Judge says she’ll issue new order halting renovations to Camp Mystic’s flooded areas

By Andy Rose, Danya Gainor, CNN

(CNN) — Leaders of Camp Mystic — the Christian girls camp where 27 campers and counselors died in torrential flooding last summer — must continue to keep many damaged buildings untouched while a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of a child presumed dead moves forward, a Texas judge said Wednesday.

Travis County District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble said she would issue a new injunction order maintaining that camp leaders must preserve cabins and land affected by the flooding following three days of heart-wrenching testimony from several people, including members of the Eastland family, which has owned and operated Camp Mystic for decades.

The judge issued a similar injunction in March, and said Wednesday’s would include minor changes.

A status conference and discovery are scheduled for mid-May.

In their testimony, the Eastlands acknowledged they did not warn campers and counselors of rising floodwaters and dire weather warnings before cabins were overwhelmed July 4 and dozens of people became trapped or were swept away in the Texas Hill Country.

The temporary injunction stems from a wrongful death lawsuit against Camp Mystic brought by the family of Cile Steward, an 8-year-old camper whose body has not been recovered. The Steward family argued the case may ultimately hinge on critical physical evidence, such as campers’ sleeping cabins that were in place at the time of the disaster.

The Eastland family separately appealed the original temporary injunction to an appellate court in March.

Wednesday’s ruling will keep the Eastlands from cleaning up the site. The family has promised to never again use the damaged cabins to house children and still intends to open camp this summer at a different location on higher ground.

The future of Camp Mystic remains unclear. A separate investigation by the Texas Rangers and the Department of State Health Services into the deaths is underway, but no one has been charged. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick recommended to state officials earlier this month that they deny a license to Camp Mystic while the investigation continues.

Attorneys spar over preservation as trial date expected to move up

Wednesday’s ruling marked an end to an early-stage fight to preserve key evidence from the July 4 floods before the case moves forward as Gamble, the district judge, weighed whether to continue her order last month that temporarily ordered the camp’s flooded areas to remain untouched.

The Stewards described the damage in court filings as critical physical evidence that should be preserved, including campers’ sleeping cabins, floodwater markings, building access routes and communication systems that were in place at the time of the disaster. Court filings show Camp Mystic owners have been evaluating plans to reopen, even as state investigations continue and families push regulators to reconsider the camp’s license.

“There has been a lot of evidence, at least in my opinion, that leads one to believe that the Eastlands and Camp Mystic are not taking the duty to preserve evidence seriously, whether it is hubris, greed, grief, or just an overwhelming combination of all of those, they have this unmitigated desire to reopen this camp in a few weeks, and come hell or high water, they’re going to do it,” Brad Beckworth, the Stewards’ attorney, said Wednesday.

Camp Mystic’s lawyers argued that cabins had been “secured,” not altered, as some of them face potentially crumbling from the damage, and asked that certain structures not be included in the injunction as some Eastland family members plan to live on the property.

“That was one of the biggest issues for me, from a personal standpoint, is people not being able to live there, not being able to carry on with their lives to the extent that they need to work, that they need to get in and out of home, and be there,” Camp Mystic attorney Jeffry Ray said Wednesday.

Several lawsuits claiming gross negligence have been filed against the camp and its owners since the July 4 disaster. Gamble said Wednesday she intends to hear the Stewards’ case first and move the trial up several months from its original April 2028 start date, and schedule other suits to follow.

The judge also said attorneys across the lawsuits will need to work together to coordinate deposing counselors, campers and staff only one time to minimize harm.

“We are not deposing teenage girls or children more than once. We’re just not. We’re going to do it right, we’re going to do it with quality court reporters and quality video,” Gamble said Wednesday. “I can’t imagine the argument that would convince me to bring any children into this court for the jury trial.”

An end to three days of emotional testimony

For three days in a row, members of the Eastland family provided emotional testimony as they recalled details of the disaster that killed 27 girls and counselors.

“I wish we had more information” before a decision was made to evacuate the camp, Camp Mystic director Edward Eastland testified Tuesday as he answered questions about the hours leading up to the catastrophic July 4 flooding at the camp’s Guadalupe River campus and the chaos that followed.

“All the information was there … if y’all had just stayed awake and looked, right?” responded Beckworth.

Husband and wife Britt and Catie Eastland, directors of the camp, also testified Wednesday alongside Camp Mystic’s night watchman Glen Juenke, who told the courtroom, “We did everything we could do with the amount of time we had.”

Juenke was questioned about his decision to not make an announcement telling the girls to go to higher ground as floodwaters began to overtake the camp in the early hours of July 4.

“That order was never given, correct?” Beckworth asked. “And 27 girls died because of that failure, correct?”

“Yes, sir,” Juenke responded.

On Tuesday during a somber moment on the stand, Mary Liz Eastland, Edward Eastland’s wife and the camp director in charge of the nursing staff, testified about her actions as the camp where she spent more than three decades — first as a camper then as a staff member — saw floodwaters rise.

“You knew the property. You knew the flood lines. You knew access points. Your children knew them. And these were first-year campers,” Christina Yarnell, another attorney representing the Steward family, said to Mary Liz Eastland. “You had 34 more years of experience than Cile. She needed your help, and you abandoned her, didn’t you?”

“Yes,” she replied.

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