At least 70 people are confirmed dead and dozens remain missing after catastrophic flooding tore through the Texas Hill Country on July 4 — including at Camp Mystic, a 99-year-old Christian girls’ camp in Kerr County, where longtime director Dick Eastland reportedly died trying to save campers.
Authorities say 21 children are among the dead statewide. In Kerr County alone, 59 fatalities have been reported — including 38 adults and 21 children, according to Sheriff Larry Leitha. Other deaths have been confirmed in Travis, Burnet, Kendall, Williamson, and Tom Green counties.
As of Sunday, 11 girls and one counselor from Camp Mystic remained unaccounted for, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
The private summer camp, built in 1926 and owned by the Eastland family since 1974, was hosting approximately 750 campers when the Guadalupe River rose more than 25 feet in under an hour during the early hours of Friday morning.
Waters reached the tops of cabins, swept away bunkhouses, and scattered campers’ trunks and clothing into the treetops.
Eastland’s nephew, Gardner Eastland, confirmed the camp director’s death in a Facebook post.
Tributes quickly followed, including one from U.S. Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX):
Camp Mystic’s Dick Eastland no doubt gave his life attempting to save his campers. For decades he and his wife Tweety poured his life into loving and developing girls and women of character. Thank you Mr. Eastland. We love you and miss you.
— Rep. August Pfluger (@RepPfluger) July 6, 2025
Eastland had directed Camp Mystic since 1974, earning respect across generations of campers and counselors.
Former camper Paige Sumner wrote in the Kerrville Daily Times that Eastland had already “saved so many lives with the gift of Camp Mystic.”
“It doesn’t surprise me at all that his last act of kindness and sacrifice was working to save the lives of campers,” she wrote.
Stella Thompson, a 13-year-old camper staying on higher ground near Cypress Lake, described the fear and confusion as the disaster unfolded.
“I think it’s the uncertainty that really shook up our cabin,” she told reporters. “Eventually, when we got that news, we were all kind of hysterical, and the whole cabin was praying a lot and terrified — but not for ourselves.”
Campers at Cypress Lake were eventually evacuated by military trucks late Friday. As they left the grounds, Thompson recalled seeing uprooted trees, personal belongings caught in branches, and first responders combing the flooded property for signs of life.
Gov. Greg Abbott said Saturday that Camp Mystic had been “horrendously ravaged” and promised continued search and recovery efforts. “We won’t stop until we find every girl who was in those cabins,” he said in a post on social media.
Flash flood warnings remain in effect across parts of Central Texas, with more rain expected in the Guadalupe River Basin. Emergency crews continue search and recovery efforts throughout the region.