At least 20 students were missing in Friday’s devastating flooding at Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp for girls on the Guadalupe River that has been there for over a century. One of its amenities is a recreation hall made from native cypress trees in the 1920s.
Camp Mystic informed parents via a quick email on Friday morning that it had experienced catastrophic level floods. There are two locations for the camp beside the river close to Hunt, Texas.
According to the email, parents of campers who have not been found have been informed. During a news conference on Friday, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick stated that approximately 750 girls attended the camp this week.
The camp said that it was helping with search and rescue efforts, but that it was having trouble getting additional assistance since a neighboring roadway had washed away and that it lacked power, water, and Wi-Fi.
Parents shared pictures of some of the missing girls on social media and in text messages, and also shared hopeful tales of dramatic rescues, such as kids clinging to trees or drifting downriver to a boys camp five miles away.
According to its website, Camp Mystic seeks to give young girls a healthy Christian environment where they can grow in character and self-worth. With the youngest campers starting third grade in the autumn, it attracts families from all over Texas and beyond.
According to its website, the camp was founded in 1926 and has been governed by the same family for decades, starting in the 1930s. The camp has had Dick and Tweety Eastland as its present owners since 1974. After graduating from the University of Texas in Austin, they spent years working with the previous proprietors. Archery, cooking, cheering, fishing, and other sports are all part of the camp experience. This summer, videos of large groups of girls performing group dances have been uploaded to the camp’s Instagram account.
Several children’s summer camps, notably Camp La Junta for boys, are located along the impacted section of the Guadalupe River, approximately five miles from Camp Mystic. Families were notified by the boys camp on Friday that all campers were safe and fed, but that evacuations would not start until at least 7 p.m. local time.
Heart o the Hills, another local ladies camp, was not in session when the floods occurred, according to its Facebook page.
