaired and rebuilt.

Asked about the tragedy, he said there were no walkie-talkies in the children’s cabins and added that there were security cameras at the camp, but no one was watching the food when the flood began in the middle of the night.

Stewards’ lawyer Brad Beckworth said after the hearing: “Our application for a restraining order was granted in its entirety.”

He said, “The only limit is how we handle business on the camp’s other side.” “But to be clear, what the court has ruled is that the Guadalupe River side of Camp Mystic will not reopen any time soon until we go through the correct evidentiary process for trial.”

Will Steward praised the judge’s decision, saying, “It was important to know that the judge understood, and the court understood, that what we’re trying to do is preserve the evidence that was there so that we could understand, so that campers would never be put in a situation like this in the future.”

Mikal Watts, an attorney representing Camp Mystic and the Eastland family, which owns the camp, said he was “thrilled” with the judge’s decision.

“She agreed that the Guadalupe River evidence should be preserved, as we offered…Part of what we’re doing tonight is working on structural separation to keep the kids away from the Guadalupe River while they’re attending camp at Cypress Lake this summer. We agreed to do that,” he said.

Watts said that as of yesterday, 853 campers had signed up to attend this summer at Mystic’s Cypress Lake location, which she described as independent from the old Guadalupe camp.

Announcing its reopening plans in December, Camp Mystic said it had taken steps to increase safety, including installing flood monitoring units.

Last week, the families of nine victims of the Camp Mystic flood sued the state, claiming it failed to enforce a requirement that the camp have an evacuation plan.

Also last week, Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick sent a letter urging the Commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services to deny the camp a licence to operate until “all legislative investigations are completed and any necessary corrective actions are taken.”

In response to Patrick’s letter, Camp Mystic said last week that its Cypress Lake location is “in compliance with all aspects of the state’s new camping safety laws.” It said the Cypress Lake site is not adjacent to the Guadalupe River and “did not suffer any significant damage from the historic flooding on July 4.”