Texas Investigators Seek Manslaughter Charges in Camp Mystic Flood Deaths

Investigators are seeking evidence of manslaughter and other crimes in connection with the deaths of 27 girls and two counselors at Camp Mystic, according to court documents.

The Texas Rangers filed applications for search warrants last week, seeking electronic communications from the camp's owners as potential evidence for charges including manslaughter, negligent homicide, and child abandonment. No charges have been filed, and a representative for the camp did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Brant Johnston, with the Texas Rangers, stated in an affidavit that Camp Mystic lacked adequate emergency plans, had not conducted emergency drills, and had insufficient adult counselors in some cabins. The camp's owners allegedly failed to take precautions, such as relocating children from low-lying cabins, despite monitoring late-night flood warnings. Johnston wrote that young campers could not be expected to independently recognize a life-threatening hazard or organize an evacuation without adult direction.

"Camp Mystic, LLC was aware of and consciously disregarded a substantial and unjustifiable risk of death to the campers in their care," Johnston wrote in the affidavit.

Twenty-five campers and two teenage counselors died when the Guadalupe River overflowed its banks before dawn on July 4, 2025. Camp Mystic owner Richard Eastland also perished in the flood. The Christian all-girls camp, a long-standing summer destination for generations, did not reopen this year and has filed for bankruptcy reorganization.

The destructive flooding along the river killed at least 136 people, prompting questions about the circumstances surrounding the events.

Attorneys for some of the victims' families welcomed the search warrants but expressed frustration that such actions were deemed necessary. Christina Yarnell and Brad Beckworth, attorneys for the family of victim Cile Steward, whose body has not been found, stated that families have sought accountability for over a year without adequate response from the Eastland family.

Johnston's affidavit indicates that investigators have visited Camp Mystic and interviewed witnesses, flood victims, and individuals associated with the camp. However, several individuals, including members of the Eastland family and other camp officials, declined to be interviewed. Despite this, camp director Edward Eastland and other leaders have testified before legislative committees and in courtrooms since the flood, with Edward Eastland offering an apology.